By: Lee Yan Ting 22S03N (Co-Chair), Chrio Phee 22S03F (Co-Chair)

Hope to embark on a brand new adventure and experience a world of wonders in your new CCA? Look no further and join us as we trek through the wilderness, brave the river’s choppy torrents during our kayaking sessions and gather around the warm embrace of a fire during our bonfire sessions with the rest of the ODAC family. 

Here at ODAC (Outdoor Adventures and Activities Club), kayaking and bonfire sessions are just some of the many hands-on activities that we offer. Others include indoor caving, outdoor cooking, and cycling.

Earlier this year, ODACians went through the indoor caving experience at Challenge Cubes. Navigating through the dark, cave-like maze in teams of 3, ODACians got to hone their leadership and communication skills. Besides this fun and adrenaline-inducing challenge, there are many other activities ODAC offers to develop your leadership skills. 

Do you want to improve your physical fitness over the course of 2 years? Fear not! ODAC  places great emphasis on maintaining physical fitness and an active lifestyle by providing fun and engaging fitness games as well as optional workout sessions (HIIT) on Wednesdays.

If you are hesitant to join due to a lack of outdoor experience, you need not worry! A Basic Training Camp is held annually during the March holidays for incoming members. This is the very first outdoor camp that is usually held at Pulau Ubin for you to orientate yourselves with the CCA. It is where you will get a chance to hone your tent pitching and outdoor cooking skills, as well as to bond with your fellow batchmates.

ODAC also provides many unique learning opportunities, such as organising ODAK (Outdoor Adventure for Kids), a community outreach programme. During this VIA opportunity, ODAC partners with voluntary welfare organisations that work with children from less privileged backgrounds or children with special needs to bring them on a day out to have fun and enjoy the great outdoors! 

ODAC also occasionally hosts school-wide events where we invite participants across the student population to join us in cycling expeditions or adventure races. Without a doubt, completing this event is no easy feat—but it’s definitely worthwhile and enriching.

ODAC also hosts an alumni annual recall event, Odacia, where senior batches from ODAC return to interact with their juniors and new ODIACians. It’s a chance for the ex-ODACians to reminisce about fond memories and for juniors to discover more from their seniors’ experiences.

What is ODAC without expeditions? We will usually embark on our first expedition to Mount Ophir in Johor Malaysia. This expedition serves as an introduction to the great outdoors, which includes thrilling activities such as waterfall abseiling, river scrambling, as well as trekking on unfamiliar terrain like Mount Ophir. 

Finally, at the end of the year, we will embark on a more rigorous yet fun expedition. Over the course of the year, ODACians train hard and plan for the expedition, as this is where we will be tested on all that we have learnt. The location for this expedition is subjected to changes from year to year and past batches have been to Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand.

In 2019, ODAC went to Phetchaburi, Thailand. ODACians participated in activities such as abseiling, backwoodsman cooking, outdoor cooking, mud brick making, trekking and archery. It was truly a delightful trip as ODACians got to put into practice the skills they have been honing over the course of a year.

ODAC CCA sessions are held on Mondays from 4.30pm to 6.30pm and on Wednesdays from 8.00pm to 12.00pm.

On Mondays, ODAC has training sessions where ODACians do physical or skills training and games to prepare them for their treks and overseas expeditions. Besides just improving their fitness, ODACians learn many outdoors skills too. Soil turfing, outdoor cooking, and knot tying are just some of these skills which will also play important roles on their expeditions.

On Wednesdays, ODAC usually heads out of school to do fun activities such as trekking and cycling. We explore the many picturesque spots in Singapore—from the well-known Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to Coney Island, and to lesser known trails such as the Pipe-A-Pipe trek in Marsiling. ODACians have also explored many nature trails and urban treks, and have had the unique experience of walking along the pipes that transport water from Malaysia to Singapore during the Pipe-A-Pipe trek. Join us to uncover the many hidden gems that our little red dot has to offer!

Unfortunately, due to the covid 19 restrictions, we were unable to partake in some activities this year. However, we continued to have a multitude of fun and engaging training sessions, as well as skills lessons online! Ranging from an online scavenger hunt to PT bingo, we integrated many exciting games in our online training sessions, bringing the outdoors into our homes.

So what does ODAC look for in its CCA members exactly? For starters, we appreciate individuals with a burning passion for the outdoors, as well as active team players, who can work well with other individuals. Having a high fitness level prior to joining the CCA is not a requirement, as ODAC will be providing you with adequate physical training to get you to where you need to be. 

The active nature of ODAC demands a high level of commitment from its members. Interested students should avoid signing up for enrichment programmes that involve overseas trips and taking on additional CCAs that will clash with ODAC sessions— including Students’ Council. Furthermore, interested students should also note that joining the CCA may incur some costs due to the need to purchase specialised equipment and to fund overseas trips.

ODAC has so much to offer. ODACians learn useful skills like outdoor cooking and first aid to prepare them for future expeditions. To facilitate bonding within the batch, exhilarating games are also organised. 

All in all, ODAC allows you to gain new skills, create fond memories to look back on with your new family, as well as provide you with an enriching JC experience. If these are things you deem as fruitful and valuable, then you should join the thrill-seeking, fun-loving and adventurous ODAC family! 

Not all who wander are lost.

J. R. R. Tolkien

*Cover image taken in accordance with SMMs during the prior phase of Covid-19 measures.