Hello everyone! I apologise for the long wait since I last blogged :( As you might have guessed, it was because of my mid-year examinations :( Anyways, I quickly seized the opportunity to sign up as a volunteer for the SEA (SouthEast Asian) Games after I heard the announcement during morning assembly! The reason being that I wanted to be productive during the holidays instead of just staring at my homework and laptop all day haha. At that time only 19 people signed up officially (I guessed no one paid attention to the announcements) but after the official sign up sheet was pasted up on a board near the canteen, 60+ people bombarded the board during recess to write their names! It was so overwhelming, people actually exceeded the space given, wrote their names on a separate piece of foolscap and attached it onto the board! It was quite a spectacle, especially after the teacher-in-charge realised that she had to transfer the 60+ names into her computer as soft copy hahahaha
I was quite happy that I was allocated tickets for all the games I had signed up for (Netball finals, Track and Field, Badminton, Water Polo, Table Tennis and Football 3rd/4th games) since it was first come first serve. There are actually many more other SEA games but it was not listed on the sign-up sheet :( The student volunteers can actually get CIP hours, which can be added together with our CCA points to minus 2 points for O levels. However, the main reason why I signed up was because I thought that this would be a fun and exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experience! After all, the SEA games only take place every 2 years and in different South East Asia countries each time. It would be another 20 years before it occurs in Singapore again!
I was quite happy that I was allocated tickets for all the games I had signed up for (Netball finals, Track and Field, Badminton, Water Polo, Table Tennis and Football 3rd/4th games) since it was first come first serve. There are actually many more other SEA games but it was not listed on the sign-up sheet :( The student volunteers can actually get CIP hours, which can be added together with our CCA points to minus 2 points for O levels. However, the main reason why I signed up was because I thought that this would be a fun and exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experience! After all, the SEA games only take place every 2 years and in different South East Asia countries each time. It would be another 20 years before it occurs in Singapore again!
One of cheerleader from Positive Intentions (Official Cheer Company SEA Games Organisers hired) came to my school and taught us some cheers that the Fan Engagement Volunteers will be chanting to support our Singapore athletes and it was quite fun, the cheers were catchy and pretty easy to learn. About a week later we received our official SEA Games Volunteer shirt! It has a flag of Singapore on the top right of the shirt where the logo usually is and the word '#ourteamsingapore' at the back. It's really big though, size XS is like size M...
I WAS SO EXCITED!!!
Singapore vs Malaysia
OCBC Arena
The tickets for the Netball Game Finals were all sold out! The Cheer Zone, where the volunteers were supposed to sit, was right next to a huge group of Malaysian supporters and they were really enthusiastic. They were waving flags and all sporting the Malaysia colours and cheering loudly despite their small manpower.
Whenever the ball was in the hands of the Malaysian netballers, the cheer zone will start cheering "Defend~ Defend! Defend~ Defend!" and the whole stadium will follow. Same for when we say "Attack~ Attack!" when our players had the ball!
It was only in the 4th quarter where the game escalated in it's intensity. The Malaysian netballers were so tall, and they defended well. They caught up and got a tie with Singapore, 39-39 during the last fifteen minutes of the game!
I could have gotten their autographs but I didn't bring a marker and left my poster at my seat... Argh I was THIS close!
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Women's Team:
Singapore vs Malaysia
Thailand vs Vietnam
Men's Team:
Singapore vs Indonesia
Vietnam vs Malaysia
I was all alone because most of the volunteers decided to go support Diving :( At first I sat in the second row right beside some girls that I later on got to know were from PLMGS. They first asked me if the snack bar sold sweet popcorn because one girl smelt my popcorn. We exchanged small talk and when they found out that I was 15, just a year older than them, they were surprised! They said I looked like I was working already and I guess that's a compliment??? Hahaha
Then the men's team were up next. The first 2 players were good and won easily but Clarence Chew had more trouble :( Even though he played for the longest and looked very nervous, I could feel his determination and passion! The enthusiastic adults/cheerleaders kept shouting "Clarence! Jia you!" and he won 2-rounds in a game of best of 3s.
Overall, I found table tennis a little boring especially since I was alone but Team Singapore played spectacularly, well done! :)
There were a lot of Thailand supporters and as always, they were enthusiastic with their shakers and flags. Singapore tried to cheer too but it wasn't loud enough, maybe because the audience were mostly adults.
I WAS SO EXCITED!!!
Netball Finals
7th JuneSingapore vs Malaysia
OCBC Arena
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| Free poster |
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| Of course must take selfie right |
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| Front row seats |
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| Both teams warming up |
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| They are so hardcore omg |
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| Injuries after 1st and 2nd quarter |
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| Singapore lost some points in the 3rd quarter |
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| A lot of fouls were committed |
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| Their goalshooter is so tall?! |
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| Poor girls :( |
In all honesty, I thought that the Malaysia Netball Team was a little rough. I occasionally spotted some shoving and pushing but the sharp-eyed referees always caught the fouls. There was once when the centre player, Nurul Baizura, tried to get the ball that was rolling on the floor and one of the Malaysian players grabbed her hand and pulled her away. The whole stadium was like 'oi' and 'ohhh' in unison. During the break time I saw the psychotherapist trying to help her feel better with ice packs :(
In the heat of the moment when our Singaporeans players slightly bump onto the Malaysian players and they lose their balance, they would just lie down flat on the floor like they are in a lot of pain. Whereas our players would just 'suck it up' and continue hahaha. I guess it's all about sportsmanship! Or maybe I'm just really bias oops haha!
Right from the start, Singapore was leading, but it was only by a few point difference. It seemed that every time Team Singapore scored, Team Malaysia would do so too. But our amazing goal shooter hardly ever missed so we managed to stay consistent in the first 3 quarters of the game. Our goal shooter for the Finals was Charmaine Soh, and she's amazing! Kimberly Lim, the Wing Attacker was very feisty, quick and agile too :)
Right from the start, Singapore was leading, but it was only by a few point difference. It seemed that every time Team Singapore scored, Team Malaysia would do so too. But our amazing goal shooter hardly ever missed so we managed to stay consistent in the first 3 quarters of the game. Our goal shooter for the Finals was Charmaine Soh, and she's amazing! Kimberly Lim, the Wing Attacker was very feisty, quick and agile too :)
Whenever the ball was in the hands of the Malaysian netballers, the cheer zone will start cheering "Defend~ Defend! Defend~ Defend!" and the whole stadium will follow. Same for when we say "Attack~ Attack!" when our players had the ball!
It was so scary, I think the whole stadium held our breaths until the Singapore netballers scored more goals that put us back in the lead.
At the last 15 seconds of the game, with the score of 49-43, Singaporeans knew we were going to win and I think we went crazy. All the screaming, cheering, shouting, clapping was worth it! WE WON! Even though we only shown our support sitting on the stands, screaming the very repetitive and catchy "Let's go Singapore, let's go! *Clap clap*" we felt like we were at the top of the world together!
How do I describe it? It's patriotism, I guess. The pride and happiness from the glory that Singapore is the Gold medalists for Netball :)
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| This was right after the game ended! |
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| Happiness and disappointment |
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| Mr Lee Hsien Loong was there! |
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| #squadgoals |
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| WE WON |
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| There was a tie for 3rd postion |
I could have gotten their autographs but I didn't bring a marker and left my poster at my seat... Argh I was THIS close!
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| So pretty~ |
Table Tennis Semi-Finals
8th JuneSingapore Indoor Stadium
Women's Team:
Singapore vs Malaysia
Thailand vs Vietnam
Men's Team:
Singapore vs Indonesia
Vietnam vs Malaysia
The place we were sitting at was directly in front of table 2 but the Singapore team will only be playing at table 1. There was also a cameraman blocking my limited view :( From the other side of the Indoor Stadium I saw a group of people cheering together and I thought that I was supposed to join them since after all I was here as a cheer volunteer. I was wrong (they were from another volunteer group) and it was so awkward! I changed seats again behind some very enthusiastic adults who formed their own little cheers. So cute haha although there was an age gap, I felt comfortable sitting with them.
We were actually not supposed to cheer in respect of the Sabah Earthquake though...
Yu Mengyu, Feng Tianwei and Isabelle Li represented the Women's Team and they were so good! Mengyu had a little struggle, Tianwei won it easily but I really have to commend Isabelle Li! She's amazing, she balances her powerful attacks with her gentle approaches and stuns her opponent! The whole time when I was watching her play I was like "Wow... wow!"
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| Easy win for her! |
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| Women's Team won! |
Then the men's team were up next. The first 2 players were good and won easily but Clarence Chew had more trouble :( Even though he played for the longest and looked very nervous, I could feel his determination and passion! The enthusiastic adults/cheerleaders kept shouting "Clarence! Jia you!" and he won 2-rounds in a game of best of 3s.
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| Gao Ning |
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| Clarence Chew |
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| They called for a time out when Clarence was losing |
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| Intense, Intense! |
Overall, I found table tennis a little boring especially since I was alone but Team Singapore played spectacularly, well done! :)
Track & Field
10th June
Singapore Sports Hub
The night before the Water Polo game, the manager in charge of the cheerleading squad said that our tickets for Water Polo were cancelled :( It was one of the games I was really anticipating as it seemed interesting but oh well, I went for Track & Field instead.
Since it was free admission, there was a really really long queue at the security check lanes. There were a variety of teenagers, adults, elderly and tourists and I was happy to see that everyone queued patiently with no sign of anyone cutting queue!
After queuing from 3.30-4.10, I finally made my way into the Singapore Sports Hub. It was my first time there even though I've seen pictures of it and it's HUGE! The events were already taking place and I spent about 10 minutes just choosing a place to sit. It was so awkward since I was alone (AGAIN) and everyone else seemed to have came with a group.
Singapore Sports Hub
After queuing from 3.30-4.10, I finally made my way into the Singapore Sports Hub. It was my first time there even though I've seen pictures of it and it's HUGE! The events were already taking place and I spent about 10 minutes just choosing a place to sit. It was so awkward since I was alone (AGAIN) and everyone else seemed to have came with a group.
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| 10000m race start! |
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| The Indonesian was 1 round in front of Melvin and the athlete from Lao |
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| Victory! |
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| And then he collapsed from exhaustion |
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| Even though they were last, they finished it! |
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| They ran together from the start to the finish |
The 10000m (25 rounds around the track) heats soon started and Melvin Wong lagged behind. There was a small group at the corner waving 'Go Melvin' posters and they were really enthusiastic so I decided to join them.
Melvin finished the race and went towards us at the corner and I thought he was going to hi-five and shake the hands of his supporters so I approached him too, wanting to shake his hand for completing the race. He looked at me weirdly like "Do I know her?" so I just awkwardly backed away. I asked the guy next to me and discovered that I was sitting with Melvin's family, friends and colleagues! He asked me who I was and it was so awkward when I said I was just a supporter! Oh my god. No wonder they had all those posters and Melvin thanked them all and then there was me just sitting among strangers! I quickly gathered my stuff and quietly left...
Luckily I didn't make any remarks about how I wish Melvin could run a little faster!
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| Gold for Women's Shot Put! |
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| Aiya I accidentally switched on the flash |
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| Her coach? She said 老师 which is teacher |
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| I got the gold medalist's autograph! |
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| Hers too :) |
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| And his! (Winners for 10000m) |
I stationed myself directly in front of the prize ceremony podium and spotted my junior Germaine (same name with a G lol) a few rows behind me. She came over and said that she wanted to collect autographs from the medalists. I had a marker but didn't have any paper so the medalists signed on the paper tray I got when I bought a hot dog instead hahaha!
Basically, all the Singapore atheletes placed either last or second last (I think Singapore is the weakest at Track) except for Zhang Guirong who won first for shot put and Shanti Pereira who won the women's 200m final! Unfortunately, I did not manage to get their autographs as Guirong was busy thanking her coach and Shanti was running around, waving the Singapore flag. When Shanti came over and I asked for her autograph, she said "Later okay? I'll come back." But I had to leave before Shanti came back for the victory ceremony so I didn't get hers too :( It's okay though because I saw them both up close and Shanti is really nice and pretty hehe
After the Basketball match I ran all the way from OCBC Area to the Aquatic Centre. It was a pretty big distance away and I was running with my hair flying all over my face in my white platform heels... Yeah it was quite dramatic hahaha.
Anyways, I got there just in time when they started playing the national anthems of Singapore and Thailand. I was sweaty all over though and it was pretty gross. Plus, the aquatic centre was not air-conditioned and I was bitten by mosquitoes :(
In my opinion, I felt like Water Polo is one of most physically draining sports. It's like a combination of Football and Swimming! The players have to stay afloat on the water and that means that their legs and arms must always be moving. If they stop, they will sink to the bottom of the pool!
Basically, all the Singapore atheletes placed either last or second last (I think Singapore is the weakest at Track) except for Zhang Guirong who won first for shot put and Shanti Pereira who won the women's 200m final! Unfortunately, I did not manage to get their autographs as Guirong was busy thanking her coach and Shanti was running around, waving the Singapore flag. When Shanti came over and I asked for her autograph, she said "Later okay? I'll come back." But I had to leave before Shanti came back for the victory ceremony so I didn't get hers too :( It's okay though because I saw them both up close and Shanti is really nice and pretty hehe
Badminton Prelimary Rounds
13th June
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Mixed Doubles, Men's singles
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Mixed Doubles, Men's singles
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| Getting ready |
Starting off was the doubles which were really interesting to watch and I loved the teamwork and chemistry between the players. It's like they knew each other's minds and always got each other's back covered.
Singapore's mixed doubles were having a hard time competing against Malaysia. Vanessa Neo was messing up quite a bit with a lot of faults and even though she managed to get back into her 'zone' at around the later half of the 2nd round, it was too late. The Malaysian Team were really strong but Vanessa and Danny put up a good fight.
On the contrary, the Derek Wong (I found out he is Vanessa's boyfriend) played really well during the men's doubles! His comebacks were really powerful and it was a very easy play for him. His spacial awareness was really good too as he could judge whenever the shuttlecock would be 'out' when his opponent retaliated.
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| Women's Singles |
It was very interesting to witness Loh Kean Yew competing against Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Min as after some quick online research I found out the it was Loh Kean Yew's first time competing in a SEA Games and Nguyen Tien Min is ranked 27th in the world! Loh Kean Yew's smashes were very powerful and he was very fast, probably because he is 18 and his opponent is 32 years old. However, it got a little shaky as he fell behind during the 2nd quarter. Luckily, in the 3rd quarter he pulled through the very close fight and won!
His reactions were so funny, he would pace in circles around the court more as the game processes, probably to release his nerves or calm himself down. Every time he scored a point, as if every point was a match point, and that really rallied the crowd. When he won, he was so happy he collapsed in joy onto the ground than got back up to jump and pump a fist into the air! Talk about fanservice and good photo opportunities hahahaha
Although we didn't get into the finals, well done Singapore!
15th June
OCBC Arena
Singapore vs Philippines
Women's Teams
Anyways, back to the game, it was a narrow fight at the start with each teams scoring consecutively. Singapore kept going for the three-pointers and whether it was based on skills or pure luck, they almost all seemed to go in! Eventually, Singapore had the lead. However, the Philippines Team and their supporters were relentless, they never gave up and kept pushing and pushing.
In the 3rd quarter, they reached a tie with Singapore! Even after a time-out called by the Sinagpore coach to get their head in the game, they couldn't prevent Philippines' sudden burst of strength that overcame them, took the lead in the last quarter and won.
Philippines played incredibly so it was well-deserved but their supporters were REALLY irritating... I mean it's perfectly alright to scream your head off at the games, everyone does that, but they were jumping on the metal bleachers and rocking it side by side. It was literally shaking! Then whenever they scored a goal, some of them would turn and face us (the Singaporean supporters sitting right next to them) and scream in our faces. Like hey, we didn't rub salt into your wound when we were leading, why are you doing that to us?
But what really saddened me was when the crowd (including myself) swarmed towards the Singapore basketballers, I could sense that they were sad and disappointed in themselves. Yet they put on a fake smile that didn't seem quite to reach their eyes, gratefully sign autographs and take selfies with us. But I hope our support made them feel better, encouraged and reassured them that we were thankful for their efforts. I made it a point to say "Thank you, you played really well today!" when they were signing on my Chocolate Pocky box hahahaha (I brought a marker but didn't bring paper, again)
OCBC Aquatic Centre
Singapore vs Thailand
Women's Teams
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| HE WON AFTER NEARLY AN HOUR |
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| As you can see I am totally unbiased by taking so many pictures of him |
His reactions were so funny, he would pace in circles around the court more as the game processes, probably to release his nerves or calm himself down. Every time he scored a point, as if every point was a match point, and that really rallied the crowd. When he won, he was so happy he collapsed in joy onto the ground than got back up to jump and pump a fist into the air! Talk about fanservice and good photo opportunities hahahaha
Although we didn't get into the finals, well done Singapore!
Basketball Match of 15
15th June
OCBC Arena
Singapore vs Philippines
Women's Teams
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| Team Singapore's warm ups |
4 TKGS girls and 3 AJC students signed up as supporters but many pulled a no show and there was a total of 3 supporters and the official cheerleaders from Positive Intentions. Guess who was alone again? Ugh :( Haha never mind la
Singapore was playing against Philippines and it was again, another fierce battle. 3/4 of the stadium were from Philippines and they were all cheering and screaming so feverishly! It's my guess but I think a group of Philippine domestic helpers took off day together to come support their Basketball team.
There was this lady who in particular stood out to me because from the start to the end she has never kept quiet for longer than 3 minutes in a row. She kept jumping up and down, shouting and frantically waving her homemade shaker in the air. Apparently she was funny as the Philippine supporters always laughed. So annoying...
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| It begins! |
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| They caught up in the 2nd quarter! |
Anyways, back to the game, it was a narrow fight at the start with each teams scoring consecutively. Singapore kept going for the three-pointers and whether it was based on skills or pure luck, they almost all seemed to go in! Eventually, Singapore had the lead. However, the Philippines Team and their supporters were relentless, they never gave up and kept pushing and pushing.
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| They overtook us in the 3rd quarter :( |
In the 3rd quarter, they reached a tie with Singapore! Even after a time-out called by the Sinagpore coach to get their head in the game, they couldn't prevent Philippines' sudden burst of strength that overcame them, took the lead in the last quarter and won.
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| Ah... my heart broke, basketball is a rough game... |
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| Singaporeans all cheered when she got up! |
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| "Please... Miss...Miss!" |
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| The fight for the ball is real |
Philippines played incredibly so it was well-deserved but their supporters were REALLY irritating... I mean it's perfectly alright to scream your head off at the games, everyone does that, but they were jumping on the metal bleachers and rocking it side by side. It was literally shaking! Then whenever they scored a goal, some of them would turn and face us (the Singaporean supporters sitting right next to them) and scream in our faces. Like hey, we didn't rub salt into your wound when we were leading, why are you doing that to us?
But what really saddened me was when the crowd (including myself) swarmed towards the Singapore basketballers, I could sense that they were sad and disappointed in themselves. Yet they put on a fake smile that didn't seem quite to reach their eyes, gratefully sign autographs and take selfies with us. But I hope our support made them feel better, encouraged and reassured them that we were thankful for their efforts. I made it a point to say "Thank you, you played really well today!" when they were signing on my Chocolate Pocky box hahahaha (I brought a marker but didn't bring paper, again)
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| The selfie that was too blurry for my Instagram lol |
Water Polo Finals
15th JuneOCBC Aquatic Centre
Singapore vs Thailand
Women's Teams
After the Basketball match I ran all the way from OCBC Area to the Aquatic Centre. It was a pretty big distance away and I was running with my hair flying all over my face in my white platform heels... Yeah it was quite dramatic hahaha.
Anyways, I got there just in time when they started playing the national anthems of Singapore and Thailand. I was sweaty all over though and it was pretty gross. Plus, the aquatic centre was not air-conditioned and I was bitten by mosquitoes :(
In my opinion, I felt like Water Polo is one of most physically draining sports. It's like a combination of Football and Swimming! The players have to stay afloat on the water and that means that their legs and arms must always be moving. If they stop, they will sink to the bottom of the pool!
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| Just before they went in |
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| Prep talk |
There were a lot of Thailand supporters and as always, they were enthusiastic with their shakers and flags. Singapore tried to cheer too but it wasn't loud enough, maybe because the audience were mostly adults.
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| All charging to the ball when the whistle is blown! |
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| One of my favourite shots! |
Thailand's defense was very strong as whenever a Singaporean had the ball, they would swarm around her, 2 or sometimes even 3 to 1! That made it harder for the ball to be passed around safely. I also felt that our Singapore players were a little hesitant to strike even when they could as they just kept throwing the ball back and forth in a triangle formation and then to the middle. However, the middle was always full of defenders so the ball would get snatched away. Maybe our players were a little intimidated as there was no clear route to shoot the ball into the goal. Both goalkeepers from Singapore and Thailand were really good and that posed as a challenge for both teams.
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| Shoot! |
The referees were actually above water at the sides of the pool and I thought that it wasn't completely fair because underwater they can all be kicking one another and just not make it obvious above water. There was also this photographer who had to keep going into the pool to retrieve the balls, so poor thing hahaha
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| Lost by 1 point :( |
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| Victory goes to Thailand |
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| Group hug, we know they did their best! |
When asked to say a few words, Thailand's team captain said: "We beat Singapore, in Singapore!" I was annoyed and said "What?! We go to Thailand, Bangkok for shopping! Your currency is lower than ours!" My friend and the shop vendor heard me and laughed hehe.
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And that concludes my extremely long blog post about my experience volunteering to cheer and spectate the SEA Games! All the photos were taken by me and I hope that the quality of the photos are good as I had to charge all my 3 batteries (6 hours of charging ugh) daily. After that I spent many hours of my days recalling and writing down the experience. I seriously thought I was going to go nuts choosing the best pictures out of the 661 pictures I took! (excluding the ones on my phone)
Just in case you were curious, I volunteered for a total of 24 hours and 30 minutes! This has been a fantastic experience :) Although it took me several MRT switchovers to get to Stadium MRT and most of time I was alone, I'll never regret this once-in-20-years opportunity!
Thank you if you have stayed with me till the end of this lengthy post and please leave any feedbacks you have down below, on my instagram, ask.fm or any of my social media sites! (You can stay anonymous if you want) Did you enjoy reading about my experience? How is the overall quality of my pictures and writing? Every single constructive feedback means the world to me :)
Oh, one more thing! I've recently hit 18 thousand page views and I'll like to thank everyone for your continuous support even though I only blog once in a blue moon. It's actually because I want every post to be perfect and up to standard :)
♥,
Jermaine x
