U15 FOBISIA Games

Athletics

The Athletics event in the U15 FOBISIA this year took place in the morning of the first day. The brand new track at the Patana Sports Center looked fantastic and all our athletes were incredibly excited to compete. The standard of competition was high and as expected the BSKL students had to face some tough challenges. We started with the hardest event on the schedule - the 1500 meters run for boys and girls. Although we didn’t win medals in this event, we scored some valuable points towards our team score and that set the tone for the rest of the team. Highlights of the competition were the sprint events as well as the Javelin throw where we not only won gold medals in all four categories, but Sasha set 2 new FOBISIA records, one in her Javelin throw and 1 in her discus throw. An incredible performance from our BSKL athletes and a well deserved 2nd place overall and what a start of the U15 FOBISIA Games! All coaches were very proud of everyone who competed and really excited about the competition ahead.

Mrs Wright

Swimming

After an exciting morning of Athletics, the students had lunch and a brief rest back at their accommodation before the start of the second event of the FOBISIA competition - the Swimming. Once again, the level of competition was high and our swimmers had to dig deep especially after many of them had already competed in the Athletics. The competition started with the Medley relays and we saw some strong performances from the BSKL swimmers. On with the individual events later in the afternoon, we had many podium places and some solid swimming from everyone. Once again, the team spirit was high and swimmers, coaches and parents supported every single swimmer in the pool! The atmosphere was fantastic and we finished the day with strong freestyle relays. BSKL finished in 2nd place overall and only 6 points separated us from the winning school - The British School of Manila. Another fantastic achievement for our swimmers and a real testament to the strong swimming program at BSKL!

Mrs Wright

Girls Football

A hot, windy day awaited us as we began a difficult day of six games of Football! The girls came up against a very experienced British School of Manila team and suffered a loss. Not the start we wanted, but they regrouped and came back stronger! We won our second game against NLCS Jeju and our third against Dulwich College, Beijing! Our fourth, extremely pivotal game against Dover Court School, was a challenge. Although we went 1-0 up, Dover Court fought back and secured the win (2-1). This really shifted the results with 3 schools playing for the Bronze medal. The girls were exhausted and struggled to find their rhythm in their final two games. We finished the tournament in 5th position (just one more win would’ve secured us a medal!) However this result does not reflect their outstanding fight, spirit, resilience and determination!

Ms Beacroft

Boys Basketball

As the sun rose on the penultimate day of competition, weary eyes awoke to the fresh, cool morning of the Thai ‘Winter’. Thoughts of the success of the previous day boosted the morale of the U15 Boys Basketball team, helping to quell any fleeting moments of doubt. 

After consuming a healthy amount of toast and cereal, the heroes of this story marched confidently to the basketball courts, where they were met with surprisingly strong winds. Describing them as ‘gale-force’ may be a bit of an exaggeration but it was definitely strong enough to dispel any notion we might have had of shooting from distance. A close-quarters game it was to be, then. 

Our first game against a very competent Dover Court team proved to be a welcome challenge but would also set the scene for most of the day, as winds caused us to miss many ‘easy’ shots but, despite the lack of baskets, we held on to the lead to win 9-8. Things, however, were about to change…

Our second game against an excellent Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) was also very close but saw much of the same flaws for BSKL. Missed opportunities meant that we were constantly playing catch-up and, despite a last-gasp effort that brought us within one basket of a potential victory, a series of very late mistakes cost us and we went on to lose 12-19. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, as the old saying goes. 

We were determined to make up for that loss and took our frustrations out on an unsuspecting North London Collegiate School (NLCS), winning the game 17 - 9 despite still suffering from heavy winds on the court. Then we faced the ‘big dogs’. British School Manila. This was an excellent team who were well-rounded and well-drilled. We put up a good fight, but we missed too many chances and they were clinical in their finishing. The final score, which did not reflect the run of game-play, was 27-6. A very heavy loss for us. 

Next up, a local ‘derby’ between us and the ‘Auld Enemy’, Garden International School. I don’t know what happened in this game. Nerves? Over-arousal? Disappointment and fatigue from the previous game? Who knows. All I know is that we started strong, taking an early lead, but then made mistake after mistake; missed shot after shot. And it cost us. Heavily. GIS went on to win 29 - 17. On another day, that result could easily have been reversed but not this day, unfortunately.

One thing I like immensely about our boys is that they are always able to reset themselves and refocus, despite some desperate circumstances and, like every inspirational sports movie ever made, we gathered around each other, listened to a magnificently inspiring speech (I may be the only one who believes this actually happened but it falls to me to tell this story and so a bit of artistic license must surely be forgiven, no?) and proceeded into the final ‘act’. And, boy, did we not disappoint. At the start of the day, a worried voice in the squad, who shall remain nameless, whispered to the group that Discovery Bay were the best team in the tournament. At the tip-off, we knew that if we were to have any chance of us winning a trophy, we had to go out and put on a show. We had to win this game by ‘mercy rule’ - going 20 points up, giving the opposition no chance to fight back. Unlike the rest of the day, every shot we made was the correct one and we missed very few of our chances. Every player played in this final game and all performed admirably. Before the 3rd quarter had started, we had already beaten DBIS 24 - 4. They were definitely not the force we thought they were. 

Now it was all down to the last game. One which we had no control over. GIS vs NLCS. We needed NLCS to beat GIS to be guaranteed 3rd place. Any other result meant that we would have a 3-way tie for 3rd place and then a cascading system of scenarios would be implemented to decide upon who was given the 3rd spot. Sadly for us, GIS won their last game, which meant that we had to look at head-to-head performances of the 3 teams involved in the tie. We had beaten DCIS, they had beat GIS, and GIS had beaten us, so we could not be separated there. The last point of the cascade looked at points for and against. This is where our missed opportunities earlier in the day had cost us. GIS had a better point difference than us and were awarded the 3rd place trophy, with us finishing a close 4th. Our boys did us all proud, as did the traveling contingent of parents who, as always, were a wonderfully positive influence throughout the tournament. I, for one, can’t wait for next year. 

Mr Lowe

Girls Basketball

This year's FOBISIA Games introduced a new format, featuring a Round Robin schedule where all teams competed against each other, a strategic move to heighten the level of challenge. Notably, Girl's Basketball served as the grand finale for the three days of sporting intensity, with visibly fatigued players giving their all on the court. Despite a promising start, our team narrowly succumbed to the energetic Dover Court School. Though we regrouped, our efforts fell short against the well-disciplined Dulwich College, Beijing. A turnaround came in our next game against a team previously defeated by DWB, resulting in a "Mercy Rule" due to a substantial point gap, boosting our confidence. The most formidable challenge awaited us against the undefeated British School of Manila, but our resilience prevailed. Subsequently, facing our KL rivals, Garden International, revealed the toll of fatigue. Nevertheless, heading into the final game with optimism, we fought relentlessly, securing a one-point victory and claiming the impressive 4th spot out of the seven exceptionally strong and evenly matched teams. Kudos to our remarkable Girl's Basketball team!

Mr O’Connor

Boys Football

Excited, tired and hungry are some of the words I would use to describe the emotions the boys were feeling. On the final day of the tournament, after they faced a physically challenging first 2 days, the boys looked eagerly at the mountain of matches they had to face! Our first step? The British School of Manila. The match was hard fought with a lot of early chances going just wide and the wind did not do us any favours! With a rough first start, losing in our opening game, the boys had a stark wake up! With a new ferocity, we set out to get as many wins in the next games as possible, winning against North London Collegiate School, Jeju and Dulwich College, Beijing; But the peak of the mountain was still in the distance! Our next opponents were Gardens International School and Dover Court International School, Singapore. In the heat of the afternoon, with energies sapped and cramps starting to occur, the lads fought hard but came out short by 1 or 2 goals in both games! Head’s were down and morale was low, but we knew that we had a chance to finish on the podium! All we had to do was to “Mercy rule” Discovery Bay International School, Hong Kong. The boys were fired up! Relentless attacking and very solid defending gave us the platform to succeed. We took it by steps, 1 goal first, then 2, 3, and with 3 minutes left in the game, the boys scored a wonderful cross in goal to seal the 5-0 win. Sadly, the school that came 3rd won with a convincing scoreline and we came 4th on goal difference. Looking back at it now, I can’t help but feel so proud of the boys that represented BSKL in the Fobisia games! Each and every one of them put they’re 100% into it and although the results did not reflect our performance, the future is looking to be very bright for the boys! 

Mr Low