Bowlers, Shooters Impart Their Knowledge To Young Ones

Dark, gloomy clouds enshrouded the Sports School, and a dense rain pelted the school grounds. But even the heavy downpour could not dim the smiles of the student-athletes from the Bowling and Shooting Academies who had arranged an afternoon of bowling and shooting experience for underprivileged children.

Working in tandem with North West Community Development Council, the bowlers held a game with Qihua Primary School at the Sports School Bowling Centre, while shooters taught the basics of the sport to Woodlands Primary School and Greenwood Primary School, as part of their Values in Action (VIA) programmes.

Secondary 4 bowler Jade Ooi enjoyed the meaningful session: “My role in the VIA was to ensure that the kids’ safety and as well as keep them company. I had to also ensure safe distancing as some of them would get excited easily and forget to keep a distance from their friends. Most of them were really sweet and very energetic. It’s nice to have them around and I was happy to see how passionate they were in bowling.”

“Although I was not competing, I still felt as though I was in a competition and instead of being the player, I was the ‘coach’ this time. The way the younger kids cheered and clapped when they scored a strike or spare lifted my mood, making the whole experience enjoyable.”

The student-athletes from both academies exemplified the school values of Responsibility and Excellence in the planning and execution of the event. The respective committees for the academies planned the overall programme and liaised with staff from partner schools, preparing the ice-breakers, safety briefing and experience. The student-athletes also budgeted, ordered and packed goodie bags and prizes for the children.

Secondary 3 shooter Maldon Then Fung Lim had the chance to emcee for the session, and he found the new experience a satisfying one: “At first I was quite nervous as I had the role of an emcee, but it turned out well in the end, as I really enjoyed hosting the shooting activity. I was able to manage the game well. It was fun watching the primary school children compete with one another and I enjoyed interacting with them, and seeing them experience an air rifle on their own.”

The student-athletes in both committees successfully ran the show from start to finish, displaying leadership qualities and ease with the primary school children when guiding them.

Jade was so inspired by the session that she already has plans to join the next VIA session: “I’m glad the children had a lot of fun and it brought me back to the time when I just started bowling and reminded me of the amount of passion and love I had for this sport. One of the kids even mentioned that he knew how expensive the sport is and if he could afford, he would like to bowl. It made me realise just how fortunate I was to be able to afford bowling for the past seven years. I’m glad to be able to contribute to this VIA session and I hope there’s more to come, so that I can join in!”