WRITTEN BY

BIS HCMC

24 March, 2023

U13 FOBISIA Games 2023

Our U13 sports team show incredible sportsmanship in the first FOBISIA games in Thailand since 2019

Our U13 sports squad took part in the first FOBISIA Games in 4 years, from Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th March at the world-class Pattana Sports Complex, near Pattaya in Thailand. Our team of 28 students aged 11-13 competed against 6 other schools from the FOBISIA network, in swimming, athletics, basketball and football, in what is one of the most competitive International Sports Tournaments in Asia. The passion, commitment, perseverance and resilience of each and every one of our students was outstanding let alone the incredible care and support they gave each other and the true sportsmanship they displayed throughout the entire games.

U13 FOBISIA Games 2023 - U13 FOBISIA Games 2023

Excitement was in the air early morning on Wednesday 15th March as 28 students from year 7 and year 8 met at school all packed raring to travel to Bangkok to represent BIS HCMC in the FOBISIA Games 2023. These students, our U13 sports squad took part in the first FOBISIA Games in 4 years, from Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th March at the world-class Pattana Sports Complex, near Pattaya in Thailand. Over 3 consecutive days our students, aged 11-13, competed against 6 other schools from the FOBISIA network, in swimming, athletics, basketball and football, in what is one of the most competitive International Sports Tournaments in Asia. The passion, commitment, perseverance and resilience of each and every one of our students was outstanding let alone the incredible care and support they gave each other and the true sportsmanship they displayed throughout the entire games.

Our U13 team since being selected for the FOBISIA squad back in November have spent several hours every week training, either in the pool, on the field and on the pitch. 6:15am starts, 5pm finishes, with a full day of school in between, really tested their perseverance. And persevere they did. The entire team showed true determination and commitment to all of their training over the past few months. This outstanding attitude, energy and spirit they all took with them to Thailand!

This was indeed a tough tournament with an incredible high standard of competition. Medals galore were won, podium places gained, personal bests were beaten and school records broken! But along with these successes and the many highs, were also many lows over the 3 days of tough competition. The highs they celebrated, not only individually, but as a team, and the lows only made them stronger, more determined and ready to take on every challenge they faced. Not once did they let their heads drop and they all performed to the best of their abilities throughout.

U13 FOBISIA Games 2023 - U13 FOBISIA Games 2023

The experience and memories gained from this will last a lifetime and yet again displays teamwork, dedication and perseverance.

Here is the action as it happened reported by our Head of Secondary PE, Mr Ali Thom:

Day 1

The students were asleep early after a long and tiring day at the pool and stadium. All students were a credit to themselves and the school today, as they gave their all and cheered each other on no matter how many events each team member was allocated. A special mention to our 200m IM and 100m Butterfly swimmers and 1500m runners, who did themselves proud in the toughest events of the day. Final mention to Jisung Lee, who has now high jumped higher, and triple jumped further than any U13 student in BIS HCMC's 25 year history.

U13 FOBISIA Games 2023 - U13 FOBISIA Games 2023

We experienced great success with a lot of medals and PB's gained in the pool and in the field events, but there was some learning as well as we found the track events tough. The students were still in great spirit and have really enjoyed the experience of their first real track and field meet since COVID or in some cases ever. They also responded fantastically to the challenge of being in the most competitive group at FOBISIA this year, and I'm sure they will continue to do so during the ups and downs of tomorrows Football and Basketball tournaments.

Martha and Insung, Swim Team Captains shared:

As we entered the pool for the opening ceremony, there was an uproar of cheers and excitement whilst walking around the perimeter of the arena. Coaches including Miss Sophie, Mr Thom, Mr O'Brien , Miss Mason and Miss Bingham were cheering with great enthusiasm and courage. As we completed our races, and the last event of the relay, our spirits were high. In total we won 2 golds 3 silvers and 10 bronze amazing job BIS.

Amanda and Jisung, Athletics Team Captains wrote:

The BIS team tried everything they could and had lots of fun. Even when we all had a lot of fun, we learned many new things such as: communication, perseverance, and respect to other schools. Overall, we had an extremely fun time doing athletics as a team. In the athletics Bis got lots of medals on the field. The track events were tough but we grew from the experience.

Day 2

The girls showed huge amounts of courage, grit and determination, to improve as the day went on. The general consensus from all schools in the teachers meeting at the end of today was that was the highest standard and most competitive U13 girls football tournament many had seen at a U13 FOBISIA games. There were tears of joy as Amanda grabbed our first goal, and all of the girls should be very proud of their spirit and skill to keep going and improving with each game. The coaching staff at eventual winners Alice Smith singled out our girls as their toughest opponents and admitted they had them worried in the final game.

The boys grabbed an incredible bronze medal in an equally high standard and competitive basketball tournament. Going into the final round of matches any one of four teams could still have taken gold. This was backed up at dinner and in the games room this evening where all teams showed the great respect they had gained for one another whilst mixing and talking about their duals on the court today. The eventual top 3 teams all traded wins against each other, with our boys beating eventual champions St Andrews, playing the best basketball I've seen from a U13 BIS team. They should all be ecstatic with their achievement.

Ana, Girls Football Captain shared:

This morning, all 13 girls woke up with high ambitions and hopes for the six upcoming matches later in the day. We started off by eating breakfast, and then travelled by bus to the football fields, where we started to warm up and get equipped. At 8 o’clock, we started our first match. Throughout the day, everyone was working hard to move up and down the pitch. Every match, new challenges were thrown at us. Even though we did not always win, we certainly put in all of our effort. At the end of the day, I think that every single one of us should be proud of themselves, as they played well during each match, providing pressure towards our opponents, and we definitely did not let BIS down. To finally finish the day off, we all put our worries aside and jumped into the pool, leaving us soaking!

Khanh, Boys Football Captain wrote:

In todays basketball games, BIS did an amazing job in getting 3rd overall! Everyone played their hearts out, we won all of the games except for 2, we lost one game and tied one game. Even though we weren’t first we still did a very good job in placing 3rd, everyone had a playing time and BIS should be very proud!

We played against many great schools such as: KLASS, TES, STAB, HISP, KSHK, Dulwich College. There were many physical moments, challenges and some setbacks but BIS still bounced back and we’re proud to be on the podium.

Day 3

A tough day for both of our teams today, both were highly competitive and had chances in a lot of games, but legs were tired and the baskets and goals didn't drop our way on this occasion. Despite this all of team BIS kept up the attributes they have displayed all week. Passion, commitment, resilience and determination. It has been a pleasure to lead this trip with this group of students. For most, this will have been their first overseas school trip, let alone their first time at one of the most competitive International School Sports Tournaments in Asia. Aside from their sporting ability, they have all been friendly, polite, respectful and cheerful young people. They should all be very proud of everything they have achieved since making the squad in November. I really hope they have enjoyed the experience of competing at such a high level in such fantastic facilities and will tell you all about it on their return.

Elizabeth, Girls Basketball Captain wrote:

Saturday morning all the girls woke up ready to have an intense, fierce day of exertion. The moment we got onto that court we started warming up with ambition in our heads....The whole day was a surreal experience and overall, so was the entire trip. So even though we only ended up winning the one game, we were so proud of ourselves for trying our hardest throughout the entire day.

Ethan, Boys Football Captain commented:

Today was the last day of the FOBISIA tournament and there were many close games from BIS. A lot of the time, BIS had created a lot of opportunities and were just unlucky to concede goals. BIS ending up placing last but due to the effort everybody put in, we should still be able to hold our heads high and should be proud to say we faced strong teams.

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