By Kirsten Leong, Dillon Lim, Caleb Loy, Lyn Liau (2023 Year 6 CCALs)
What do you picture when you think of Track and Field? Do you envision long, arduous training under the hot sun, sore muscles, and exhausted athletes? With training sessions three times a week, you are absolutely right, though we go much further beyond that.
Because when you look back at your JC days, your fondest memories will be the times we cried, bled, and laughed together. Of course, medals and trophies are wonderful, but the real treasure is the friends we make along the way. They say that the strongest bonds are forged in adversity—when you’re battered and spent, and you can’t depend on your body to move on, what you count on are your teammates.
Here, it isn’t just about how fast you run, how long you jump, how far you throw, or how high you vault. Ultimately, it is about the person you become at the end of it. Training sessions can be gruelling, but when you see the fruits of your labour and know that you put your best foot forward, it is all worth it.
Being a large team with 40-50 Year 5 and 6 members split into different sections, it may seem hard to get to know everyone in the CCA. But fret not, because regular post-training dinners, the highly-anticipated annual National School Games, post-NSG victory dinners with BBQs, and an annual track camp will no doubt allow you to make countless friends and long lasting memories.
First up, we’ve got our vaulters running the show in Pole Vault. They’ve got their poles, ready and raring to conquer any heights that they face. They run, leap and soar over the rest of the stadium, falling back down with grace. Small in numbers but abundant in skill, our pole vaulters never fail to impress anyone who stops to observe. With them, the sky’s not even the limit.
(2023 Year 5 pole vaulters)
Next up, here are our throwers. Being the buffest athletes, they may come across as intimidating, but really, they’re the calmest section you’ll find. Undoubtedly, their talents come with hard work and you’ll often spot them frequenting the gym.
Throwers train to have as much strength in their shot put, the smoothest spins into tossing the discus, and maximizing power into throwing the javelin. Talent aside, they’re friendly and welcoming, so there’s no need to be afraid – unless you’re their competitors, of course!
(2023 Year 5 throwers)
Moving on, we bring you our jumpers. Bouncing along the track, and field, they are always aiming to go further and higher. No matter the event: high jump, long jump or triple jump, the jumpers put their all into every run up, take off, and landing. You will never fail to see them soaring across the sand or over a bar, especially between the period of December and April. For the people who have always dreamt of flying, look no further!
(2023 Yr5 jumpers)
Last but definitely not least, we have the sprinters. Despite being constantly baked under the scorching sun, you’ll still see them laughing and messing around. Their training may be tough but tough runs don’t last, tough runners do! From 100m to 400m hurdles, the variety of events provide opportunities for people of all talents. Our sprinters are commonly spotted collapsed on the ground, but fear not, for this is a sign of their determination and everlasting commitment — unless they don’t get up again… just kidding haha!
(2023 Yr5 sprinters)
To sum up, Track and Field is a diverse and distinct family made of the most persevering individuals unafraid of tough times in training. Track and Field provides ample opportunities to compete and push your limits, namely Singapore Athletics All Comers Meets, Singapore National T&F Championships and most notably the National School Games. Track and Field implements different training programs to cater to different parts of the season.
During the pre-season period in Term 3, training sessions, which are twice per week, are targeted to ensure athletes have enough time to rest, recover, and master the techniques and basics.
Onto the regular season (Term 1, 2 & 4), training intensity increases to 3 times per week, with more push periods and strenuous training sessions panned out to ensure our athletes can handle the rigor of competitions during the season.
Indeed, times will get tough, but it is those who persevere who will come out stronger and cross their finish lines. As our belief goes: Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Together in track and field, we spur one another on—Faster, Higher, Stronger. Citius, Altius, Fortius.
