WhyOhGee

Hey guys, check this out….It’s a tv program that will be on every week. Looking forward to learn more about sports through this… I’ll update you guys soon if there’s anything interesting. By the way, the videos and photos for the Vision in action conference will be all up by Tuesday… sorry for the delay!

DOCUMENTARY on Arts Central
SPORT SCIENCE (WITH CHINESE SUBTITLES)
10PM – 11PM

They are the age-old questions of international athletics – What is the hardest thing to do in sports – hit a cricket ball… nail a bicycle kick into the corner of the goal? Or take a Formula One turn at 300 kph?

These are the endless debates and bar bets with our mates – can a rugby player really hit like a car crash? Can Beckham really “bend it”? Is it all in the training, or are some people just “born” better athletes? And which sport creates the fastest, the strongest and the fittest athletes of all? In an unprecedented gathering of athletes, scientists, motion-capture animators and high-definition technology, Sport Science will give you the answers by blowing the lid off of the mysteries of sport, debunking age-old myths and revealing that in the world of sports, boxing isn’t the only “sweet science”.

Nearly all of sport is a science… and it’s all been secret, or unknown, or impossible to measure. Until now. This is Sport Science – the ultimate exhibition of speed, power, endurance, technique and training.

(from the Arts Central website)

Youths in action

I went down today to Holy Innocents’ High School (HIHS) for a leadership workshop – Vision in Action. 100 student leaders from different Secondary schools gathered to learn and share about how they can start applying the Olympic values, Excellence Friendship and Respect (EFR), in their lives.

It was a Saturday morning, so I was naturally sleepy, haha, and not really fully energized at 8.30am. But the pleasant surprise that was in store for me was that this leadership workshop was fun, well organized and interesting.

The student leaders from HIHS were efficient, proactive and helpful. No, I am really not being patronizing. This was a huge plus point for me because they showed me how teenagers can truly be role models. Kudos to them for a well planned event.

What was meaningful about the workshop today was also the ACTION that the students decided upon.

1. They thought of a simple act of Excellence, Friendship or Respect that they can do

2. They started a Facebook group, the EFR community, which they will use to keep in touch and update one another about their EFR acts

Watch the blog for video clips and audio clips of students we spoke to at the workshop. 🙂

View the full flickr set (49 images)

Students at Holy Innocents’ High School made cutouts of the Olympic Sports.

Check it out.

Olympic Sports

With the Youth Olympic Village set to be in NIE/NTU in 2010, Jurong will become the next hotspot for Singaporeans.

Imagine seeing an influx of people from 205 different countries in the Jurong area… wow. Although I stay at the other end of Singapore, I wouldn’t mnd taking the train down to rub shoulders with athletes from other countries who might go to Jurong Point to shop or eat.

Actually, the Boon Lay interchange is already quite congested on normal weekdays. I have friend from NTU who said that the queue for bus 179 (which goes to NTU) can be quite long. Thankfully, solutions to such problems have already been thought of. Read below for updates from a news article:

“The management at Jurong Point is thinking of providing a free bus service between the Village and the shopping centre as well as a welcome pack that includes tenant discount vouchers, an orientation kit on the Jurong vicinity and a loyalty card to enable YOG participants to enjoy special privileges.”

“When asked if SBS Transit would add or adjust bus routes in Jurong during the YOG, corporation communications vice—president Tammy Tan said: “We’re working with the event organiser with regards to their transport needs.” ”

Click here to continue reading the article.

So Jurong may be the next area you might want to start hanging out at when the games draw near. You’ll be able to soak in the Youth Olympic Games atmosphere even without needing to enter the Youth Olympic Village.

Thankfully, Singapore has moved on quickly from the hooha about the table tennis reshuffling.

All in all, I feel that the Singapore sports scene has grown more mature after this matter. We brought home a silver medal, learnt that there is always room for improvement, and we are gearing up for bright future in sports. An established sports system will require time for adjustments and the table tennis association will need to further refine its working processes.

Here’s some updates from a news article:

“In a special media conference on Friday evening, it announced that team manager Antony Lee will continue for another three months, to finish up his Olympics reports. He will then move to the Singapore National Olympic Council in November.

The association will also have two separate head coaches, one each for the women’s and men’s teams.

President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association, Lee Bee Wah, apologised for causing grievances and stress. With that, the dust has settled over a week—long saga that mired Singapore’s silver medal win at the Olympic Games.”

Click here to continue reading the article.

The Wheelchair Basketball Teams will also be playing at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in September.

Paralympic athletes do not want to be pitied or viewed as charity cases. They are there to compete their hearts out like all the athletes we’ve seen at the Beijing Olympics 2008. They are athletes who have overcome even more barriers to get to where they are today.

You can catch the games at www.paralympicsport.tv/

For a list of competition schedule of other paralympic games, check it out here.

The United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) will be hosting the Great Britain and South African Paralympics Wheelchair Basketball Teams from 26 to 30 August (Saturday).

Programme of events
Game 1 – Tuesday, 26 August 2008, 7:30pm (open to public)
Game 2 – Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 12 noon
Game 3 – Thursday, 28 August 2008, 7:30pm (open to public)
Game 4 – Friday, 29 August 2008, 12 noon
Game 5 – Saturday, 30 August 2008, 10:00am (open to public)

The UWCSEA (Dover Campus) is located at
1207 Dover Road Singapore 139654

Map from streetDB.com

Public Bus Services
Dover MRT Station: 14, 74, 166
Buona Vista MRT Station: 74, 196
NUS/Redhill MRT Station: 33

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and the High Commissioner of Great Britain were two of the distinguished guests to grace the opening game earlier this evening.

Tonight’s game was especially memorable and meaningful for me because it was actually my first time watching a basketball match! And it happened to be a Paralympics match.

As I witnessed their determination to fight, I could not help but appluad and cheer them on after every basket. Nothing stopped these paralympic basketballers from pursuing their passion in sports and they taught me one thing: do not give up.

Everyone, go down and take a look if you are free on Thursday evening or Saturday morning! It is definitely worth your trip there. The Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Team is ranked 4th in the world, can you beat that?

A word of caution: The game series are not for the faint-hearted.

View the full flickr set (40 images)

We also met some students from Cedar Girls’ Secondary School at Raffles City who raved about their idols. Check it out.

Feng Tianwei’s fan

Li Jia Wei’s fan

For more pictures of the Victory Parade last evening, please view our flickr account.

Our Singapore paddlers Feng Tian Wei, Li Jia Wei and Wang Yue Gu, and swimmer Tao Li, touched down safely today and headed straight into the arms of hundreds of Singaporeans waiting to give them a warm welcome.

The Raffles City Shopping Centre arena was jam-packed with anxious fans, both young and old. Many were gettng into position to take better close-up shots of their favourite athletes. As you can imagine, there was hardly any breathing space.

Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan and Guest of Honour and Minister for Defence Mr. Teo Chee Hean, were also there to welcome and congratulate our golden athletes.

Homegrown singer JJ Lin and Project Superstar 2 finalists Tan Diya and Carrie Yeo showed off their vocal prowess on stage to keep the atmosphere lively while the crowd waited for our athletes to arrive.

But the crowd did not need any warming up at the sight of Tao Li who was one of the first to appear. It was a media frenzy and we had to tip toe just to catch a good look of the athletes.

Once ushered onstage, Tao Li and the table tennis ladies were visibly touched by the turnout. Jiawei thanked everyone for their support, “This medal belongs to all of us.” Tianwei expressed her utmost gratitude to her head coach, Liu Guodong, for their team’s achievement of a silver medal after 48 years. Tao Li gave her word to continue to train and do her very best and hoped that all of us would continue to give her our support.

The session ended on a high note and the athletes were ushered away for media interviews. Even after Amanda and I left, there were still hordes of young fans who were shouting their idols’ names and cheering for them.

It was truly a heartwarming day that saw Singaporeans standing up to applaud other Singaporeans for their achievements. Well done Team Singapore!