Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Two weeks on and the cheeks are still "rosy" and the skins are still peeling......

On a blazing hot Sat the team set out on the execution of our first money making initiative, the Soccer Fiesta....Short delays such as waking up late and forgetting the necessary key did little to hamper the enthusiasm harboured by ALL the members on the team. After all, this event was to kickoff the fundraising efforts that ensured we could sustain ourselves on the trip.

After the initial team registrations for the morning session of play, we were finally ready to blow the first whistle of the day. Thanks to the punctuality of all the teams we were able to kick off by 0910. Fortunately, everything ran smoothly and we were able to stick to the schedule for the rest of the morning. Just after noon, the second session was ready to be played. We had not met our initial target of 32 participating teams but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Due to walkovers of games scheduled for the 3 missing teams, we were able to stay ahead of schedule and were even able to afford giving players longer breaks between K.O. games to regroup and prepare themselves for the next tough round.

30 games later, rotatingly refereed by the 3 referees for the day, it came time for the finals. The youngsters of Maju United were to take on last minute tournament entries, The Underdogs. It was an exciting final with both teams repeatedly threatening to break the deadlock and bagging the title of Champions. However, the game was not to be decided in regulation time. Missed chances and excellent keeping by both sides resulted in the Champions having to be decided by a penalty shoot out. Eventually, The Underdogs came out victors and very graciously donated their winnings back to our library building cause. Thank You very much Team Underdogs, your assistance is greatly appreciated.

I am very thankful to the whole Laos team for enabling the tournament to be a success. Thank You Alvin and the log team for ensuring that everything was accounted for. Thank you drink sales and t-shirt sales teams for your hard-selling and actually carrying the drinks around in order to rake in more sales. Thanks Edwin for keeping track of the scores coz, frankly, I lost track after the first round :). Thanks Jun Kiat and Jasmine for carrying out the registration of the teams. And also for ensuring that all teams were ready for their next games. Thank You Weiling for being the announcer for the whole day. Thanks Honcheng and Phylissia for assisting in soccer ball recovery. Thanks referees Kannan and Dennis for officiating the games.

Last but not least, thank you EVERYONE for enduring the blazing heat throughout the day. Rosy cheeks and peeling skin is a short term acknowledgement of the effort everyone has put in. As the burnt skin peels away, remember that its replaced by new healthy skin.