1. COPA IBA (captain's ball under-23)on 14 July 2007 in Real Sports Arena, Klang. Having been in the church youth activites for quite some time, COPA IBA has been quite an 'in' thing in my circle of friends. This event is regarded as one of the highly rated sports event where churches in Klang Valley and nearby area sent in teams to compete in futsal and captain's ball. Of the two outings i have made in COPA IBA, I can proudly say i achieved nothing. The first time was back in my Form 3 where i have taken part in football and sure enough we are no match to the other teams in stature and skills. I have seen the bad side of COPA IBA where people did not uphold sportsmanship in the tournament. Some even go to the lengths of quarreling and often times the finals will be like a war where people just want to take down their opponent without thinking much. I never thought I would made it into captain's ball team since I am short and I am not considered as the perfect player for this game. Nevertheless, just to have a taste of this sports and we just have enough people to form the team, I went into the team. Having been an audience of captain's ball before this, I knew we stood a low chance of going far in this event(though I know this is demotivating, but then still cannot ignore the reality wert). Sure enough, we lost all our matches. We are no match to the oppenent's stature and speed. Well, nothing much to say, defeat and total defeat. Everyone accepted with result with a smile and life is still beautiful. But from this, I truly learnt how to be a loser for Christ and I never realised I can actually lose a game so happily. Thank God for allowing this defeat for me and i managed to win some friends through this game. I have learned that losers for Christ can be winners of soul.
2. Inter Church Games(captain's ball) on 22 August 2007 in YMCA, Ipoh. My home church, Elim Gospel Hall initiated this event since there has not been any of this kind of event organised before. I am blessed enough to have my semester break during this event and so I got a chance to compete again in Captain's ball. YEAH! In the morning when I first reached the venue, i was told I am supposed to be the 'super -sub' since they say they are lacking in futsal and captain's ball player. I didn't mind of course because I just wanted to play. Just half n hour before match starts, i was told again that I will be joining Elim Team B for the futsal team had had enough people in their team. I am jubilated because captain's ball is still my game and i suck in football. Out of curiosity, i asked one of my teammate who is the captain and manager. It was the shock of my life when i was told that I am both the manager and captain of the team. So i was like " OooKkkk.. So where should I start? What do i need to do?" Without much mental and physical preparation, I just got myself into the field. After a simple warm up and discussion on our strategy and position of players. Mind you, I just knew some of my players minutes before game and we are in. And so, we started our first game. Being the most 'experienced' player, I told my players to stay cool and do not waste off chances. Surprisingly, we cruised into finals without much sweat(except that youngster team who seem good and of course they lost too, lol.. not being boastful here).. In the finals, we are faced with Elim Team A, which consist school netball teams player and a few tall veterans who are very much taller of course and experienced in captain's ball. I knew we stood no chance to beat them but again to maintain the spirit, I just told my players to do their best. We managed to get one point in the game and we were overwhelmed with joy( guess you know how good the other team was). I thought to myself, losing a game afterall is not that terrible. We came out second in the tournament and everyone in my team enjoyed every single bit of time on the field. God taught me another lesson: losing a competition is not a lost, losing your testimony of love during your game of life is utter defeat.
2 Corinthians 5:20 - Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
3. INTI Open Ultimate Frisbee Tournament on 20 October 2007 in INTI UC, Nilai. After a short holiday with my foudation classmates in Port Dickson from 18-20 Oct(6.00am), I rushed back for the much anticipated tournament-Ultimate Frisbee. YEAH!!! As soon as i got back to my room(7.00am), without much hesitation, I went to shower and prepare myself for the big day( as in physically- filling my empty stomach with a packet of Dutch Lady Choco Milk & few pieces of oat biscuits) Mentally prepared ? Not at all. I just want to kick some butt in the field. Well, having been quite new in this sports, I have nothing much to be worried about. Just that when I see a group of 'mat rempit' stopping in front of our field. Just got to know that those bunch of mat rempit that looked like rugby players are students from UITM.. Whoa! I was wondering if they are here for the wrong game. Come on, it's frisbee we are playing here. Guess I should move on from my lengthy introduction. Ok, here we go 3 fields, 8 teams and 0 referee. After the opening ceremony, everyone who is in high spirit darted off to each field and the competition started. 7 players on 7 players on each field. Everyone played to their best. Each of our game was marked off by a loud cheer of our team name: WILD HAWKS!!!(not wild hogs). Things went on well and we marched on to the semi-finals, though still puzzled by the round which we lost terribly. And mind you, the team literally lost all their other matches to other teams. Well, let the sleeping dog lie. In the semi finals, things went on serious and quiet. We were facing a tough opponent, those 'mat rempit' I mentioned earlier, 'Dynasty Armada' they called themselves. They are definitely experienced players and we can see good coordination and positioning of each players. We were trailing until the half of the battle and we managed to narrow the gap of score after getting an effective strategy against them. But we were out of time before we knew it. Our journey to victory ended there. I was of course disappointed with the outcome, knowing that I have to accept this defeat eventually. Mr Captain, consoled us and told us that we still have another round to fight for first-runner-up. We are now facing the second team of 'mat rempit' ( Dynasty Armada B).And sure enough, we placed our best forwards
('C. Ronaldo' and 'Small Horse') and handlers. I told myself, at least we stood a chance to win a medal. The strategy that we used was successful against the opponent. We were having a healthy lead and me and another friend who were outside were so pumped up for the game. Thank God, we were called in to subsitute some players. When I dashed into the field, I was all fired up to score for my team. I was told I am the second runner. "Ok, Set" I thought to myself, "I am going to score this time round". The game continued and looking at a handler who are near in front of me, I signalled him and ran all out to an empty spot i saw in the scoring zone. He flew the frisbee swiftly right towards me and I scored that one point. I was overwhelmed with joy. That game ended with a memorable moment. Our team and the 'mat rempits' gathered in a circle and captains from each team gave their words. I can see friendship, warmth and unity in the players' eyes. On the count of three, we cheered "ULTIMATE" to the loudest. It was indeed a muhibbah time where three main races of Malaysia were in that circle cheering on for the Ultimate Sport. Result of the tournament was as follows: Flying Naan(champion), Dynasty Armada A(silver) & WILD HAWK!!!(bronze).
One most important thing I learnt from frisbee--- Spirit of the Game we call it. No referees were there to stop the game whenever a foul is commited or whenever a players tackle another player too agressively. Ultimate players can call for 'foul' and they are free to discuss about the foul called until consensus is reached. Not neglecting the safety of other player and upholding sportsmanship in the game-- that is exactly what I saw throughout the tournament. This is definitely the Ultimate sport.
I start to recollect my thoughts of the bad side of human in the sports arena. I still remember vividly the roughness and 'ferocity' of people whom I have played with. I can recall moments when hatred and anger were in the eyes of players to beat their opponent. There was a guy who stood outside a field and he shouted to the players on field, 'I will beat you up if you all don't start running'. A friend of mine said, "I will never ever come back to this tournament again". Is that good testimony of God's people? Are we playing a game of friendship and sportsmanship? Will God be approved of our way when we let our ugly side take over? Most important of all, are we true image of Christ? Or can i say, are we mirroring the evil one in our life. I am sure some of you can identify with me these scenes of disgrace, when the old nature of man controls their mind again. Take heed my siblings in Christ, let us not spoil God's perfect love story.
"I try to find common ground with everyone so that I might bring them to Christ. I do all this to spread the Good News, and in doing so I enjoy its blessings"
1 Cor. 9:22-23
Do we truly act according to the above Scripture? This blog was not written to offend anyone but served to remind us of our responsibilities and testimony that we bear for Christ.
All for Christ's sake. Amen.
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