The biggest sports event of the year for the residential colleges (RCs) at NUS is the Inter-College Games. Each of the six RCs put together a team to compete tournament-style for one or two weekends. ICG seems to take the place of the intramural games that are held at many other universities. It’s usually held about a month into the second semester, and teams aren’t solidified until a couple of weeks beforehand. The sports are numerous and quite diverse. Here are just a few that give you an idea of the wide range: rugby, bridge (the card game), bouldering, basketball, frisbee, captain’s ball, netball, tchoukball, squash, badminton, and FIFA (the video game).
Luckily, I came to NUS just in time to join a team. I started training with the Ridge View ultimate frisbee and volleyball teams the second week of the semester. This past Saturday was the frisbee tournament, followed by the initial round of volleyball on Sunday.
Saturday was a long, hot day. We started playing around 8:30 in the morning and didn’t finish until after 3pm. Considering team is made up of mostly first-year students, the captains were proud of how well we did. We won two games, losing the other two to talented teams. Halfway through the second match, an opponent came from behind me and ran through my extended arm and shoulder on his way to the frisbee. At first, I wasn’t sure how serious the injury was, but I soon realized it wasn’t going to resolve itself quickly.
For volleyball on Sunday, I didn’t play because my shoulder was still bruised but enjoyed watching the team. It was quite fun cheering them on – everyone was playing at their best. The sideline stayed loud; even those who didn’t play much were invested and engaged. Winning three out of the five games, we will be advancing to play in the next round.
Sports have been one of my favorite ways to get to know NUS students. Classes are nice but don’t facilitate the type of interaction and camaraderie that sports teams breed. Most of the people on the teams seemed shy in the beginning but quickly opened up. In fact, some of them are pretty wild once you get to know them. I’ve really appreciated how welcoming they have been to me; I didn’t know if exchangers were encouraged (or even allowed) to play on the RC sports teams. It’s still not clear whether they are or not; I was surprised by how few exchangers were on the opposing teams during ICG.
Some of my favorite times with the teammates have been during meals after a training or match. They are genuinely interested in my background and experiences. They’ve also taken great care of me when I’ve been injured (I also sprained my ankle the first week of training), checking in to make sure I was okay and fetching ice whenever needed.