EIGHTERS' YEARBOOK

CONTRACT BRIDGE TEAM MANAGER
Benjamin Tan
Jun Qi
BEST RECREATION GAMES PLAYER
Jovan Teo
1. Why did you run for Team Manager?
I ran for Team Mag because I thought it would be a good
opportunity to get better involved in Hall activities, being
a 1st year Hall tenant. Since I was not particularly
good in sports, I chose being a Team Mag for rec games
over sports games.
2. How was your experience like as a Team
Manager?
Preparing for IHRG for Contract Bridge was very
unique as most of the members were very enthusiastic.
Many of the members took initiative to plan trainings
and teach others about bridge. My seniors also helped
to cover for my shortcomings as the Team Mag, advising
me on what to do before IHRG.
I ended not doing too much as the team manager, other
than preparing for trainings and going for admin meetings.
My lack of knowledge in contract bridge also created
struggles in managing the team.
In spite of this, we still ended up being very competitive
in the IHRG event. Even though
we missed the playoffs, we ended
up dictating who went into
the playoffs in a humble 10th
position. At one point, we were
in 6th, in position to go to the
playoffs.
All in all, while it was a tough
season, the enthusiasm of the
members and their willingness
to learn made preparations and
the event fun.
3. Any message you’d
like to tell your team
members?
Thank you for all your hard
work and being such great
people to work with.
I came into Hall 8 with only the intention of joining darts
as I was an active darts player before I came into NTU.
Looking at the outstanding achievements of the darts
team in Hall 8, I wanted to make my life in Hall interesting
and value-add to the Hall. Therefore, I chose to come to
Hall 8 because I heard that it is very inclusive in terms of
letting people play recreational games and sports.
Then came the Subcommittee recruitment for JCRC and I
signed up as the Team Manager for darts, along with Contract
Bridge as my second choice (because I love playing
ridge). In the end, I got the position of a Team manager for
Darts and I thought that I can be of some help to train
new Darts players for the Inter-Hall Recreational Games
(IHRG).
Being a captain for external darts league outside of NTU
surely did help me in planning for the placement of players
to play for IHRG. However, I learnt that my experience is
not enough. There are many things that I need to improve
like considering for the feelings of the players if they do
not get to play. Additionally, teaching them how to play
is something that is very difficult for me as I am used to
playing well on my own. For that, I am very thankful for the
patience that the seniors have in me as they slowly guided
me to be a better team manager. I am also thankful for the
seniors and my JCRC Recreational Directors for giving
me the chance to lead in such a big scale event. I am glad
that the Darts team this year remained close even after
IHRG and I am looking forward to playing with them again
during Darts league.
Coming to Hall 8 really showed me that it is a very inclusive
Hall indeed. Not only did I play Darts, I had the
chance to reminisce the good old days and participate in
Carrom. I also played my favourite card game, Bridge, in a
different style (Contract Bridge), and was part of the team
for Othello and Snooker. I enjoyed playing those games as
the competitiveness in me is being unleashed during the
games and I felt the adrenaline rushing through my veins
as I played the games with the intention to win. I am glad
that the team for Snooker got 2nd place in IHRG and I
feel happy for them even though I did not get to play any
games as I was the tie-breaker match.
Being an inclusive Hall, it is hard to get everyone to be
competitive as some of us just come to learn and experience
how it is like to play competitively. Something that I
learnt through IHRG is that it does not matter how good
you are, you can only be as strong as your weakest link.
You might be very good at certain games, but if you lose
those games, you will pull your team down. Therefore, we
need to set the right goals before playing the games or we
will just be disappointed with ourselves. Looking back at
all the games I have played, I am glad that the goal I set for
myself is to lose as a team, win as a team and journey as a
team. Results are not the most important but rather, the
friendship and bonds you forged with them when we are
all having fun. Getting a better placing is just a bonus we
can celebrate together.
I am very happy playing with the Eighters in IHRG 19/20
and I will continue playing with you guys in the subsequent
years. Thank you to all my teammates in Snooker, Othello,
Contract Bridge, Carrom and Darts for being such a good
team player. It was fun playing with all of you and I enjoyed
the times when we were fooling around with each other.
We did well this year for our recreational games with
Carrom coming in 9th, Darts coming in 5th and Snooker
2nd, and we can surely do better for the subsequent years.
If you are interested in learning any of the rec games, feel
free to approach any seniors as they will be there to teach
you how to play.