In keeping with tradition,
this year’s Past vs Present Games Festival was held on 22
February, the last Sunday before Founder’s Day at ACS
(Independent). A torrential downpour washed out the tennis
programme and delayed the rugby matches by a good 90 minutes;
however squash and badminton went on uninterrupted indoors.
Football, which was played on the artificial pitch, was also not
affected while water polo – the rain did not seem to dampen
spirits at all.
Football
Owing to the laudable efforts
of Raj and his fellow organizers, this was a carnival all by
itself, with the old boys being organized into various teams to
compete against the teams from the various ACS schools. Wives,
girlfriends, kids were on hand to help out with the recording,
time keeping and other admin details once the matches kicked
off. It was indeed an enjoyable day filled with fun, friendly
competition and catching up with old mates. The old boys came
out tops this year.
Badminton
Under the stewardship of
Colin and Yew Seng for the old boys and Samuel doing his usual
bit for the present boys, badminton attracted one of its largest
crowds in many years. All present were boosted on the courts by
the presence of Ronald Susilo, one of our many illustrious
badminton alumni and off the courts by Mrs Choo Hwee Lim, wife
of the late Mr Choo, ex-ACS teacher who coached ACS’s badminton
teams to the pinnacle of schoolboy badminton in the eighties.
The old boys just managed to edge the present 10-9 this year.
Squash
The old boys repeated their
victory this year with a rather emphatic 9-1 scoreline. The
matches were played in an atmosphere of much camaraderie and
fun, as it should be in these Games.
Water Polo
Ably marshalled by Jerome,
the old boys handed the present boys another lesson that
sometimes, there is just no substitute for experience and
resolute determination, tired, ‘older’ bodies notwithstanding! A
good time was had by one and all and here again, the old boys
were convincing winners.
Rugby
In what turned out to be a
somewhat unprecedented upset, the present boys outdid their
older brothers by winning 2 out of the 3 matches played. The
“younger” old boys were pipped by the A Div
team of ACS I 19 -
17 in the first game before the “older” old boys exacted some
measure of recovery by beating the C div team from ACS (Barker
Road). With fatigue setting in, the fast tiring “older” old boys
were out done by the C Div team from ACS (Independent) in the
final match.
It has been quite a while
since the present boys were able to record a victory over their
older brothers in the Past vs Present series. Kudos to the
present; this surely is testament to ACS Rugby’s rising prowess!
For the Past, time to rethink
game strategy, among which must surely be to ensure that
sufficient numbers turn up to give the present a decent fight.
No more a stroll in the park, like in days gone by. The
exhibition games (U11 and U13) between our young rugby talents
from ACS (Primary) and ACS (Junior) were well supported, and
based on the talent on display, ACS rugby is thriving and well.
In conclusion, thanks are due
to Dr Ong Teck Chin for allowing the ACS OBA to host the games
at ACS (Independent), to Mr Chan Chee Wei for handling all the
logistics, food, souvenirs, medical aid, etc, and to Malaysia
Dairy Industries for sponsoring the drinks (yet again). And to
all participants, past and present, see you all next year. And
for the tennis players, please don’t forget to pray for better
weather next year!
Mr Cheo Chai Hong