U11 FOBISIA Games in Thailand

On Wednesday 29th May, 23 students (5 Year 5’s and 18 Year 6’s) and 3 staff made their way to Baiyun Airport, excited and ready for the U11’s FOBISIA Games in Thailand. We arrived at Pattana Sports Resort and checked into the hotel. I would like to say we all had an early night ready for the first day of events… but the thrill of being away and the anticipation of the days ahead kept many of us awake longer than was wise.

Thursday started early, with a 6am breakfast. We then headed to the track for the opening ceremony and start of the games. Athletics was up first and BSG got off to ablistering start, winning the first 3 events, girls 800m. And the golds didn’t stop there! BSG dominated the track events, with almost every race resulting in podium finishes. There may not have been quite so many medals in the field events, but we did ourselves proud, especially as some events, including triple-jump and high-jump, were brand new events for our students.

Once the athletics were over, and after a well-deserved lunch, we headed to the pool for the swimming events. Again, BSG held their own and added a healthy number of medals to the pile. Every student competed in the swimming events, which for some students, who don’t usually compete in the pool, was a phenomenal personal achievement… and to be honest, that was the overall theme of our whole games.

The second day was the Tee Ball matches. Each school fielded two teams, playing 4 games each before the final games were announced. It was incredible watching our BSG students playing as one solid unit. Tight fielding and some tactical hitting saw both BSG teams reaching the finals. Our B team played valiantly and progressed to the bronze medal play off, where unfortunately were beaten by 2 runs and finished in 4th place. Our A team secured a place in the play off for gold or silver. The match was tense and the BSG parent supporters were loud, however, we were beaten by a very strong team… but only just. Finishing the day with a silver place trophy and a 4th place was a fitting result for our students amazing dedication and passion on the field, even though exhausted from the intense playing and brutal heat.

The final day of competition was Saturday’s football matches. With the threat of storms, the games were played in faster succession than originally planned. However, the rains never came and we had a glorious day of uninterrupted matches. Personally, I think the parent supporters scared away the storms with their never-ending bellowing cheers and verses of “Let‘s go Rhinos… Let’s go!”. The girls played first, winning their first match before moving over to cheer on the boys’ team. Both teams played 4 round-robin matches of two 12-minute halves. After the rounds, during lunch, some frantic calculations were being made for the boys’ team and we were delighted to discover they had made it to the bronze play off final. The girls, who were so far undefeated, coasted into the gold or silver final match.

I have to say, those 12-minute halves were the longest and tensest 12-minutes of the teachers and parents’ lives… made even more edgy by the extra time needed to be played in the boy’s match. BSG boys held their nerves and played an epic game to be victorious and win the bronze. The girls remained undefeated with a solid defence to win the gold. Even though exhausted beyond words, BSG finished the day, still the loudest and still the most energetic to compete in the final event of shuttle relays, where even more medals were won.

The whole experience was incredible, for all students, teachers, and parents. The organisation was smooth and the events competitive. But the most memorable part for me, as a teacher, was our students respect and sportsmanship. They were a credit to us, their parents, BSG and themselves. Every member of the BSG FOBISIA Team 2024 have made some life-long memories, returning to school with exciting tales and the desire to compete again next year.

The overall medal count was:

5 trophies (1 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze)

125 medals