Third Edition Of ICE Meet Sees International Guests

By Y.P. SIVAM
sivam@thestar.com.my
Photo by S.S. KANESAN

Over to you: Ping Loong (centre) handing over the sponsorship to Marina.

THREE foreign teams will add international flavour to the third edition of the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) International Combined Events (ICE) championship at the National Sports Council (NSC) Training Centre in Bukit Jalil on Nov 24-25.

The three teams are Meribyronng from Melbourne, Australia, Uborn Secondary School from Thailand and Singapore Sports School.

The local schools, taking part in the championship for two age groups — 13 and 14 — are SMK Tun Hussein Onn. SM Tabuan Jaya, SMK Seri Sentosa, Tengku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) Gambang Sports School and BJSS.

BJSS principal Datuk Marina Chin said the championship was an important event in the calendar of activities.

“It started on a modest scale and has become an exciting affair with the active participation from foreign schools.

“The meet is special as it is a platform for our athletes from Form One and Form Two to compete against their counterparts from other schools as well as foreign participants,’’ said Marina after receiving sponsorship support from Nestle Products sports marketing manager Ng Ping Loong.

The tournament is unique as each team will have 16 participants — eight boys and eight girls. Four from each gender will be in each of the age groups.

The 13-year-old athletes will take part in pentathlon — 80m hurdles, long jump, 800m, shot put and high jump — while the 14-year-old students in hexathlon — 100m, 100m hurdles, 800m, long jump, high jump and shot putt — and the team with the highest number of gold medals will be declared as the overall champions.

To add fun to the meet, there will be a medley relay event but the results will not be taken into account in the decision of the overall champions.

Marina said the championship would also be a platform for the coaches to gauge their athletes’ progress.

“Athletes in these two age groups don’t get the chance to take part in competitions. So we had initiated this programme for them. We are pleased as our students who had taken part in the previous two events have progressed to represent their respective states in national age group competitions,’’ added Marina.

Ping Loong said the programme prepared the athletes for other age group competitions.

“The programme will benefit athletes preparing for next year’s Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) championship.

“They will gain confidence competing against their foreign counterparts. We hope to see the athletes give their best,’’ said Ping Loong.