By Lea Tan (14S06B), Tan Jun Xiang (14S06C) and Feng Zhuo (14S03S)

Photos taken by Matthew Yeo and Georges Ip of the Raffles Photographic Society

IHC continued last week with a flurry of matches as the various houses competed in a last ditch effort to claw their way up the inter-house rankings. Which houses succeeded and which houses failed? Read on to find out more!

Day 1

SOCCER BOYS IHC Week 2 got off to a roaring start with the highly anticipated boys’ soccer. The games were played out on the Year 5-6 field, with players from all five houses putting up a strong fight. Each house fielded two teams to play, with one common tactic being to place the more experienced players on one team and the less experienced ones on another.

As the games progressed, the first team from HH as well as MT established a strong lead over the other teams with a combination of superb individual skills as well as teamwork. On the whole though, the top few teams were evenly matched as a few matches went by without either team scoring a goal.

In both the semi-finals between BW and HH and the finals between HH and MT, it came down to the wire as both teams had to resort to a tense penalty shootout to determine the winner. Ultimately though, the team from HH kept their cool despite the massive pressure and came out ahead, edging out a very strong MT team to reign supreme as soccer boys champions.

(Soccer boys was played among teams, so placings are according to teams, and not houses)

1st: HH
2nd: MT
3rd: BW
4th: BW

FLOORBALL

Over at the Indoor Sports Hall was IHC floorball, played with a captain’s ball twist. Instead of traditional goals and goalies, participants from each house would score by passing the ball to a teammate in a goal-zone that no one but the captain could enter. The matches passed in a blur, fouls were called and goals scored and HH inched up the scoreboards, winning three out of four matches with MR not far behind. The last match of the day was by far the most spectacular, where MT and BW faced off in a third-fourth placing game. The two teams were too evenly matched with steady captains and ferocious players; the game concluded with a tie that saw MT place third only through prior score differences.

1st: HH
2nd: MR
3rd: MT
4th: BW
5th: BB

DODGEBALL

While we were unfortunately unable to cover the event, the house placings are as follows:

1st: BB
2nd: MT
3rd: HH
4th: MR
5th: BW

Day 2

FENCING

What was quite possibly the classiest sport of IHSC took place on Tuesday, as participants parried, dodged and stabbed with an épée (a type of fencing sword) in a test of both their skill and reflexes. Due to the high skill requirement of the sport, participants were required to attend a preparatory session beforehand to familiarize themselves with the equipment and protective gear.

Since most of the participants were beginners, the houses were rather evenly matched. A distinct lack of training and experience meant that most players opted for the most direct and brutal line of attack, lashing out with a withering barrage of slashes and stabs and basically hoping that one would connect.

As a member of Raffles Fencing commented, fencing was intended to be a game of patience and strategy; however, the sheer aggressiveness of the participants quickly put paid to that ideal, with some Raffles Fencing members even worrying that their swords would break.

At the end of the day, though, the fencers from MT and HH pulled ahead with a sliver of luck and skill, ending up first and second place respectively. This left MR to settle for third place, with BB and BW in fourth and fifth placing respectively.

1st: MT
2nd: HH
3rd: MR
4th: BB
5th: BW

VOLLEYBALL

IHC Volleyball was a bustling affair at the ISH, with the tension in the confined space being obvious even began the match began. Due to volleyball’s relative lack of outreach in comparison to other more popular sports such as badminton and basketball, a significant number of the participants were inexperienced in the sport, with a few being first-timers. Those unacquainted with the sport experienced difficulty in intercepting the balls due to their sheer impact and speed, and many complaint of the slight pain and throbbing experienced in their forearms during reception of the balls after a prolonged period of game time. However, this did not subdue the determination of the teams in putting in their best effort for their houses, as all 5 houses from practicing fervently with their teammates with what little time they had in between the matches.

BW established a clear domination over the other houses during the game. Besides their fluid team dynamics, the experience many of the team members had in volleyball was also a contributing factor to the strength of the team. MT and BB also put up a strong fight throughout their matches. Whilst other teams such as HH had strong team players individually, they were let down by a lack of teamwork and overall synergy.

While the rules stated that boys and girls were to serve in alternation as an attempt to distribute equal playing opportunities across genders throughout the game, most teams had boys dominating the game as they were more forthcoming and aggressive in terms of attacking. However, a good display of sportsmanship was observable across all teams throughout the entire match, as members were seen to encourage each other and console team mates who were desolate over losing a point. The game was an enjoyable experience for many, as common experiences such as bruises and sore forearms served as a (slightly painful yet worthwhile) means of bonding within the houses.

1st: BW
2nd: MT
3rd: BB
4th: MR
5th: HH

NETBALL

While we were unfortunately unable to cover the event, the house placings are as follows:

1st: HH
2nd: MT
3rd: BB
4th: MR
5th: BW

Day 3

TRACK & FIELD

Track and Field IHC was one of the most anticipated events of the two weeks of inter-house games. Day 1 had left everyone in awe and abuzz with chatter for Day 2, on Wednesday of the second week. Day 1 determined the finalists for boys’ and girls’ sprints, with finals for long-distance events of 800m (girls), 1500m (boys) and field events of Long Jump (Girls) and Javelin (Boys) being held as well. Sprints heats had left many guessing as to who the champions would be; the starting line of the boys’ 100m and 200m sprints was dominated by rugby players and the girls’ heats had uncovered some of the most unexpected quickfeet.

The long-awaited finals for sprints, relays and the Jaggernaut event were held on Day 2 together with Javelin (Girls) and Long Jump (Boys). Thrilling sprints finals saw MR boys and HH girls shining on the track, as well as the BW girls’ team effortlessly winning the girls’ relays. Some notable schoolmates stood out that day: Nicholas Koh won the boys’ Long Jump with a single jump, and Kyle Lin of MR participated in back-to-back events of 200m, 400m and 4x100m and placed in all three. Maverick Lim sprinted a remarkable 11:3 seconds for his 100m boys’ heats and went on to win the event finals as well. And Cassandra Kee of MT emerged in first place with a 23m Javelin throw, despite having to rush off to complete her NAPFA items in between the heats and finals.

Track and field IHC was a fun-filled event, for participants to try sprinting and take a shot at throws and jumps events that they had never tried before. Each house fought hard and champions were spread across all 5 houses; enormous thanks go out to all participants and spectators, and especially organisers from Track and Field, Council, and House Comm for the two wonderful Wednesdays.

BADMINTON

While we were unfortunately unable to cover the event, the house placings are as follows:

1st: HH
2nd: MR
3rd: MT
4th: BB
5th: BW

RECREATIONAL BADMINTON

While we were unfortunately unable to cover the event, the house placings are as follows:

1st: HH
2nd: BW
3rd: MT
4th: BB
5th: MR

Day 4

SWIMMING & WATER POLO

The RI pool was teeming with people that Thursday afternoon, with competitors, councilors and spectators braving the sun and heat to watch the IHCs of Swimming and Water Polo, the only two water IHCs of the fortnight. In the preluding excitement and cacophony, participants stripped to their bathing suits and painted on war symbols with coloured sunblock as organisers test-ran their games.

Swimming was a Gladiator-style game played in the deep end of the pool. Each round played out with two contestants fighting to push each other off a floating platform with long noodle floats, and Buckle-Buckley slowly and steadily forged ahead to emerge champions. Water Polo proceeded in a round-robin style of competition with two halves of six minutes to each game, one played in the shallow 0.9m pool and the other in the deeper 1.5m end of the Olympic-sized pool. Participants had to score into goals at both end of the playing area, and skills in passing, shooting and swimming were greatly put to the test. Ex-water polo players and swimmers proved to be the most valuable players in the mixed-gender teams, and competitions were short, intense, but full of energetic fun. MR beat MT in the finals to win first place, and BW narrowly beat BB in a neck-to-neck third-fourth placing match to wrest the third-place title.

The water-sport IHCs were memorable matches, and as always thanks go out to organisers and council for the matches played and friendships made during the two IHCs!

IHC SWIMMING

1st: BB
2nd: BW
3rd: HH
4th: MR
5th: MT

IHC WATER POLO

1st: MR
2nd: MT
3rd: BW
4th: BB
5th: HH

FIFA

One of the highlights of IHSC every year is the inclusion of a variety of non-standard games, most notably IHC FIFA (which is basically a soccer videogame, for the unacquainted). This allowed the less physically gifted among us to showcase our talent in other areas as well.

The games were played out over two days, with the group stages on Tuesday and the semi-finals and finals on Thursday over at the Hodge Lodge. On Tuesday, the team from BB was a strong crowd favourite as their players had purportedly amassed 1000 hours of playing time on the game of FIFA. However, their skill advantage proved to be their downfall; in a rash moment of overconfidence, they decided to pick the relatively unknown Crystal Palace FC to play against the opposing players’ Real Madrid. This eventually resulted in them losing the match and dropping a crucial game against MT.

Commendations also go out to the players from both MR and BW, who also put up a strong showing on both days.

(Fifa was played among teams, so placings were according to teams and not houses)

1st: BB
2nd: BW
3rd: MR
4th: MR

Day 5

GYMNASTICS

If you’ve always dreamed of prancing across the gymnasium in a graceful series of cartwheels and pirouettes but have never had the opportunity to, IHC Gymnastics will certainly be your cup of tea.

This year’s IHC gymnastics consisted of two gruelling components: the Ninja Warrior obstacle course, along with a short gymnastics routine performed to the beat of “Crazy Frog” by Axel F. The obstacle course component led the participant through an insane series of physically taxing challenges, including a short walk across the gymnasium floor (in push-up position, of course), crossing a balancing beam while performing kicks and squats, as well as leaping across different platforms and over several obstacles.

The gymnastics routine was conceptualized by Raffles Gymnastics, with participants given 5 minutes to learn the routine before having to perform in front of a panel of judges. The routine consisted of a series hoop and baton acrobatics as well as cartwheels and the like. Points were awarded for creativity as well as execution, with several daring teams performing moves such as splits and handstands to the raucous cheers of the audience.

1st: MR
2nd: BB
3rd: HH
4th: BW
5th: MT

HANDBALL

While we were unfortunately unable to cover the event, the house placings are as follows:

1st: HH
2nd: MT
3rd: MR
4th: BW
5th: BB

TABLE TENNIS

While we were unfortunately unable to cover the event, the house placings are as follows:

1st: HH
2nd: BB
3rd: BW
4th: MT
5th: MR

OVERALL HOUSE STANDINGS

1st: HH
2nd: MR
3rd: MT
4th: BB
5th: BW

Congratulations to all House members who took part in the various events – be it as a participant in the thick of the action or a supporter cheering from the sidelines. Regardless of how your house fared, we hope that you guys have had as much fun taking part in IHSC as we have had covering the events for you.

Keep your eyes peeled for further IHC coverage as the year goes by!