What: Basketball Bridging Activity
When: 1 June 2014
Where: CCAB
Participants: Adeline Tan, Amirul, Bi Hui, Cheng Yee, Jia Hui, Jiamin, Jia Qi, Kexin, Phyllis, Sandra, Shu Pei, Xing Xian, Xinyi, Yanling, Ying Mei, Yun Teng
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Sandra, Participant:
It’s my first time attending bridging and it was a really fun experience.
Before the event started, I was feeling excited and nervous. As I was making my way down to the meeting venue, my nervousness intensity compounded as the negative thoughts started to sink in. I was afraid that I couldn’t mingle well with the participants, afraid that things would be awkward, afraid that my basketball skills would implicate the team’s performance etc.. However, after the game, I realised that all these worrying thoughts were redundant.
During the game, everyone was participating actively but at the same time, looking out for one another. There was loads of laughter as we braved through the sun and sweat together. It amazes me at how a simple basketball game could turn us from strangers into friends and I’m thankful for the new friendships I forged during this activity.
Heartfelt thanks to the organizers who took the time and effort to organize this activity which serves as a platform for fans to interact and gather together. Thank you to all participants who made this event memorable for me in one way or another. Overall, I had a fun day out and would be looking forward to more bridging activities to come!
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Vanessa, Participant:
At last, there’s a Basketball activity that suits my schedule.. Being a Basketball player, I was surely anticipating the sport that I’m most familiar with. :)
When we finally gathered together, we split into our groups and started playing, even before our 3+1. Sure feels good to play again! As we balled, I realised that there were some good players as well, which pumped up the excitement during each match.
After a short break and (finally) our 3+1 intro, we came up with this rule that we have to shout out the name of our team member whom we want to pass the ball to. It really brought the game to a whole new level since we have to remember and shout out their names and to watch out for our opponents within that fraction of time. But this rule was good in the sense that we had to recognise and know our teammates, allowing us to get closer to one another.
Towards the end of the session, a ball accidentally rebounded onto my face, causing my nose to bleed. Though it was sort of a norm for me, people were repeatedly asking if I’m alright and asking if I needed tissue, it’s nice to see their caring side even though we just met. Good to say, my nose turned out alright (I hope) since it stopped bleeding.
I’m sure we had a good time playing and running about on court, giving everyone a chance to work out and have fun with one another.
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Yun Teng, Participant:
The June holidays kicked off with a great start – 1st June and this would be my first ever bridging activity. Truthfully, I had mixed emotions for this. I was nervous yet somewhat excited to be able to meet so many rangels at once and the thought of getting to meet new people did frighten me a little. But we all start as strangers, don’t we? ;)
It was good of course, that there were people I knew who were there too. A few of us actually met at the L’Oreal Paris event earlier this year (15th March) and signed up for the bridging activity together. At first when we arrived at the station, it was kind of awkward and we were just standing there using our phones after a bit of self introduction. I expected there to be more people, but having a small group made it easier to communicate and there was more interaction between the participants. Yet, when we set off to CCAB, we began to talk even more and opened up a little. During the game itself, everyone was chatting away at ease and we had to do a 3 + 1 introduction, which meant giving 3 facts about yourself along with your name. KeXin and I were trying to memorise the names and we ended up getting called on to introduce everyone again, going around in a circle. It was actually pretty funny when we messed up and it helped us remember better too!
When we had breaks in the middle of the game, we would substitute members in and out and would sit down in the shade and just talk. We also bought drinks from the uncle who was walking around with his carton of chilled beverages and ended up finishing about 2 to 3 cans each. It was so much fun playing and getting to know each other through sports. It really helped with teamwork too! Making sure that we were spaced out properly so that there was space for the person holding the ball to pass it; ensuring that there was another member from your team catching the rebound, otherwise we would have lost an opportunity to shoot again. It was a friendly game filled with laughter and I enjoyed every moment of it. Of course, there were incidents that occurred throughout this activity and I accidentally injured one of my team members as I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. (Sorry, Vanessa!)
By the end of the day, most of us were sweating as we walked back to the nearest MRT station. We chatted along the way and there was no hint of awkwardness, as compared to when we first met. Some of us even stayed for dinner at a McDonald’s outlet nearby and met some others who were at the bridging activity there too! This activity has allowed me to forge new friendships and it is definitely something I would be extremely interested to take part in again! :D A big thank you to the organizers and everyone who was there for making this such an amazing and unforgettable experience :)
