De-stress Before Summer Athletic Council End-Year Events

Boey Jun Xin (S3M), Gavin Wong (S2M) and Ethan Long (S2L)

In the AY19/20 school year, the Athletic Council organised a variety of different events for the school community. These events were inter-house volleyball, signup netball, inter-house dodgeball, Christmas events which included grade games, celebrations and santa-sleigh. The Athletic Council also organised inter-house sport quizzes, AC Fitness Challenges and finally, the End of Year event (EOY).

The End of Year event was held in the last week of school, shortly after the end of school exams and returning of scripts, so as to allow students to relax. The event consisted of Grade games, Celebration games as well as Bubble Football, which were all planned so that students could have fun and de-stress after the tiring exam week. Every grade in the Athletic Council was tasked with designing their own activity for the rest of their grade, with the interests of their cohort in mind, as well as their physical wellbeing. Examples of these are the S1’s party games and the S3’s scavenger hunt. For the Celebration games, the entire council agreed on 2 games-  Red Light Green Light Tic-Tac-Toe, which put a fun spin on Tic-Tac-Toe, and Musical Chairs, the classic party game. We also held our signature Bubble Football event, which had to be altered slightly in accordance with the Education Bureau’s COVID-19 guidelines, such as sanitizing the bubbles with alcohol spray after every game.

Of course, behind every event were weeks of planning, and this one was no different! Planning the AC EOY event was a rewarding and novel experience, as most of the planning was done remotely through Zoom. During the process, we first had to brainstorm ideas and different components for the event. As ideas floated around, we had to consider various elements such as venues of the activities, engagement and interest of the cohort and the materials and preparation needed to bring forward the activities. In addition, the number of AC members per grade was taken into account as well as smooth transitions between the different activities. The planning process was tedious but it paid off as our thorough planning translated into a smooth set-up and preparation of the event. 

Perhaps the most rewarding part of the entire event was seeing how it played out. Our event went pretty smoothly, with AC members eager to help each other and a cooperative student community. It was especially rewarding to see students enjoying themselves as they actively participated in the various activities and working together to conquer challenges. 

Despite the implementation of health and safety guidelines, which proved to be slightly challenging, the entire planning process and event proved to be memorable. Given the unique circumstances, we had to begin planning using online platforms to conduct meetings, and had to alter our activities to adhere to the Education Bereau’s guidelines for social distancing. These were all, albeit challenging, memorable moments which made our event special. 

It was great to see our months of planning paid off.

You can never expect something to go fully according to plan, and it is the minor setbacks which put our improvisation skills to the test, and allow us to develop as leaders. While most of the events went smoothly, there were several instances where we had to improvise on the spot to overcome challenges. Communication was one of the biggest challenges that we had to overcome while planning and organizing the event. Due to the recent outbreak of Covid-19 and school closure, we could not have face-to-face meetings to discuss and prepare for the EOY event. Thus, we had to adapt and think of new ways to communicate with one another. The solution was Zoom. We set a designated date and time to “meet” with all council members for the discussion. Another major challenge that we had to overcome was the need for social distancing. Some of the ideas that we had planned were prohibited by the school as these activities were considered contact games and students would be too close to one another. Thus, we had to think fast and modify the activities to meet the new Covid-19 measures. We also had to create new activities that abide by the safety rules. In addition, we had to include EDB guidelines to all our activities for safety purposes.

Overall, however, this event was a complete success and we learnt so much throughout the experience. One of the takeaways from this event is unexpected things often crop up during execution. Thus, we must always be prepared to improvise on the spot and solve problems promptly to ensure events run smoothly. Another key takeaway is the importance of teamwork. As we work closely in a group to carry out these activities, we must trust each other for the success of the event. 

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who participated in the event, and for your continuous support and engagement throughout the past year! We are excited to bring you even more fun, exciting, and enjoyable activities in the upcoming AY2021! See you then!