Lee Jiin Woei (right) accompanied the UNMC team to the 4th annual Tri Campus Games.
A global event
60 athletes, 4 staff members, 18 different nationalities: that was the makeup of the Malaysia Campus entourage for the 4th annual Tri Campus Games, held at the UK Campus from 23rd to 28th June 2012.
The Tri Campus Games (TCG) is an annual sporting event where student athletes from the UK, China and Malaysia campuses gather to compete in various sporting activities such as football, tennis, volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, badminton and more. The games started in 2009 and are hosted at a different campus each year.
This year, the line-up included not only the usual opening ceremony and sports events, but cultural excursions as well. As the TCG were happening just before the London Olympics, we saw the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Nottingham and even pass through part of campus.
The table tennis team visited an academy that the University part-sponsors; there were trips to London for sightseeing and to Oxfordshire for a traditional boat race called the Henley Royal Regatta. Students also visited Nottingham’s Wollaton Park, which was featured in the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.
Staffing the games
I felt honoured when the TCG Director, Nigel Mayglothling, chose me to be one of four staff members for the Malaysia Campus. My main duty was to ensure the welfare of our athletes on a 24 hour basis.
Aside from helping to ensure a smooth running of the scheduled activities, I dealt with last minute travel adversities, tended to the ill and injured, handled a range of queries from “I’ve lost my passport, what should I do” to “Can I go to Manchester by myself”, was a last-minute substitute for the mixed volleyball team when a player got injured, ferried students around London, socialised with Tri Campus staff in the Stewards’ Enclosure at the Henley Regatta dressed in the traditional dress code. At times I got to bed at 2am for a 7:30am start the next day.
It was, literally, all systems go from the moment we left Semenyih and due to complications with our flights, we arrived in Nottingham 10 hours late. After a day’s rest, we arrived at the University Park Campus for the opening ceremony.
When all the athletes gathered in front of the stage, it was immediately apparent that Malaysia stood out as the most multicultural Nottingham Campus. Our nationalities spanned the distance from UK to Malaysia. After the flag bearers read the TCG oaths, the games began. The camera crew used their slow motion and remote controlled flying aerial view cameras to film the sports, conduct interviews and make daily video updates.
If I was not on duty, I was cheering at the side lines. I am very proud to say that our athletes gave their all. Our spirit of camaraderie was phenomenal; we were cheering at every point scored, giving consolation for points lost, and encouraging players to perform better, harder and faster.
“Ooh… ah ah, MAALAYYSIA!” was our signature chant. Our students did some form of celebratory synchronised group falling, hopped onto a high balcony and leaned out as far as they could to encourage more cheering from the ones below (which worried me), and the cameras caught one of our girls getting so excited that she was jumping around making swirly motions with her volleyball!
There was also plenty of time for a few cheeky antics. The UK team has been the undefeated champions at the tug-of-war, for obvious body size reasons. During the tug-of-war UK vs. China, a few cheeky Malaysians sneaked in from behind to help China! Due to the sheer numbers of Team Asia, Team UK was pulled over the centre line for the very first time. However, the “win” was considered void as it was against the rules. But, you know, united we stand…
Proud of our achievements
How did we do? Well, the overall scores were the same as previous TCGs. The UK came first, Malaysia second and China third. We won landslide victories in men’s football (6-1 against UK), men’s badminton (11-1 against UK) and women’s squash (3-1 against UK).
We were very proud of our achievements but sincerely hope to see the Malaysia Campus perform even better at future TCGs.
The Spirit of the Games awards went to Malaysia for the men and China for women. The UK organisers thought that we were the best behaved campus due to our sportsmanship, level of discipline (we showed up on time for everything), friendliness and willingness to participate in different activities. Some of our students are hoping to volunteer for the next TCG which will be held in Malaysia!
The TCG has yet to be found in any other part of the world. I hope that this truly unique event will continue on and become a long-standing tradition at Nottingham University. I enjoyed my time thoroughly - firstly because of our students, and secondly because of the humour, inclusivity, attitude and approach of this year’s organising staff.
Special mention is given to Ed Tarlton, our team manager, for all he had done, in particular organising us and dealing with the many changes with endless patience. We all made new friends, re-connected with old friends from the previous TCGs, exchanged campus t-shirts/jumpers, discussed about cultures, socialised with each other and played sport together just for fun. As the TCG motto says, Friendship through sport.
The next Tri Campus Games (TCG 5) will be held at the Malaysia Campus from 9th to 15th June 2013. If you would like to participate or contribute in any way, please contact Christopher Pereira, the Sports Centre Manager at Christopher.Pereira@nottingham.edu.my.
Posted on 30th October 2012