And to think 3 weeks ago, I was about to quit the tournament. To be honest, I was really low on moral that time. I just got back from the InterDivision Chess competition(which I won nothing and caused my team to lose out on a medal! -_-) and when I remembered I had to go for debate, I was like 'Oh man! Another competition to go to lose!'. I remembered the heartbreak of last year and also how I have practically went for zero training ever since. So I wasn't too excited on the idea of heading into a tournament unprepared and with a high chance of failing regardless who I was teaming up with especially since it was SPM year and all that. I was about to give a call to Abel to get a replacement for me, but then whether it was fate or not, Abel called me first.
That phone call changed everything. Naturally, Abel was concerned over my commitment as I have gone zero training out of the dozens sessions that was held and I was of course, rusty after all those months of not debating. We talked it over and I did tell him how I felt about it. I even suggested on a replacement for me. But then he told me he could, but he didn't wanted to because this year was his final year and he wanted to do it with people he cared and can have fun with. Right there and then, I remembered what me and Abel promised each other. To see this through to the end. To win this tournament no matter what it takes. And thats when I realise, I HAD to do it. i just had to.
So in the next few days, I attended training in school and watched video's on debating to hone back some of my skills. I was really rusty and it took some time before I could roughly give a 7minute speech. Chinese New Year came and of course, no debating during then. The next training was a tournament, KDL. This was my first tournament since SSIDC 2012 and I had to admit, I was really, really rusty. Our team did fairly well, getting 2/3 wins. But what really shocked me was individual speaker scores. By luck or by fate, I somehow tied first place. How was that possible?!? Yeah, praises flew in and confidence grew, but I knew I was still far from my best. At this point I was still seriously doubting our team's capability to even past the Octa-finals, let alone reach the finals.
Day 1: Prelims
But anyways, 3 days later, SSIDC got going. Upon entering Swimburne, memories started flooding back. The joy, the heartbreaks, the stress, the adrenaline, the wonderful atmosphere and of course the friends there. The great thing about the tournament is its... how to put this in words hhmmm... its grandness. It's a fiercely contested tournament (especially with Peninsular Malaysia teams joining!) but at the same time, that place feels like home. Like we're all family in a sense. I think thats the best way I can describe it haha.
So anyways, the rounds began soon enough. First round opponents, SMK Sains Hulu Selangor B. We debated on the motion 'THBT Children Should Have The Right To Choose Their School Curriculum' with us being the Goverment. We got an anonymous win and from there, I think our confidence grew alot. We were definitely in high spirits. 2nd round was against SM Lodge E. Now this was trouble. We were going against the last year's SSIDC junior champion!! We debated on the motion 'THW Ban Fast Food Companies From Sponsoring and Advertising in Sporting Events' with us being the Opposition. It was a really heated and close debate but we managed to win it with a margin of one. Kudos to that team because they were truly one of the toughest opponents throughout the tournament!! So that concluded Day 1 and we were definitely getting in the groove. Things was going pretty decent for us.
Day 2: Prelims
I think we (or was it just me?!) got a little too much confidence from Day 1. Day 2, our opponents was our own schoolmate, SMK BL B -_- We were Government on the motion 'THW Punish Poachers of Endangered Species In The Same Way Of Murderers'. to put it bluntly, we lost. But when I look back at it now, it was an absolutely necessary lost. It grounded us back into reality and made us remember that there are plenty of teams in that tournament that are really good. Imagine if we went on the get 5 wins? We would have gotten complacent and over confident with ourselves and we'll almost definitely lose before we even reach the finals. So that was a really important awakening call for us. So we went in to round 4 with alot more caution. We were up against our first round opponents, SMK Sains Hulu Selangor B, again -____-. Motion was 'THW Would Legalise Prostitution' with us getting the Opposition side of the room. It was a tricky round as at this stage, both teams roughly knew each others weaknesses and the motion itself depends on how each sides presents the case. In the end of the round, we prevailed but we were even more humbled then before. Our adj was direct to the point and said our team really lacked analysis, poor engagement and poor ideas and goals. After that round, i got the stick from our trainer. A harsh one. But yet again, looking back, this was so important. We really learned from our mistakes and I especially took special attention to my speech as at that time, it was really, really bad. I didn't want to pull my team down so I really gave serious food for thought on this. Which made me realise why after 3 years of debating, my standard hasn't exactly improve to where I hoped it would be. I think most of the time, people don't take into serious consideration the feedback given by the adjudicators but I tell everyone right now if you seriously want to improve, you really have to listen to the comments and feedback given as it will almost definitely make your speech better. In the 5th round a.k.a the silent round, we were paired up against CHMS A on the motion 'THW Allow Prisoners To Donate Their Organs In Return For Shorter Sentences'. We got the government side of the motion. A tricky round as it was against one of 'our own' but I guess it's the nature of competition and someone has to win... I thought both sides did pretty well. So now all we could do was wait for the results the next day!
Day 3: Breaking Rounds
The next day was when we things stepped up a notch. You can feel that things were getting serious as every team waited for the results to come out. Like every year, we were just as anxious as anyone else. To cut to the chase, we won our round against CHMS and ranked 3rd with relatively the highest speakers scores of the whole tournament!! Our other school team made it as well. Things were definitely going to step up a notch. Our Octa-Final's opponents are against Lodge B. A group of talented boys. We got the Opposition side of the motion 'THW Force Rich People To Pay More Tax'. Again, both sides did really well and it really could have gone either way. Just before the announcement of the results, we were so, sososososososo nervous. Last year at this very same stage, we got knocked out so we were so afraid that was going to happen. When they said it was a 2-1 split, I had to admit, I was on the verge of going super panic mode. It was just that nerve wrecking! When they announced we won, I just remembered me shouting really loud and hugging everyone I could see. We finally pass our bogeyman round! It was the icing on the cake to know EVERY ONE of our school teams broke into the Quarter-Finals as well!! What a great achievement!! From this point onwards, I became a believer. I has a faith we would make it to the finals. I just knew it. We had to. But there was a problem in our team... well basically.... that problem.... is...
Me. In every team, there will be the ones that shine and the ones that MIGHT pull the team down and unfortunately, that person is me. Not only did I have the least amount of training prior to the tournament, I also have a big problem with stummering. Its been a problem since wwaaayyy back from my first SSIDC. I really, really didn't wanted to pull my team down so I've really been trying to analyse my speech as a whole and trying to really apply the feedback given by the adju's. I just couldn't let my team down like I did last year...
I have to say, one of the most fun yet in a sense, bad debate round was the Quarter-Finals. Much to the distraught of everyone from our school, BL A was paired up against BL B. the motion was 'THW Not Allow People Under Welfare To Have Anymore Children' and we were the Opposition. It was fun in the sense that we could make jokes amoung each other since we're basically family regardless that we were opponents. It was bad because at the end of the day, one team HAD to lose and even though we both really wanted to beat each other, it wouldn't seem right. When they were announcing the results, this was the most frighten I ever felt. Not only are the people who we love the only thing that stands in our way to the Semi's, but the prospect of losing TWICE to them in a single tournament and when it mattered most was just too scary. The announcer gave it a 3-0 split and just to add the suspense he decided to give a dramatic silence. -_- at that point i was basically on my knees, starting to cry. The results was different though. First of all, we got the win. But there was no celebration this time. Yeah we won, but at the expense of our other team. It's a combination of satisfaction and sadness. The dejected looks of our other school team really made me feel guilty. If they won, I would have felt the exact same thing too. :/ really sorry guys. I wish there was another way! But yeah, its the nature of competition I suppose :( one of our junior team lost to so it was left to our team and a junior team to win it.
They say the biggest hurdle comes just before the Finals and boy were they right. We had to go against Lodge E again!! It was so scary the first time and now we had to do it again!! We got the Government side with the motion 'THW Would Allow All Nations To Have Nuclear Weapons'. Another mind boggler and a real hard motion to debate on. Our room was filled with people which just added to the stress and grandness of the debate. This round was truly a worth round which was filled with excellent speeches from both benches, a real crowd pleaser. A really good debate. After the round, regardless of us winning or not, we were really proud of what we achieved. To have managed to reach this far was beyond our expectations especially going against worthy opponents such as Lodge E! When they were announcing results, it was no longer tense. We stood alongside Lodge E knowing whoever is going to the Finals will be worthy finalist indeed. 5-0 split. Win goes to us. Amazing. Simply amazing. Everything that we have dreamed of years back. All the promises we made. Finally kept. How else can I describe it?? Kudos to Lodge E again though for being really worthy opponents and good sports. Absolutely love them. Really nice people!!
So for the first time, I get to talk about Finals. A classic battle of East vs West. SMK Batu Lintang A vs Sekolah Dato Abdul Razak. Okay to be honest, I was absolutely freaking out. Over the years of Finals, the whips were always the highlight of the debate. The clash of the titans. But.... I suck!!! I mean, it's not like I was really really bad but its fact I'm no good either. My day just keeps getting better and better to know that apparently their whip is fantastic and in a close debate, it almost always comes down to the whips. Great, just great. That night I spent HOURS working on perfecting my speech. HOURS analyzing what makes and breaks a whip speech. Of course it was impossible to become a fantastic whip in one night, but it'll have to do. I made a promise to myself to not be the cause of us losing if somehow we did lose to them. I just can't live with that guilt.
Day 4: Finals
The next morning, I couldn't sleep. Woke up at 4:30 and I started preparing my speech again. What a big day. This was finally it. The big finals. The highlight of the competition. It's just so amazing. At this point, everyone of my friends were shocked because they pretty much expected us to lose by then. If we win, we'll not only create history for ourselves but for the school as well. Not to mention that every (well almost every -_-) East Malaysian people were rooting for us to keep the trophy where we like it to be. In the East. Me and Amanda reached earlier that day and went to the Finals room while waiting for wonderful Abel who overslept -_- it was everything I imagined it to be. Noone can understand the feeling of estacy and pride. It was just so surreal. Soon after Abel came and got an ovation from the crowd, justifyingly so. How could we possibly be in the Finals without him in the first place?! The events seem to past by really fast. Before we knew it, the Junior Finals was over and then finally came our turn. Eventhough I was absolutely fretting the night before, I felt calm. Everyone felt calm. We knew we practically achieve the impossible and whatever happens after this, win or lose, we know we have something to be proud of. It helps to have massive crowd support too! Man, I really love you guys!
We ended up with Opposition for 'THW Force Clincally Obese Children To Attend Residential Weight Lose and Education Camp'. We were surprisingly organised and structured during our prep time haha. We are usually very messy and all that but I guess after teaming up for so many rounds, we basically could read each other's mind :) Before you know it, time was up. We got our things, say a lil' prayer and went to the hall. It was time. We were going in there with just one mindset. To be the champion. When we enter the hall, the crowd were sooo supportive. Did I mention I love them so much?? :) Everything was set for a Grand Final. Let it begin.
I won't exactly go into the details as it was a really close debate and you just couldn't tell who would win. It was just that tight. But once again, amazing atmosphere and amazing crowd. After the Gov reply speech was done, it was over. Finally. After four days and nine rounds, it was finally over. A worthy finish. I look to my teammates. We smiled. We did it.
After a short break and a few speeches, it was finally time for the results. Even though I said it win or lose, we were proud of what we did, deep down we knew we couldn't truly be satisfied without a win. And so came the results. "In a 5-4 split, the win goes tooo... SMK Batu Lintang A."
We screamed. We shouted. We hugged. We cried. We smiled. We laughed. The crowd gave us a standing ovation. We won this. We finally won this. Champions of the Swimburne Sarawak Interschool Debate Competition. How could 3 weeks ago, something so impossible became a reality? How did this happen? Who knows. But we won. It just felt amazing, beyond words, beyond dreams, beyond expectations. We were Batu Lintang A, the 'A' team and literally the A team in the competition.
After debate :)
God works in miraculous ways. Everything that happen, every event, every lost and won, every adjudication, every opponents we met, even our own school, was just perfect timing by Him. Looking back, everything that happen was so necessary to allow us to stay humble and continue learning to become better. I'm amazed by Him. He really helped and blessed in this years SSIDC. So I guess a really big shoutout to my Man up in heaven!
I really wanna thank my teammates, Abel Law and Amanda Hwa. You guys believed in me from the start even though I didn't believed in myself. You guys were really top quality debaters and I am so fortunate that a guy like me can be in your team. I would never ever want to win this competition with anyone else. Only you guys. Gay for life.
I have to give special thanks to Abel. It's just amazing. You helped me remembered our dream of winning this. You saw something in me noone else could and you've given me something noone else would. Faith. How could I possibly come so far without you? How could I even dare to dream of reaching the finals without you? Heck I was already prepared to throw in the towel three weeks ago. But you helped me remember this. Something I said a year ago:
Of course how could I forget our trainer Sophia Ong. You are very scary haha. But BIG thank you for all the training and for pushing me to do as well as I did. I could not come as far as I could without your help. Sigh just thanks for everything!! How could I have ask for anyone better than you? <3
Shoutout to my parents, teachers and other adjudicators as well that gave me advice and encouragement along the way! Your support also allowed me to be where I am and what I achieved today! :)
Whoah whoah whoah, let's not forget Swimburne for hosting another wonderful and brilliant SSIDC! Wonderful dedication and commitment by these people :) You guys are just the best. Thanks also to friends and mentors who indirectly or directly supported me throughout the tournament! It has truly been a great tournament this year. If there was one thing I'll regret about this tournament was the fact I am really shy. Theres so many wonderful people there and I just regret not being able to meet each and everyone of you. Hope to see you guys soon next year! Yes, the 'A' team might be joining next year to try and retain the title. We'll see ;) haha.
The pokemon team!! Psyduck, Mewtwo and the ever adorable Sudo Woodo hahaha
SMK Batu Lintang A a.k.a. The A team! :)
Focusing on the task at hand
Game on. SeDAR vs SMK BL
Us when we knew we won!!
Award Ceremony! SMK Batu Lintang, Champions of SSIDC 2013
Congratulations to everyone who won an award!
