Free YOG Village stay for 200 boys

The Strait Times
23 July 2010
by Amelia Tan

NEARLY half of the 500 places taken up by students for a two-day preview of the Youth Olympic Village have been filled by Victoria School (VS) and St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) boys, thanks to their schools’ alumni.

The Old Victorians’ Association (OVA) has forked out $15,000 to send 100 VS boys to the Village, located in Nanyang Technological University, next Friday and Saturday.

Similarly, 100 SJI boys will also be at the Village. Their stay will be sponsored by SJI old boy Ronnie Lum, 42, who is the chief executive of an insurance brokerage company.

The ‘stay and play programme’, which spans two days and one night, gives organisers a chance to test the Village’s readiness to host the world’s best young athletes during the August 14-26 inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore.

Participants will tuck into the same buffet spread that will be served during the Games, spend a night in the rooms where the athletes will stay, and attend cultural and educational activities such as workshops, exhibitions and a dialogue session with Deputy Village Mayor and former Olympian C. Kunalan.

They will also get to preview the YOG official opening ceremony.

A $150 early-bird fee was charged for those who signed up before June 30, and $188 for those who signed up after.

Youth Olympic Village director Sheryl Lim said participants are required to pay fees to defray the costs of meals and services at the Village.

About 1,000 people have signed up for the programme. Half of them are students, and most of the rest are YOG sponsors, partners, staff, and their families and friends. About 15 members of the public are also taking part.

The students, most of whom are athletes and leaders of sports co-curricular activities, are from 10 secondary schools and the universities.

Besides SJI and VS, other participating secondary schools include Jurong West Secondary, Boon Lay Secondary, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Cedar Girls’ Secondary. The students either pay the fees themselves, or are sponsored through funds such as those from residents’ committees.

OVA president Vernon Teo, who is also the show producer of the YOG opening and closing ceremonies, said he learnt about the two-day stay earlier in the year and brought up the idea of sponsoring VS boys during a gathering with other OVA members.

‘The association felt that it would be an eye-opening experience for the students. They will be able to experience how a large-scale international event is run. Not many people have such a chance,’ said Mr Teo.

VS student Marcus Ng, 14, who is a cross country runner, said: ‘I’ve been looking forward to staying in the Village since my school told me a few weeks ago that I’d been selected. The experience will be special for me because I am an athlete. I feel inspired to work harder in my sport so that one day I can take part in international competitions and use such world-class facilities.’

Applications for the programme have closed.

ameltan@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Hoe Pei Shan

Source: The Straits Times, NTU

Victoria Soccer Challenge 2010

by Nur Iskandar

The light drizzle was not able to douse Victorians’ passion for soccer. The Victoria Soccer Challenge (VSC) 2010, now in its 3rd year running, has continued to be the main draw for hundreds of Victorians to come together to play the game we all love. The past two VSC (2008 and 2009) were been held in Victoria Junior College. This year, soccer came home to Victoria School.

Decked in various-colored team jerseys, Victorians, young and old, were seen warming their muscles to prepare themselves for the much awaited annual tournament as early as 8am. Some teams were clearly determined to lift the prestigious Victoria Soccer Challenge Trophy that has evaded them for the last two years; while others were just happy to be back in the school that we all love so dear. Regardless the reason, one thing was certain, Victorians were just happy to be back to catch up with old friends.

The VSC aims to cater to all Victorians and the format allows Victorians, young (at heart) and younger, the chance to show off their footballing skills and footwork. This year’s tournament saw 5 teams taking part in the Seniors (U-17) Category and 22 teams taking part in the Open Category.

For the (U-17) category, the 5 teams were grouped under the Kapor House – for the House color, ‘green’, was aptly reserved for our ‘greener’ Victorians. It was heartening to see the younger Victorians playing their hearts out and displaying the kind of footballing skills that will continue to identify Victoria as a soccer powerhouse. But on display as well, was more precious than footballing skills; a Victorian was seen going over to a player of the opposing team who had just lost the game, to shake his hand and gave him words of encouragement. It was the kind of sportsmanship behavior that all Victorians are proud of.

For the record, the Seniors (U-17) Category result was as follows:

1st Place – Unnamed FC (Led by Ling Wei Jie)

2nd Place – Grandeur FC (Led by Darius Iskandar)

There were a lot more action in the Open Category. The teams were divided into 4 houses (groups) namely Kallang, Glam, Whampoa and Rochor. And competition was a lot keener in these groups. It was rumored that some teams held secret training sessions to prepare themselves for this tournament. Judging from the standard of soccer on display, such rumors could not have been far from the truth. Victorians of various ages were showing the deft touches and the footballing footwork that has made the name Victoria synonym with ‘soccer powerhouse’. And as the tournament progressed, the firm favorites were began to stake their claim on the much coveted Challenge Trophy.

In the end 3 teams emerged to take the top 3 placing:

1st Place – VS Staff (Led by Mohd Zabid)

2nd Place – Soccer with a Vision (Led by Vincent)

3rd Place – VS Old Boys (Led by Zulhairi)

Also, this year, additional recognitions and awards were included. These awards were validated by the 4 impartial referees of the day.

Most Valuable Player – Prabin Tamang
(Sponsored by Arjuna Entertainment)

Most Supported Team – Bandz Bazookas

Victoria Soccer Challenge 2010 has been another successful event in the OVA Calendar. Special mention is to be made to Dexter Chua, Zulhairi, Wong Loo Hua, Nur Iskandar, See Wee Yang, Lim Zhi Yang, David Law, Puar Si Wei, Lee Ming Hui, Ashraf Kumar, Prabin Tamang, Sanjay, Muhd Hadiz and many others who help to prepare in the run up and also after the event. The ‘unseen’ work is really tremendous.

Special thanks to Victoria School’s Principal, Mr Low Eng Teong for supporting the event and the use of Victoria School field for the venue, OVA First Vice President Mr. Kevin Lam, Mr Ho Kiat Chong, Mr Sng Yiam Kwee, Mr John Yap, Mr Kelvin Gan, VS Photography Club (Nathaniel [Teacher], Keith, Ganesh and Ryan) and everyone who has made this event unforgettable.

Nil Sine Labore

Article contributed by Nur Iskandar

[View with PicLens]

1234...535455►

Join OVA on LinkedIn

We are pleased to announce that OVA now has our own group on LinkedIn!

We know that Facebook is not for everyone.  Some prefer a more professional social network to interact with fellow alumni.  As a platform geared towards professionals, we believe that our LinkedIn group will be attractive to Victorians.

Jobs Board

We have also taken in your feedback on the desire to have a “jobs board” where Victorians who have employment requirements, whether as a hirer or hiree, can post their requests. We look forward to the OVA LinkedIn group becoming a platform for full-time, part-time and internship opportunities.

In short, LinkedIn is a good platform to connect with fellow Victorians!

Be LinkedIn to the OVA today.

.

What is LinkedIn:

Your professional network of trusted contacts gives you an advantage in your career, and is one of your most valuable assets. LinkedIn exists to help you make better use of your professional network and help the people you trust in return. Our mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. We believe that in a global connected economy, your success as a professional and your competitiveness as a company depends upon faster access to insight and resources you can trust.

When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional expertise and accomplishments. You can then form enduring connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to a vast number of qualified professionals and experts. Through your network you can:

• Manage the information that’s publicly available about you as professional
• Find and be introduced to potential clients, service providers, and subject experts who come recommended
• Create and collaborate on projects, gather data, share files and solve problems
• Be found for business opportunities and find potential partners
• Gain new insights from discussions with likeminded professionals in private group settings
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
• Post and distribute job listings to find the best talent for your company

Source: LinkedIn

Be a Fan of the OVA on Facebook!

Today, we are pleased to announce that our Facebook Fan Page (now known as Facebook “Likes”) has crossed an important milestone – 1,000 Fans!

The Facebook Fan page started a year ago — implying a joining rate of ~3 persons per day .  By comparison, the VS Facebook group has 3,000 members and the VJC Facebook group has 5,300 (both figures as of May 2010).  Clearly, we still have a long way to go in terms of getting our alumni and alumni-to-be to log on and “like” us.

News that appear on OVA website are posted simultaneously on the Facebook page.  So if you spend a lot of your time on Facebook, having the latest OVA news on it not only saves you the time to check two different sites, it also enables you to easily share interesting posts with your friends.

Another way to use Facebook is to scan it for updates and whenever there are interesting news, navigate to the OVA website to post your comments.  The interactivity on our website has been upgraded recently.  Some of the debates can be quite intense but they are always interesting.

Besides Facebook, there are other social networks which may be of interest to our members.  Therefore, today we are also pleased to announce the launch of our LinkedIn group!

Now, whether we are students or working professionals, we are able to connect to our alma maters in the manner that we prefer.  The OVA website at www.ova.org.sg remains the central source of information.  Our social networks and newsletters draw their content from the OVA website.

To join OVA on either or both Facebook or LinkedIn networks, look for their logos on this page and click them.  Join us!

Visa Go World - Jeffrey Lightfoot from VS

Following up on VS athlete to front Visa global campaign to promote YOG, here is the poster of Jeffrey Lightfoot in his element.

Source: Visa Southeast Asia

Results:

BOYS’ SEMI-FINAL
Victoria JC v St Andrew’s JC
(Matched ended 1-1 after extra time. SAJC won the penalty shoot-out.)

http://redsports.sg/2010/05/10/sajc-vjc-football/

GIRLS’ FINALS
Victoria JC v Raffles Institution
(Matched ended 1-1 after extra time. VJC won the penalty shoot-out.)

http://redsports.sg/2010/05/12/vjc-ri-football-2/

Fixtures:

BOYS’ 3rd/4th Play-off
Victoria JC v Raffles Institution  (1400H @ Jalan Besar Stadium, 20 May 2010)

>> For other sports updates, please visit www.redsports.sg

05 May – Excerpts from: http://www.tnp.sg/sports/story/0,4136,239207,00.html

Victoria Junior College (VJC), Meridian Junior College (MJC), Saint Andrews’ Junior College (SAJC) and Raffles Institution (RI) each confirmed their semi-final appearances after winning two out of their three second group stage matches.

PLAYER TO WATCH:

Former VS & Present VJ Star Player

Dilip Thapa (VJC)

ONE PLAYER who could have a huge say on the final outcome of the match would be Victoria Junior College’s (VJC) Dilip Thapa.

The Nepalese midfielder has been earning rave reviews for his action packed performances in the middle of the park.

An all-rounder, Thapa is able to pass, shoot and tackle well.

Thapa hailed from Victoria School (VS) and joined Victoria Junior College this year.

Despite this being his freshman year, he has cemented his place in the first team and is a vital clog in a VJC side which has scored 47 goals and conceded none in six ‘A’ Division matches.

VJC soccer coach Tan Yew Hwee credits VS for making Thapa such a formidable player.

Said Tan: ‘The guidance and coaching Dilip received from VS is the key to him being the player he is today.

‘I am merely reaping the rewards of his VS coaches’ hard work.’

Preventing the talented midfielder from establishing a foothold in this game will go a long way in securinga positive result for Meridian Junior College (MJC).

It will not be an easy feat though. Thapa’s goal tally has already entered double figures, an amazing feat for a midfielder.

06 May – Excerpts from: http://www.tnp.sg/sports/story/0,4136,239307,00.html

BY THE looks of it, Victoria Junior College (VJC) are the team to look out for in this year’s National School’s ‘A’ Division title this year, and not without reason.

KEY PLAYER: Dilip Thapa

THE NEPALESE midfielder has been making heads turn this season with a string of stirring displays in the middle.

He is strong on the ball and is a key component in VJC’s engine room.

Not only that, his eye for a goal means the midfielder’s goal tally has already hit double digits.

SRJC captain Cheah, whose side went down 5-0 to Thapa’s VJC, was full of praise for VJC’s No. 10.

The 19-year-old said: ‘Dilip is the best player in VJC’s team. With him in their side, they have to be considered favourites.’

VERDICT: Champions

Mr Jeffrey Lightfoot from Victoria School is one of three athletes selected to promote the Youth Olympic Games.

3 S’pore athletes to front Visa global campaign to promote YOG

By Patwant Singh | Posted: 06 May 2010 1908 hrs

SINGAPORE: Three Singaporean athletes will have the honour of being featured in a global campaign by Visa to promote the upcoming Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

The trio is part of the “Go World” campaign which was launched at the Singapore Sports School today.

16-year-old sailor Darren Choy, 17-year-old swimmer Amanda Lim and 15-year-old football player Jeffrey Lightfoot will be featured in posters and TV commercials.

The campaign will include celebrity swimmer Michael Phelps.

But the Singaporeans will have the distinction of competing in the upcoming Games.

Amanda Lim says: “Positive kind of motivation for me to since I am sort of the ambassador for this campaign.”

Darren Choy says: “I’m hoping this would boost my confidence and I would train harder for the upcoming YOG.”

The trio says fronting the campaign was something new and challenging.

Jeffrey Lightfoot says: “We took about 100 shots I think so I had to do it a lot of times, I don’t think I did jump that high, but I think they edited it.”

The ceremony was also attended by American gymnast Kerri Strug, who shared her experience with the students.

Strug is known for her memorable moment at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where she went on to help Team USA win gold despite competing with an injured left foot.

The “Go World” campaign started at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Besides Michael Phelps and Kerri Strug, the organisers are looking at bringing in other big name athletes before or during the Youth Olympics. And these sports superstars will not only be sharing their experience but also taking part in other activities like training session with young Singaporean athletes.

- CNA/jy

Source: Channel NewsAsia

3 S’pore athletes to front Visa global campaign to promote YOG
By Patwant Singh | Posted: 06 May 2010 1908 hrs

	Photos 1 of 3
	Video 3 S’pore athletes to front Visa global campaign to promote YOG

SINGAPORE: Three Singaporean athletes will have the honour of being featured in a global campaign by Visa to promote the upcoming Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

The trio is part of the “Go World” campaign which was launched at the Singapore Sports School today.

16-year-old sailor Darren Choy, 17-year-old swimmer Amanda Lim and 15-year-old football player Jeffrey Lightfoot will be featured in posters and TV commercials.

The campaign will include celebrity swimmer Michael Phelps.

But the Singaporeans will have the distinction of competing in the upcoming Games.

Amanda Lim says: “Positive kind of motivation for me to since I am sort of the ambassador for this campaign.”

Darren Choy says: “I’m hoping this would boost my confidence and I would train harder for the upcoming YOG.”

The trio says fronting the campaign was something new and challenging.

Jeffrey Lightfoot says: “We took about 100 shots I think so I had to do it a lot of times, I don’t think I did jump that high, but I think they edited it.”

The ceremony was also attended by American gymnast Kerri Strug, who shared her experience with the students.

Strug is known for her memorable moment at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where she went on to help Team USA win gold despite competing with an injured left foot.

The “Go World” campaign started at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Besides Michael Phelps and Kerri Strug, the organisers are looking at bringing in other big name athletes before or during the Youth Olympics. And these sports superstars will not only be sharing their experience but also taking part in other activities like training session with young Singaporean athletes.

- CNA/jy

Victorious after 41 years

Victoria School players carrying their captain Yusuf Aslam after beating Raffles Institution by 37 runs in the Schools National B Division cricket final. -- PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

POWERED by Siddharth Sikka’s half-century and captain Yusuf Aslam’s brilliant batting and fielding, Victoria School won the Schools National B Division cricket final at the Ceylon Sports Club ground yesterday.

They beat favourites Raffles Institution by 37 runs to claim the title after 41 years. Victoria were second in the past two years.

‘Both teams were good and the match was of high quality,’ said Fred Martens, the Victoria coach. ‘Raffles dropped a couple of crucial catches, we didn’t. That cost them the match.’

Victoria should be thankful Yusuf was dropped when the 16-year-old had just begun his innings.

Yusuf and Sikka, after initial consolidation, tore the Rafflesians’ bowling apart with some powerful hitting.

Sikka smashed 56, including four sixes and three fours, and Yusuf contributed a swift unbeaten 38, with two boundaries and a six, as Victoria totalled 141-4 in 20 overs.

Brief scores: Victoria School 141-4 in 20 overs (Siddharth Sikka 56, Yusuf Aslam 38 n.o.). Raffles Institution 104 in 17.2 overs (Divesh Dadlani 23; Shabab Chowdhury 3-24, Abdul Hareesh 2-8).

From: The Straits Times