SFT Drill Competition 2012
Compiled
by Sarah Cheong & Aileen Cheong
“Seek, Serve, Follow Christ! We are ONE in His
eyes! 1st KL, we love Christ!”
-Our
cheer during the competition
What is the first
thought that comes to your mind when you hear the word DRILL? Do you cringe at
the thought of it? Or do you look forward to it? Well, this year 1st
KL GB formed a drill team which comprised of 12 girls to represent the company
in a competition. We participated in Girls’ Brigade’s Selangor Federal
Territory Drill Competition 2012. It was held on the 11th of August
2012 and we had the competition in the basketball court of MBS KL.
We
started our practices early in the year around April. Each Saturday, we would
sacrifice our free time to stay back after our GB meetings to practice doing
drill together. By June, we were having practices on Sunday afternoons! It was
hardcore training sessions with a lot of different sequences to be learnt every
week. This year, our drill competition consisted of two parts. One was the
execution of drill commands given to the commander by the organizing committee.
The other was the execution of the formation and cheer that we ourselves had to
create. This meant that every formation and cheer from each competitor was
different.
On
that Saturday, all the competitors were geared up for the event, arriving
earlier before the event started to give the drill court a try. Our team was no
different. Even though the event only started at 2.30pm, our team had gathered
at 10am to do our preparations together.
Time soon flew by quickly and the
event began. We felt blessed as we had many friends and family members who came
to support us and cheer for us. Even the 1st KL Boys’ Brigade
members came to watch and encouraged us.
Soon, it was the moment of truth. We march up to the court and proudly did our sequence, giving it our best. Though there were some unforeseen errors that occurred, we continued on with our drill sequence. We executed commands and formations and cheered our cheer wholeheartedly. Our 12 minutes of show time was soon over. We were honestly quite relieved that the hard part was over.
After some light refreshments
prepared for all the participants and supporters, the moment of truth came. It
was the announcement of the results. Our hearts were pounding fast as the announcement
of the results began. Holding hands, all of us present there clung on to each
other for support. The 2nd runner up was announced. It wasn’t us. Then, as the
1st runner up was being announced, we all held our breaths. There
were only two teams left to be announced. One was to be the champion. The
announcer did not call upon our team. We won! We had managed to win this
competition for the second time! We were overjoyed. And to add icing to the
cake, the best commander award also went to our commander, YL Leong Yen May,
who showcased her skills with confidence. This was indeed a memorable day for
us and we are thankful for the support and guidance given to us by our
trainers, officers, friends and family. Their encouragement every week was a
source of our endurance. We are also thankful to our Father in heaven for
keeping us strong and healthy throughout all this. Without Him, none would have
been possible.
So...
we went around asking the girls from the drill team some questions. The
questions were...
1) What
did you learn or achieve?
2) What
did you enjoy the most?
3) What
do you think is most memorable?
And
here are their replies to our questions. Enjoy!
Chan Kar Wen, 12 years old
I
think what was most memorable was when we won!
Goh Yu Shaine, 13 years old
I
learnt how to do drill properly and enjoyed doing drill. What I enjoyed was the
sense of accomplishment after winning. Through all this, I think what would be
most memorable to me was just being able to participate in this competition
with my friends.
Iris Budiman Chiang Ie Ching, 13 years
old
I
learnt how to be part of a team and how to do the awesome formation. I
especially enjoyed the moment when we’re a team doing drill!
Leong Yen Qi, 13 years old
When
we practice together, I learnt about team work and how we need to work as a
team. I enjoyed doing the formation because it was cool and fun. What I enjoyed
most was when we had drill practices together, as it was fun.
Aileen Cheong Xin Wei, 14 years old
Through
this year’s SFT Drill competition, I learnt more about teamwork. I realized how
understanding and working with each other is very important in a team. Apart
from that, I learnt to have determination and focus, and that we must have our
minds set on drill only while doing drill. I also learnt to find out my own
mistakes, constantly stay humble, and find ways to improve myself, and the
others, as a team. What I think was most enjoyable and memorable to me was
definitely the time when I bonded with my team members. I’ll always remember
those feelings of committing an error and before the competition results were
announced.
Joey Yin Joe Yee, 14 years old
I’ve learned to drill better and have better teamwork through 2012’s SFT Drill Competition. I also enjoyed spending quality time with friends and officers.
Tham Yeen Yeen, 14 years old
I’m
now able to do drill and I’m glad when we won the prize.
Chan Kar Mun, 16 years old
Yes,
I enjoyed it because it was fun! I was able to do drill and learn new formations.
The most memorable part was when we won! Other than that, I also enjoyed being
rewarded with Chatime as drinks during our drill practice.
Presheelah Kalai, 15 years old
I’ve been in GB since
I was 10. Marching has been one of my favorite activities for 5 years. This is
my second time participating in the SFT Drill Competition. This year’s competition was one of the
toughest competitions we had. The reasons? Well, it’s because we didn’t have
enough time and also we were lacking of members. But that didn't stop us. We
had longer practices, we put in our full efforts, and we had great officers
that were willing to take time out of their busy schedule to prepare us
physically, emotionally and spiritually for our competition. I've learnt that
nothing is impossible. And that all we need is hard work, sacrifices, faith and
trust in God.
Lee Yen, 16 years old
Though
many of us hated the drill practices on Sundays that lasted under the hot sun
for hours, I have to admit that a lot has been learnt from this experience. To
me, this competition’s training was tougher than the one that I participated in
year 2010. We learnt to be patient, to have discipline, and to work as a team.
We also learnt how to help each other in their weak points and to learn to
never give up. But most of all, we had a nice bonding time during our
practices!
Sarah Cheong Xin Lynn, 16 years old
Through
this drill competition, I have learnt the importance of self control,
discipline, teamwork, focus and practice. It was all important especially when
executing any drill commands as a single movement by a person could jeopardize
the performance of the team as a whole. We had to learn to withstand the urge
to wipe our sweat away, push our spectacles up, and cover our eyes from the sun
and much more. It required discipline to be able to just stand there without
moving while waiting for a command. There were many times when I was tempted to
move, but I knew that I could not as it would put my friends at risk of being
punished with me. To be honest, what I’ve really enjoyed throughout the entire
process was not winning, but the fellowship and bonding moments that happened
along the way. We learnt how to communicate better, even to the extent of just
looking at each other without saying a word. It’s something that takes time to
achieve and this has brought us all closer. Of course, the announcement of the
winning team was also an exciting and memorable moment. I remembered the pounding
of my heart at I awaited the results. Through what seems to be endless hours in
the Sun, and the never ending "REPEAT!", the hard work paid off .Though
it may not be perfect and with minor mistakes, we can still proudly said that
we have done our best and made the people around us proud. By being there on
the battlefield, it was already an achievement to be proud of. The sheer delight of winning just ended it with a
bang! This weekend has been a great one for me and
will always be remembered.
Leong Yen May, 17
Drill
training was quite tough and tiring. The drill team started training since
April and the competition was in August. Throughout the whole training, I had
the opportunity to be trained to be a commander. At first, I didn’t know that
commanding requires a lot of skills like execution, voice projection, etc. I
learnt to work together with other team members as a whole team. Through
tiredness, leadership, discipline, patience, self-control and many more, are
the important aspects to form an excellent drill team. Through the training, we
had more time to spend together. Although it’s not fun, but I still enjoy the
time we spent together being punished together, practicing together,
complaining secretly together, and drinking Chatime together… It’s inspired me
to be a better, disciplined and confident person. All our hard work also paid
off when we won champion and best commander in the SFT drill competition. With
God’s guidance and blessings, plus the drill team’s hard work, I found joy in drill!
Although the word ‘DRILL’ might scare off some of us, it’s actually an
enjoyable and benefitting activity.
-this report was featured on Wesley Methodist Church KL's
Wesley Tidings December 2012 issue
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