By Chandrasekaran Shreya (24S06A) and Keng Yi, Nicole (25S03S)
Syaza Kurnia Azza Zulikram (23S02B) has the distinct enthusiasm and energy you would expect one would need to take up two sport CCAs––pole vaulting (as part of Track and Field), and Ultimate Frisbee (Ulti). However, more than that, she has the passion: the Raffles Ultimate jersey she wears to the interview belies her unspoken loyalty. Like a child caught between two parents, she juggles both sports on top of her academic workload––and manages to come out of it all relatively unscathed (no small feat).
The Beginnings: Pole Vaulting
Her first true foray into sports began in secondary school, with the unconventional choice of pole vaulting.
Syaza tells us that this was not actually her initial intention; rather, track had been her first choice. “But I was too slow,” she admits, laughing. “One of the teachers happened to know that I really wanted to get into track.” Following this, she was offered the opportunity to try out for the school’s small pole vault team––and thus began her journey in pole vaulting.
There’s not a lot of sports that can give me the same feeling.
Syaza, on the unique adrenaline high that pole vaulting gives her
Syaza speaks of pole vault like an old friend, one that has followed her for years; her love for the inherent nature of the sport is still evident. Almost recreationally, she finds it “fun”, a rare trait amongst sportspeople, especially when it comes to individual sports.
This is coupled with the fact that what she enjoys most about pole vaulting is precisely what makes it special: the feeling of jumping up with the pole, trying to go upside down; the rush of letting go, being suspended in the air for a moment. As Syaza puts it, “There’s not a lot of sports that can give me the same feeling.”
This might have been what compelled her to continue pursuing pole vault in RI, even if it meant juggling two CCAs. She’d first signed up for Ulti, but eventually came the dreaded realisation that she would have to forgo pole vaulting. When the school’s pole vaulting coach––incidentally, her secondary school coach––reached out to her, requesting that she compete for the school, it was a no-brainer for her to agree. She’d missed the sport, after all. And so she joined the team as the only female Year 5 pole vaulter.
This was how Syaza was able to take up two sports CCAs, a feat which is technically impossible. When she took up track (or pole vault), she took it knowing that it would not be recorded as her official CCA. On paper, she is only a member of one sport CCA, and the fact that she was in two CCAs only struck her much later. “Oh, [so] that’s why I’m so behind on my lectures,” she jokes.
Her most memorable pole vault memory was her first National School Games (NSG), which was in part another reason why she was so eager to join the JC team. She had been robbed of NSG opportunities in secondary school due to COVID-19. She felt out of her element: she was older than the other athletes, but still felt inexperienced, a difficult and fine line to walk. However, the presence of her coach and juniors from secondary school brought some familiar faces that helped her overcome the event.
Ultimate Frisbee: Journeying into A New Sport
Syaza’s experience with Ultimate Frisbee had been a series of ups and downs––the initial excitement at starting a new sport, the eventual apprehension of needing to step out of her comfort zone. One-and-a-half years later, though, she confidently, emphatically proclaims that she had “no regrets”.
Stepping into the sport completely fresh-faced had been disorienting even for a sports enthusiast like her. Nonetheless, the strength and speed that pole vaulting had bestowed her with, coupled with an optimistic outlook, helped her work through her initial discomforts. She recalls telling herself, “Surely, if you could pick up a weird sport like pole vault, you should be able to take [Ulti] up too.”
That being said, transitioning from an individual sport to a team sport was a whole other ballgame. With pole vaulting, her mind tunnel visions––till there’s nothing but the runway, no one but herself. All the matters: the first steps of the in-run, the exact plant of the pole, the jump on her take-off. With Ulti, though? It’s completely different.
Getting a frisbee across a field requires all players in the team to strategise, communicate, and adapt to one another’s plays in real time. At the heart of Ulti is, really, a team’s chemistry. It is precisely why a team’s bond––both on- and off-field––matters so much. While adapting to this had presented Syaza with difficulties, she believes they were worth overcoming.
The bonds I made in Ulti are incomparable to the [ones] I made in track.
A large part of what got Syaza accustomed to Ulti was her teammates.
The Balancing Game
To be fair, Syaza hadn’t planned on taking up two sports entering JC, “Who would be crazy enough to take up two sports?” But that’s simply how things fell into place.
There’s a good reason why taking up two sports CCAs is technically impossible; Syaza’s schedule speaks to why this is the case.
Ulti training sessions saw her Wednesday mornings occupied, and Mondays ending at 7pm. Tuesdays and Fridays were for pole vaulting; Thursdays, for the gym. And chances are, if you’ve seen frisbees flying across the school at odd hours, Syaza had likely been amongst those throwing them.
To say that her schedule was packed would be an understatement. So packed, in fact, that she didn’t realise it was till her friends pointed it out to her.
She initially did the bare minimum of watching lectures and keeping up, but eventually began lagging behind when competitions arrived. Each day brought with it hours of training, and barely any chance to rest.
She brings up an analogy of how muscles are built, “For muscles to get stronger, you need to ‘tear’ them and then rest; but I was only tearing them, and not resting enough.” Feeling that her growth had stagnated, she grew frustrated, “Training is like studying, you have to train smart, not just hard––and I was training too hard.”
Her attention during lessons waned, and the exhaustion seeped into her off the field too. Despite being acutely aware of these, she remained torn across all her commitments. It left her feeling discouraged, demotivated, and hopeless––right on the cusp of prelims, too.
But her characteristically optimistic outlook helped her, at least marginally, tide through those times, “If I could keep optimistic about sports, I can keep optimistic about [my] studies.” She continued training rigorously for the time being––friends and family keeping her afloat––and decided to go all-in with studies after CCA standdown.
What Made It Worthwhile
Syaza’s most memorable moments with sports can be traced back to her time in Ulti.
When asked about her most memorable sports experience, last year’s Inter-JC Competitions––and NSGs, more broadly––is her immediate response. Her team had placed 4th––just short of their desire to be in the top three––and the competition’s aftermath saw them in a collective state of devastation.
“Your emotions get amplified when you’re in a team, especially when you know others are feeling the same way,” she recalls, remembering how everyone had been in tears.
It was her captain’s words in those moments, however, that left a strong impression on her, “Even though we didn’t get first, [we’ve] got ourselves a really great team–and that’s so much better. [I’d] rather placed 4th with our team, than 1st with the best players.” It reminded them of what was at the heart of Ulti, after all: the team.
That was just how strong her team’s bond was. It’s only natural for everyone’s eyes to be trained on victory when in a competitive, sports-centric environment. But in the moments following their defeat, she gained clarity on what she valued most: her ties with her teammates, “We may have lost that day, but we gained something even better.”
And it was her teammates, in particular, who were a crucial anchor for her during last year’s NSG season. She’d consistently felt torn between the two sports, and this was when it peaked. It was her last shot at competing for both sports. Competition was tough, and she found her desires mounting: to make the team for both, to perform well in both.
Her teammates were fully focused on Ulti; she’d split her focus between both sports. But with one being an individual sport, and the other being a team sport, guilt––at being perceived as someone who didn’t put the team first––started ebbing away at her. Her teammates were quick to reassure her of their support, though, once she’d voiced her worries. It was their persistent reassurance and encouragement that crucially gave her the peace of mind to perform well during both competitions.
It was truly the people surrounding her––family, friends, teammates––who made both the sport’s day-to-day exhaustions and victorious celebrations worthwhile. At the heart of her sports journey lies both her unwavering spirit, and the people who’d uplifted that spirit when it did waver.
Words of Advice
For those struggling to balance their CCAs and academics, Syaza says that organising your priorities is absolutely essential. “Recognise that the more things you pursue, the less you can commit to [each of] them,” she says, pointing out the limited resources and time we have in JC. Excelling in everything just isn’t realistic, so you’ll need to adjust your expectations.
Take it from her: someone who’d initially expected to excel in both academics and studies, but realised how unrealistic it’d been. Stepping back, looking at the bigger picture, and deciding on what matters and when it matters is important.
For now, Syaza plans on continuing these sports recreationally. She’s taking a “mental, physical, spiritual break”, and looking back at all she’d had to endure––both good and bad––these past years? It will certainly be a well-deserved one.
For our other feature on Talents Beyond the Classroom, read Ren Cher’s story here.
