(My only pictures from Feskott. Top most pic- with Li ying(Olahragawati). Centre- Getting some prize during the Sports Day. Bottom- Winning the 4x400m)Festival Sukan Kolej Teknologi Timur(FESKOTT). It has been slightly more than a month since Feskott and I thought I might as well put it in my blog as it has got to be one of the highlights in KTT every year.( I'm writing this so that I can look back at this event when I'm old and can no longer run)
Basically Feskott is just like any school sports day except that there are more events like football, volleyball etc. During my schooling years, Sports Day was always one of the days that I eagerly wait for. There was plenty of motivation to excell in sports during my time in school ie. getting JPA, marks for KOKO. Now that I'm already in KTT, Sports Day had no real significance for me.
At the start of Feskott, I only wanted to participate in badminton and Larian Mesra( it is a very much shorter version of my school's cross country). The event that I wanted to win most was badminton because I've never entered a doubles competition before this and I really wanted to win it with Selvan.
So, Selvan and me breezed through the Yellow house selection (seriously , our house badminton team sucked) but only when we were selected did we know that badminton was a team event. There goes all the hope of winning the event. Nevertheless, me and Selvan still participated (semangat kesukanan rite? dont wanna let down ur house) and made it as a personal challenge to win all our matches. We won all of games but as expected, our teammates let us down. WE DIDN'T EVEN WIN A BRONZE MEDAL.
I mentioned earlier that the events that I only wanted to participate in was Larian Mesra and badminton. Somehow, Rahim managed to persuade me to join football and after some indecision, I entered Olahraga as well. Football has always been my favourite past time ever since 1996 but since coming to KTT, I hardly kick a ball. My team managed to win a gold medal in football and I felt that I really didn't contribute much to my team's success. Lack of match practice I suppose.haha. My first ever gold medal in football. I've played in many finals during primary and secondary school but everytime I fall short of winning it. So, it was my 1st ever win in a football final. Perhaps a good omen for Athletics and Larian Mesra.
The Feskott was held for a 1 week period ( 16-21 march). The track events were on the last day and so was Larian Mesra. Larian Mesra was an event that I trained for at least 2 weeks prior to Feskott. I ran about 4km everyday and that itself was an achievement since i never liked training in school. Running to the Stadium was really fun and a great challenge actually thanks to my training partners : Christine(the fastest girl in KTT), Shawn and Selvan.
So, on the 21st of March, I had to first run 4km for the Larian Mesra (started about 8.20am) and then take part of other events like 800m, 4x400m and 4x100m. I didn't want to take my favourite event because it would be just too tiring considering the fact that i ran 4km in the morning. Before the start of the 1st event, I couldn't help but think if it was a mistake to take part in the cross country as it could jeopardize my chances in the other events later that day. I remember the time when i was in form 5, I took part in 5 events and lost 200m because of fatigue. The only difference from then and now is that I am very much fitter now than I was then. The running to the Stadium must have surely have helped.
So there I was in the starting line of the Larian Mesra. It was the most pathetic start to a cross country that I've ever participated in.Usually there is a gun/ loud horn, but this time it was only a whistle. I didn't even hear the lecturer saying 'On your marks, Set...' So, I started about 0.5seconds slower than the rest. My strategy that day was just to follow the pacesetter and kill them off at the end. However, about 1/4th of the race( the uphill part of the race) , the pacesetters started to slow down to walking pace. Honestly Shawn, you could have beaten them with your spirit. I grabbed the chance to take over the lead(though it was not as planned). I kept glancing back after that to see if anyone was creeping up behind me. I saw nobody. So I just ran at a respectable pace , arrived at the stadium. At the stadium, it was just as pathetic as the start. The whole place was deserted apart from a few organisers and some of the girls that just completed the race. I was honestly hoping for a much better atmosphere in the Stadium but what can you expect from KTT. The finishing line was even worse. There were 2 people holding pieces of paper and pens , writing down the names of the winners. Maybe I am spoiled by the grand nature of my school's cross country and sports day but this must be a joke. Normally, at the very least there will be a tape across the finishing line with students cheering on the runners. Yes, I know I should be thankful that I won the race ( I am) but KTT should improve all these tiny things.
I rested a while untill my next event which was the 800m. Just before the race, I prayed that I would have the energy to finish the race strongly. Thank God! I managed to win it and the confidence and self believe was there in me. For the girls category, it was interesting to watch the battle of the 2 Titans ie Christine and Li ying. Both of them were a class above the other girls in the track events that day. I have to make a confession here.I was not actually supporting my Yellow house AKA Stingerz . I was just basically supporting my friends on that day. It didn't matter to me if my house lost or won. So yea, I was cheering on Susu, Ashwin, Christine, Liying and other people I knew. It is always great to share the joy with your friends. I always believe that it is better if many people succeed together than you alone being successful. I also appreciated the fact that Shawn come early in the morning( albeit to drive joey's car) and stayed in the Stadium until my events were over.
Next event in the morning was the last event for the morning session. 4x400m. I've always enjoyed this event more than any other track events. (partly due to the fact that i've never lost this event-I've been blessed with great teammates over the years) I was the 4th runner and by the time I received the baton, I was well clear of the 2nd placed team. All I had to do was to maintain the lead. So, for the 2nd time during Feskott I won an event because of the help of my teammates.( the first was football) I loved it when I ran the last 100m, finally some cheering and a sportsday-like feel to Feskott.
After my event, I went back to college, showered and rested a while before my final event, 4x100m, an event which I have never had much luck with over the years. The wait was just so energy sapping. The lecturers forced students to CRAM into the small tents in the centre of the field. It was ridiculously hot and I got a headache from just sitting there. We had to wait for ages for the VIPs to arrive. (it seems to be a KTT tradition that the VIPs arrive late at every function)
The closing ceremony was agonisingly long. DANCE after DANCE after DANCE...zzzz. Then there was a march past, formation etc. Then more dancing, speeches and dancing again. Almost not like a sporting event anymore. Finally after an extremely LONG closing ceremony, the final events started. I was quite dissapointed as it seemed that KTT had got the whole Sports Day thing wrong. Too many dances.Its like deviating from the main idea of the whole feskott. (Sorry to all the dancers, no hard feelings, the dancing was good but KTT...pls lah...Sports Day means focus more on Sporting events lah)
So, yea I went on to win the 4x100m with the help of my teammates again and was crowned the Olahragawan title. Something that I've only ever won in primary school. It was a good achievement but to me, its just a one-day thing. The next day, its back to class and people will forget all about FESKOTT.
Lastly, I would like to thank all you people for supporting me during the FESKOTT..Shawn and Selvan for supporting me. Dhana for helping me with my bags in the morning eventhough you were busy with your deco work.( Thank God I have really great housemates) Liying for your encouraging text msgs during the super long closing ceremony.=) n Christine..thanx 4 teman-ing me 2 d stadium..haha
