Five teams, three countries, over 100 Year 5 and 6 children with a love of sport and a desire to compete – that was the successful recipe for the inaugural Nord Anglia South East Asia Games, held over the weekend Nov. 26-27 at Regents International School Pattaya.
The schools represented at the tournament were Regents International School Pattaya, St Andrews International School Bangkok, British International School Ho Chi Minh City, Northbridge International School Cambodia and British Vietnamese International School Hanoi.
Organised and run by the thoroughly dependable Regents PE staff, led by Andrew Crush and Roslyn McConnell, the tournament saw boys and girls competing in Tee-Ball and Basketball. It was wonderful to see Nord Anglia Education schools from Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia come together in what, for most of them, was the first competitive international sports fixture they had experienced.
While winning medals for their respective schools was the ultimate goal, the many other rewards for the competitors were obvious as they learnt firsthand about teamwork, perseverance and sportsmanship. It was a delight to see the teams making friends with each other, and these new, cross-cultural friendships were very apparent on Sunday night when the teams met for a Gala Dinner at the Colchan Resort where they had been staying for the duration of the tournament.
Regents’ acting principal, Grant Gillies, was clearly impressed, not only with the standard of play, but with the camaraderie and team spirit apparent. At the Gala Dinner he selected a few highlights from the weekend which included Regents pupils filling in for a Northbridge team and playing with passion against their own team! He also congratulated the boys and girls for their courage and commitment, as many had travelled away from family for the first time, to represent their schools.
The results for the tournament were as follows:
Basketball:
Girls – 1st St Andrew’s Bangkok; 2nd BIS Ho Chi Minh City; 3rd Regents Pattaya; 4th Northbridge; 5th BVIS Hanoi
Boys – 1st BIS Ho Chi Minh City; 2nd St Andrew’s Bangkok; 3rd Regents Pattaya; 4th Northbridge; 5th BVIS Hanoi
Tee-Ball:
Girls – 1st St Andrew’s Bangkok; 2nd BIS Ho Chi Minh City; 3rd Regents Pattaya; 4th Northbridge; 5th BVIS Hanoi
Boys – 1st BIS Ho Chi Minh City; 2nd St Andrew’s Bangkok; 3rd Regents Pattaya; 4th Northbridge; 5th BVIS Hanoi
