Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Last night's article made GIFC headline again!

Thank you to all parties, esp voxsports!

For your viewing pleasure: 

http://gifc.org.sg/featured/eagles-wings-clipped-despite-perseverance



Eagles' Wings Clipped Despite Perseverance

By Janet Chia
(original submission to voxsports)


The quarter-final second leg of RHB Singapore Cup between Home United FC and Geylang International FC kicked off on 29th July, 8pm in Bishan stadium. Protectors entered the second leg with two goals lead over Eagles from the first leg. Both teams fought hard for the last of four tickets into the semi-final.

The match was off to an exciting start with early challenge at the 1st minute as freekick was awarded to Eagles after Protectors' 2-on-1 aggressive pressure brought Stefan Milojevic down. The freekick taken by Jozef Kaplan went loose and headed straight to the wall.

Despite several attempts at goal by both teams, Protectors went closest to scoring at the 7th minute as Masrezwan Masturi fired a shot which was nicely blocked by Nori Kawakami. Subsequently, Jozef's attempt at goal was denied prematurely by Noh Rahman as he cleared the ball off the right of box.

13 minutes into the match, Indra Sahdan tried to head the ball down the centre, however was cleared off skilfully by the Eagles. Firdaus Idros then headed the stray ball immediately to Ismail Yunos who deflected it into the goal, successfully scoring the opening goal of the night.

Protectors' pressing game placed good pressure as they dominated Eagles' half of pitch. Short passes were played and denied Eagles of the ball. Eagles defended well and in a breakthrough, Stefan Milojevic met the ball by Duncan Elias and fired the ball right past Shahril Jantan, scoring the equaliser at 34th minute.

However, the score was brought up to 2-1 just one minute later as Firdaus' shot finds the back of net after Masrezwan passed the ball in from the right flank.

Eagles was awarded a penalty at the 43rd minute after Milojevic was tripped in a scramble by Noh and Ismail in the right corner of the box. However, Jozef's spot kick to the right was saved as it rebounded off Shahril's glove.

Half time score stood at 2-1.

Extending the lead for Protectors, Indra played the ball from Masrezwan and converted it into a goal, bringing the score up to 3-1 at 49th minute.

Eagles looked set to close up the gap when Khairulnizam Jumahat's cross was met by Wahyudi Wahid's header. However, Shahril extended his right hand up in reflex and denied Eagles of the attempt.

The second half saw Eagles pushed hard in their defense. At the 62nd minute, Protectors' Jordan Webb played in from the left flank and attempted a shot at goal which sent the ball over the bar. Webb chose power over accuracy after Eagles' relentless pressure.
Eagles put in their second goal at the 70th minute as Jozef fired the shot in close range after breaking down Protectors' tight defense which cleared off Eagles' two attempts at goal just moments before.

Closest to scoring again was Protectors' Song Ui Young when his header hit the crossbar at the 74th minute. Eagles persevered to put up strong defense and denied further goals from Protectors.

With 3 minutes added time, full time score stood at 3-2.

The conclusion of the two legs at quarter-final saw Protectors booking a spot at the semi-final with an aggregate score of 5-2.

Despite going down by one goal to Protectors in the match, Eagles' coach Kanan was proud of his players and credited them for 'not giving up till the end'. With the early exit, Kanan expressed that Eagles will then continue to concentrate on S-league matches.


Saturday, July 27, 2013

7 minutes of fame on KBS!

Apologies for lack of posts recently. Been busy at work.

Anyway, I had a really good laugh today as I saw my competition video for the first time, albeit a little too late. As it goes... I participated in the World Taekwondo Hanmadang Championship in 2009. That's a whooping four years ago, and had my 7 minutes of fame on KBS on 13 August 2009 (something I never knew)! The commentaries is so daebak even though I have no idea what they're saying. I always felt commentaries is like a privilege only for pro soccer match telecast!

We came in 6th position overall, not too bad as there are some not so perfect executions. The younger me really cracks me up, and unexpectedly there were quite a bit of my solo shots. I've never been photographed/videographed much during my taekwondo times. Thus this video really made my week! =)

Enjoy your weekends everyone! Do good, be nice.


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Disadvantaged Eagles enters second leg without Yasir

By Janet Chia
(original submission to voxsports)

The first leg of RHB Singapore Cup’s quarter-finals between Geylang International FC and Home United FC kicked off on 23rd July at 8pm in Bedok Stadium.

After a two match ban, Jozef Kaplan made his return to the pitch and paired up with Stefan Milojevic to pave the way for Eagles. Both teams went on full aggression right from the start of game, however, first half saw Protectors with higher ball possession and Eagles putting in more effort to defend. 

The  first attempt at goal came from Protectors at the 5th minute which was narrowly caught by Takuma Ito.  

While Protectors played a pressing game, Yasir Hanapi managed to threaten Protector’s goalkeeper, Shahril Jantan , with a volley that narrowly missed the goal and dipped over the bar at the 29th minute.

With just one minute left on the clock to half time, Protectors gave no chance at all to the home team as Ismail yunos delivered a cross which hit the bar, sending the rebound to Jordon Webb. This caused a scramble in the box and Hafiz Rahim quickly closed in and scored the opening goal of the match.

With one minute added time, the first half concluded with Protectors leading with 0-1.

The second half saw Protectors did well with their strategy of playing pressing game. The short passes gave no chance for Eagles on the ball for long.

At the 56th minute, Protector’s coach decided to substitute Lee Kwan Woo for Masrezwan Masturi, and looked set to extend the lead with a fresh player on pitch. Protectors managed to widen their lead to 2-0 when Firdaus Idros connected with Masrezwan’s cross and sent the ball straight into the net at 59th minute.

While the Eagles played hard in the second half, however, Yasir was sent off after receiving his second yellow card at 75th minute.

Protectors held on to their lead and the score stood at 0-2 at full time. Eagles will thus enter the second leg with  2 goals down.  With Fabian Kwok and Delwinder Singh out of action coupled with Yasir’s two match ban, Eagles’ coach Kanan expressed the difficulties of  training his players within the five days from next match against Protectors, however he believed that there is still a real chance for them in the second leg.

The second leg of this match will be held on 29th July, 8pm at Bishan stadium.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

[Pesta Sukan Tennis 2013] Anwar bids goodbye to competitive tennis after losing game to Julian

By Janet Chia
(original submission to voxsports)

The evening of 16th July saw the Veteran’s Men’s Singles 45 years and above match in action at Kallang Tennis Centre. The match between Salam Anwar (in orange) and Julian Theng (in white) took place in court 4.

The Pesta Sukan Veteran’s Men’s Singles 45 years and above title was clinched by Anwar last year. The 51 year old tennis coach had played tennis since 10 year old and won the Pesta Sukan twice in his competitive career. However, he revealed plan to step down after this tournament. He was up against 45 year old Julian Theng, an eye surgeon by profession, who had qualified for the Veteran’s category for the first time.

The duo was off to a slow start in their first set with long exchanges, until the first point was awarded to Julian when Anwar’s drop shot failed to cross the net.  Anwar then stepped up the game with more powerful forehand returns which sent Julian scrambling around the court. The second point went to Anwar again as he managed a successful chip and charge.

However, Julian turned the table around as his backspin overwhelmed Anwar who returned several outs.  Julian’s skillful play saw him push forth and take the lead.

As the game progressed, Anwar became noticeably tired against the energetic Julian. At one point , Anwar had sat down on the floor briefly before his service. In an attempt to change his strategy, Anwar added more power to his first service, however they were power over accuracy and saw Anwar committing double fault when he missed out again in the second service.  

Julian then capitalized on Anwar’s energy drain by forcing error out of him in long exchanges. The long exchanges saw Anwar losing more points as he returned more outs while missing some. Julian sealed the match with a lob as the ball went out of reach of Anwar while landing in play.  

The game concluded in 6-1, 6-0, to Julian.

Despite losing the match, Anwar complimented Julian on his skillful play and hoped that “super fit” Julian will take on as “his successor” to win this year’s Pesta Sukan.  

  

Thursday, July 11, 2013

My first published article!

It's on!! 

My latest article on Eagles vs Cheetahs made it onto GIFC's official site :)

http://gifc.org.sg/featured/controversial-call-sees-jozef-off-in-eagles-triumphant-run-against-cheetahs

Thank you voxsports for opportunities!

Controversial call sees Jozef off in Eagles' triumphant run against Cheetahs

By Janet Chia
(original submission to voxsports)


The game between Hougang United FC and Geylang International FC which took place at Hougang Stadium on 10th July saw the two teams ranking 10th and 9th on the league table respectively aiming to claim the full three points in order to move up the table.

Right into the game, host Cheetahs went on attack which forced Eagles’ first mistake committed in the 4th minute by goalkeeper Takuma Ito. Ito’s poor clearance saw the ball going straight to Mamadou Diallo just outside the box. However, Diallo failed to put in the opening goal.

The 5th minute saw Hougang’s first attempt at goal as Jerome Baker on the left flank passed to Diallo who executed a low cross at goal, only to be stopped by Geylang’s defender Norihiro Kawakami. In the next minute, it was another poor attempt at goal by Basit Hamid which went wide, causing no threat to Ito.

Cheetahs had good possession of the ball at its home ground and almost breaking Eagles’ goal at 14th minute as Diallo’s shot from right was almost met by Jerome Baker right in front of the goal, however was stopped by Ito.

As both teams struggled to put in the match opener, the 35th minute saw a breakthrough, almost. Khairulnizam Jumahat’s freekick from edge of box was deflected by fellow Eagles and scrapped past the post. The 39th minute saw another attempt by the Eagles as Kawakami met Jalal’s corner kick with a header, but went wide of goal.

With added time of 1 minute, half time score was 0-0. It was an even game with both teams’ strikers failing to find back of the net.

The second half’s first goal attempt was made in the 46th minute by the Cheetahs as Diallo advanced the ball into the box and it was cleared to Azhar Sairudin, whose attempt at goal was saved by Ito.

Not to be outdone, Eagles captain Jozef Kaplan spearheaded a counter attack in the 68th minute and headed the ball right to Taufiq Ghani in another failed attempt to score as intervened by Syaqir Sulaiman.

The breakthrough soon came for the Eagles in the 73rd minute as danger man, Jozef Kaplan raced down the pitch after collecting a loose pass and squared it off to Yasir Hanapi. With all to do, the winger calmly slotted the ball past Syaqir Sulaiman, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

A much debated red card was shown to Jozef Kaplan in the 88th minute after he was adjudged to have lunged in dangerously on Diallo. This sending off means that the Eagles’ captain will now miss the next two matches.

At full time, the score remained at 1-0 to Eagles and the win maintained their recent run of good form with only one loss so far since the league’s halfway mark to Home United FC.

In the after match interview with Geylang’s coach, Mr Kanan Vedhamuthu was happy with his team’s performance. Even though captain Jozef Kaplan will be out for two games, he believed that his team will step up in performance to cope with Jozef’s absence. In conclusion, the Eagles are looking forward to their next game against Brunei DPMM, and he also stressed that “it is the end that matters, not the process”, referring to the three points they bagged.

With the three points bagged, Geylang successfully rose up 2 positions to 7th in the league table while Hougang’s standing remains unchanged.

 

Eagles warming up pre-match
 

Post match interview with Mr Kanan


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Special features


Sunday Times special feature in Knowledge Quest 24/02/13




Brightsparks magazine feature in Higher Education 2013: http://mag.brightsparks.com.sg/brightsparks/2013highered#pg51

[illustrations] Never stop dreaming

Almost one year into my first job now, I almost forgot why I embarked on this journey of communications in college. Seeing all the media job postings online which advertised for fresh grads in all disciplines. I wondered what have I gotten into. An industry that is opened to all?

It wasn't really until I sat down and reflect. I've lost sight of my dream; that explains the disparity. To get a job and to do it well is altogether a different thing. So, I took matters into my own hands and started to look out for opportunities to do writing. For my dream job in journalism.

Thank you all for being here with me.

Don't stop dreaming. Start believing and take little steps.


Notice how there's no full stop? There's no full stop

Monday, July 8, 2013

Where Passion Unites Them: Union Men's Veteran Champion NTWU A

By Janet Chia
(original submission to ntuc usports and voxsports)

Mr Subra (left 1) with his team from NTWU A, before quarter-final match

Amongst the sea of participants for the 7 a side soccer at U Games 13/14, there is a group of men who easily stood out. Donned in their team colours of purple and red, they were not exactly the most prominent or colourful team of the day. However, what made them easily noticeable is their jovial outlook. The group of men were full of laughter at the grandstand while waiting for their turn to play.

In an exclusive interview with the Men's Veteran team from National Transport Workers' Union, more qualities were unveiled in the process.

Led by captain Mr Subra, 46, the team of 10 men who are all above 40 years old, are bus captains by profession. While most of them serve different districts, meaning that most of them do not work together, however their passion for soccer have brought and kept them together these years.

They regularly meet up for soccer trainings on their own within their districts, despite their busy and irregular work schedule. Members who resides across the causeway will have their own training in Johor Bahru, while Mr Subra and other will mostly train in Ang Mo Kio where they play under the wings of Ang Mo Kio Rangers as recreation. It is only during competition period that they come together as a whole to play. The team also plays regularly in the internal games organised by the National Transport Workers' Union.

 Regular participants of the U Games 7 a side, NTWU A has also been regular podium finisher.

"So many medals, I also don't know how many times I've joined", commented Mr Subra.

The team's hard work had seen them emerge runner up in Group A which qualified them into the semi-finals. After a 2-0 win against DBSSU, the men booked a spot in the finals with UWEEI, where the game concluded in 0-0.  Unwavered by their experience and determination to win, NTWU A managed to  produce a 0-2 penalty shoot out to take the title.

When asked of what kept the team going all these years, Mr Subra replied that "we love soccer, we also love our teammates".

Congratulations, NTWU A!


Finals: NTWU A managing a great save!


Semi-final: NTWU A vs DBSSU
 





Finals: UWEEI missing out on the goal
Finals: NTWU A vs UWEEI
Union Men's Veteran Champion!

U Games 13/14 Launch, a great gathering for all union members!

By Janet Chia
(original submission to ntuc usports and voxsports)


U Games 13/14 Launch
The U Games 13/14 launch originally slated for 23th June was forced to postpone to 7th July due to the unprecedented serious haze situation in Singapore. However, the postponement of date has not affected the event which is into its fifth year now. The launch of U Games 13/14 officially opened by Mr Zainudin Nordin, President of Football Association Singapore and MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, welcomed a big turnout from different union communities for the mixed netball and 7 a side soccer.


The U Games brought together members of various workers' unions and served as a great meeting point for all union members as they compete against each other in a round robin method for both the mixed netball and 7 a side soccer.

Following immediately of the launch was a special arrangement soccer match opener. The first 7 a side soccer match of the day was an exhibition match played between the NTUC all stars team and ex-national soccer players team. The special 10 minutes segment concluded with a 0-0 draw as both teams put on the best display of skills and techniques, and proceeded into the penalty shootout. The head to head contest failed to determine the winner and the match had to go into sudden death. NTUC all stars team sent their best goalkeeper which managed two crucial saves in the game earlier, while the ex-national players was represented by their dominant forward. After the whistle sounded, NTUC all stars goalkeeper took a left feign step before diving to his right, and managed to meet the ball. It was a great save that saw NTUC all stars team walking out as the winner.

The mixed netball was a straight forward affair and was first to conclude in the day due to lesser amount of teams in competition. There were 6 teams in attendance. The finals saw teams from Singapore Teachers' Union and Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore trying to gain the upper hand with fierce attacks and defending. The nail biting race ended up with a very close scoreline of 7:6, seeing STU lifting the champion's trophy.

On the other hand, the soccer 7 a side event was attended by 31 teams from 18 different unions in 2 categories, the Union Men's Open and the Union Men's Veteran. The men battled their way with various display of strategies, skills and teamwork in the 7 minutes games.

SSEU player tripped by SMMWU A
One of the highlight of the day is the preliminary round match between Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers' Union Team A and Singapore Shell Employees Union in the Men's Union Open category. The aggressive tackle by SMMWU A saw the referee pointing to the box for penalty, and SSEU managed to convert it into their opening goal. Down by a point and with about four minutes left on the clock, SMMWU decided to up the game by going on full attack. The effort saw SMMWU A breaking down SSEU's defence and scored 2 goals in the succession of 2 minutes. The players from Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers' Union thus moved into the quarter-finals with a score of 2-1.

The Union Men's Open cup was eventually lifted by defending champion, Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers' Union Team B, with National Transport Workers' Union Team A narrowly missing out on the cup. The 3rd and 4th placing playoff saw Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers' Union Team B winning against the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries with score of 4:3.

The Union Men's Open Plate category which is the repechage bracket of the event saw Singapore Shell Employees Union emerging champion over Amalgamated Union of Public Employees' Team A with score of 2:1. Team B from Singapore Industrial & Services Employees' Union was in third place after a walkover as the team from Air Transport Executive Staff Union failed to show up.

The Union Men's Veteran finals was won by National Transport Workers' Union Team A against United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries, with draw of 0-0 at full time, and 2-0 at the penalty shoot out. The team from Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers took third after winning Development Bank of Singapore Staff Union's team with 1:0.

Union Men's Veteran champion - NTWU A
Union Men's Veteran runner-up - UWEEI
Union Men's Veteran 3rd runner-up - DBSSU
Union Men's Veteran 2nd runner-up - AUPDRW
Union Men's Veteran - NTWU A vs UWEEI penalty shootout
Union Men's Open Finals - SMMWU A
Union Men's Veteran - NTWU A vs UWEEI penalty shootout
Union Men's Veteran - NTWU A vs DBSSU
Union Men's Open champion - SMMWU A
Union Men's Veteran - NTWU A

Union Men's Open Finals - NTWU A
Union Men's Open Plate Finals - AUPE vs SSEU

Friday, July 5, 2013

[S League] Protectors stand firm against Eagles in late comeback

By Janet Chia
(original submission to ntuc usports and voxsports)


Protectors warming up at ease with home ground advantage
The kick-off between Home United and Geylang International on 4th July 2013 at 7:30pm in Bishan stadium saw home team, current 4th placed Protectors into their 16th game, and Away team, current 9th placed Eagles into their 15th game in the league.

The Protectors displayed dominant play right from the start, pressurising their guests with an early attempt at goal just 4 minutes into the game. However, Kwon Da Kyung's header proved to be of no threat as it heads straight at Geylang's goalkeeper Takuma Ito.

The match's first substitution was called on by the Eagles as Fabian Kwok went down with injury, and was substituted by Shotara Ihata at the 18th minute mark. Just one minute after the substitution, Ito was once again challenged as the Protectors misses their second attempt at goal with Lee Kwan Woo sending a 35-yard freekick over the bar.

The Eagles then turned the table around when they came close to scoring at the 20th minute. Geylang's Yasir Hanapi attempt to convert Jalal's cross was terminated as Protectors' goalkeeper Shahril Jantan puts up a great save. The Eagles then rode on the momentum and delivered a second attempt at goal by Shotaro Ihata at the 21st minute, which was skillfully saved again by Shahril.

In a late challenge by Sirina Camara, the night's first yellow card was issued to the Protectors' defender. In the 33rd minute, Khayrulhayat Jumat was also booked with the team's first yellow of the night as he concedes a freekick on the right edge of the area.

The freekick taken by Camara was deflected by the wall and the Eagles took the opportunity to soar as Yasir advanced with the ball and created space for captain Jozef Kaplan to score the opening goal at 34th minute. With two minutes of time added on, the first half saw Geylang taking the lead at 0-1.

With concurrent game going on between 3rd placed Tanjong Pagar and 10th placed Hougang at Queenstown stadium, which saw Tanjong Pagar taking the lead with 1-0 at half time, a Protectors' win in this game is crucial in order to keep in contention for the league's top spot.

At half time, Protectors' Hafiz Rahim was substituted by Indra Sahdan as the home team powers up for better play at second half. Eight minutes into the second half, Indra misses the chance for an equaliser after a loose ball drops to him in the box as his powerful shot lacked accuracy.

Geylang took an attempt at goal as Wahyudi Wahid hits a long one from 25 yards at 58th minute.

At the 61st minute, Ismail Yunos was awarded the yellow card for an apparent dive against Eagles in the box which seemed controversial. Atmosphere heats up for Protectors' coach Lee Lim Saeng as frustration is shown on the home team's touchline. 65 minutes into the game, the team still struggled to put in their equaliser goal as Lee Kwan Woo swings in a freekick which saw Camara losing the header, and the goal attempt was eventually stopped as the ball bounces off Ito's left leg.

The golden opportunity came for the Protectors at the 75th minute as Song Ui Yong got tripped in the box and was awarded a penalty. Lee took no chance at it and fired a perfect low shot into Ito's right corner, scoring the equaliser.

More substitutions were called on after the equaliser as both teams leverage their attempt to put in their winning goal. Protectors called captain Noh Rahman off the pitch to be replaced by Syahiran Mizwan, and Eagles replaced Yasir with Andrew Tan.

The winning goal came at the 79th minute as unmarked Kwon met Camara's header and headed a looping ball over Ito, right into the goal post, bring the score up for the Protectors at 2-1.

At 80th minute, Kaplan was booked for bundling over a player.

The last ten minutes of the game saw the Protectors standing firm on home ground, going defensive to hold onto their points to secure the win.

However, the Eagles kept their drive and attempted another goal at the 87th minute as Andrew Tan's cross was met by Norihiro Kawakami's header. Unfortunately the ball was headed against the post.

An additional four minutes were added to the clock at the end of second half with the Protectors leading at 2-1. Just one minute before the final whistle was blown, Kaplan made a fine header which was saved by Shahril.

The final score stood at 2-1 as Protectors stepped up on the game in the second half, with Lee and Kwon scoring the two goals within three minutes in succession after Eagles led the first half with an opening goal by captain Kaplan.

In the after match interview, Geylang International's coach, Kanan Vedhamuthu commended the excellent display by his entire team whom he thought were fearless against the Protectors who have much more experienced players. In the games to follow, coach Kanan commented that they had fought hard with good teamwork, just that the results failed to show against the Protectors, and “we can only get better”.

Home United and Geylang International's position in the league table remains unchanged after conclusion of this game.






Eagles warming up

 
 Eagles captain Jozef Kaplan closing in


  
Hafiz passing to Camara

Thursday, July 4, 2013

[illustrations] A new beginning...

Noticed that a lot of colleagues have cock figurines on their desks to seemingly ward off backstabbers, aligning with Feng Shui. Thus, facing all the cocks at work *pun intended* I decided to draw a cock with my new Wacom Bamboo Pen! =)


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Exclusive: Softball Mania 2013 - How the slow pitch event attracts more participants

Back in my JC days, I took a softball module for physical education. I still remember how i miscued once and had the softball landed on my mouth. I'll have you know for sure that the word 'soft' doesn't applies in this situation. I ended with a swollen upper lip at the conclusion of my first softball lesson. Even though I did learn well in the module, but it was more of the game theory and basics. Thus being able to cover the Softball Mania 2013 was really an eye-opener for me. The first time seeing a softball home run. Jaw drops.

Anyway, I find it very interesting on how the game's rules and regulations have modified over the years to what it is today, to encourage safe competition for all. Unlike your usually softball games which are fast pitch games, this slow pitch rule is truly worthy of mention.

Like its name suggests, slow pitch obviously refers to the lowered speed of pitching, but definitely not the competitiveness of the game. In slow pitch, the pitcher lobs the ball upwards making it easier for the batter. The lobed trajectory not only slows the pitch down and allows for clearer viewing by batter, but also improves the safety of game. Together with the prohibition of bunting and stealing of bases, injury risks are reduced, as well as the amount of equipment needed as compared to fast pitch games. Thus making it more appealing to the mass.

The dynamics of slow pitch softball has made it easier to penetrate downwards to less advanced, younger players too. It has made its way into educational institutions ranging from secondary to tertiary schools, including local universities, which sees the involvement of hall players. The Softball Mania 2013 has successfully attracted university teams like SMU and other hall players.

With 25 members on a team and 3 girls on the pitch compulsory ruling, it is another opportunity to foster teamwork and friendship as the team works together closely in rotations to clinch the games.

Another rule tweaked is that each game was limited to a maximum of 7 innings or 60 minutes duration, whichever is earlier, and each inning is limited to 7 runs. This gives a fair chance for all players to have a chance to play unlike the usual rules whereby the stronger team will likely dominant the game till the end and the weaker team have no chance to play. This is particularly encouraging for amateur and recreational players, or even players who are new to the game!

All in all, with the solid structure in place to encourage mass participation, I am sure this event will grow from strength to strength into their fifth edition and beyond.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Softball Mania 2013: Hawks successfully lifts title

By Janet Chia
(original submission to ntuc usports and voxsports)



Into its fourth edition, the annual Softball Mania jointly organised by NTUC Usports and Singapore Recreational Club, was held over two weekends at the Padang. The grand finals held on 30th June between Hawks and Avengers resulted in Hawks lifting the cup. The plate and bowl title was lifted by LZB and HLJS respectively.

The slow pitch mixed event has succeeded in encouraging mass participation that incorporates different levels of softball players, ranging from recreational players to fast pitch players. The prohibition of bunting and stealing of base had also  made the game safer for all.

Even with these rules in place, the competitiveness of the game is not compromised as each inning is limited to a maximum of 7 runs, and a maximum of 7 innings or 60 minutes game duration whichever is earlier, giving everyone an equal chance to play.

The grand finals playoff between strong contenders Hawks and Avengers saw Hawks leading throughout the game with a strong display of skills and techniques. The first inning saw Avengers' #19 hitting a strong bat which subsequently turned to Hawks' advantage as it gave them the opportunity to out an Avengers' member at the third base.

Eventhough the Avengers were lagging behind in points, however, they displayed exemplary sportsmanship and put up stellar attempts to catch up. With strong pitches by Avengers' #9, Hawks' #8 batter was forced out of game. In the next inning, Avengers managed to hit two spectacular, consecutive home runs by #23 and #16.

The exciting grand finals ended with 5-15 to Hawks, while the 3rd and 4th placing playoff between Nexus and Headhunters ended with 13-10 to Nexus.

Another highlight of the day is the plate title's finals playoff between LZB and UNO.

LZB, whose acronym stands for ‘Lao Zhar Bor’, meaning 'old ladies' in the Hokkien dialect is a team comprising mainly of ex-fast pitch players, had proved their unwavered strength against UNO. At one point, LZB was down by 7 points to UNO with the score standing at 0-7. However, the amazing comeback by LZB saw them winning the game with a score of 10-7.


Though there were some controversial calls by umpires in some of the games, sportsmanship were aptly displayed in respecting the umpires’ decisions. The event ended in good spirits with all teams cheering for each other.


Jubilated LZB after clinching plate title


UNO member contesting umpire's call
Bat perfect by Avengers member