Ever wondered how to hook/spin a bowling ball? Admire bowlers who have customized bowling balls that fit their fingers perfectly? Or just love looking at the pretty colours of bowling balls? If these thoughts ever crossed your mind, why not consider joining Tenpin Bowling!

Bowling is a special sport as it relies heavily on mental strength as opposed to just being physically fit. Positive thoughts can greatly increase your chances of success, and vice versa. Two equally skilled bowlers could be standing on the lanes, but one has already won the match because of having a trained, better mental strength and being able to overcome any setbacks. The mental toll bowling takes on a person during competition can be rather heavy, given that a game can stretch to an hour during competition but each bowler only bowls 10 frames. Nonetheless, the key to consistency is maintaining a clear and open mind throughout one’s game and believing that the result is never determined till the very last shot is completed.

Simple yet often neglected character traits are built through bowling. As you might already know, bowling balls can be rather heavy. The daily routine where bowlers unpack their equipment to train and pack them up again can be tiring and mundane. However, bowling balls are only one of the many equipment each individual bowler owns.  Herein lies the responsibility of bowlers to take care of their own equipment and ensure they do not leave anything behind after each training and competition. Our dear friend integrity is also very familiar with the bowlers. Whenever we miss a spare during competitions but it is recorded as a spare on the screen, we never hesitate to raise our arm and request for a change in score from the lane marshals.

In the bowling arena, they say that a successful bowler requires 10% luck, 30% skills but most importantly, 60% practice. Yes, luck may seem like a funny thing but it actually plays a significant role in deciding a winner. Skills can refer to the inborn talent some bowlers might already have but ultimately, practice truly leads to perfect. Do not be deceived by ‘innate talent’ because skills can be honed. Some simple bowling lingo include ball swing, release, footwork and follow through! With only 3 (or 4 before competition period) 2 hours trainings per week, every training counts! Our bowling trainings are fun in the sense that we bowl while balancing rubber rings on our head, carrying another bowling ball with our non-bowling arm or doing speed bowling. These drills are simple yet carry a hidden motive behind them. They help to lay a strong foundation for us to build up higher level skills and usually, it’s the foundation of a bowler that determines how far he can go in his bowling career.

As much as bowling seems to prize the individual, the team’s success (or failure) is never the result of only the Top 4 bowlers (whose rankings are added together to determine the Overall Inter-Schools Champion). Clichéd as this sounds, each individual plays a momentous role in keeping morale high throughout the training year and during competitions themselves. What appears to be mere Hi-5s after a good shot, or nonchalant reminders to stay focused during trainings, actually culminate and form the bedrock of our team spirit. Here in Raffles Bowling, we highly value team bonding. Not just for achieving that gold, but the belief that everyone will have a better time working hard with people they love. To foster this, we have an entire host of events for bowlers to kick back and have fun! They include the January Induction Programme, March/June Holiday Chalet, and an Overseas Trip (to Taiwan) that we just went on in Dec 2013!

Remember, love the pins and they’ll fall for you. There’s so much that can be done with two fingers and a thumb. Sounds quirky enough for you? Join us then, for we warmly welcome you (:

Raffles Street Dance is a young CCA, officially established only 4 years ago, in 2010. However, it had been growing as a Student Interest Group since many years ago, and Street Dance has come a long way since then. Street Dance performs for various events such as Take 5, National Day, and more. The CCA also organised its very own concert titled ABCD – Anybody Can Dance in 2012 and 2013.

Street is a place where we aim to forge meaningful friendships with people with common interests, allowing us also to fuel our love and passion for dance.

Street Dance places the growth of its CCA members as a top priority, both physically and mentally. We care strongly about all Streeters’ welfare, and make it a point to create an environment where all Street Dancers will be able to call Street their home away from home. Our bonding activities and outings planned throughout the year serve that purpose, placing special emphasis on character development and learning. There is a camp every year for the new J1s, filled with dance-packed and bonding activities, to induct them into the CCA properly as well!

In Street, our members have the opportunity to learn from an experienced instructor, Ms Stefanie Leong, so that they will be able to improve their dance technique in a fun yet safe way, improve their fitness and mental endurance, and also get to explore different styles of dance. We hope that through their experience in the CCA, Street Dancers will learn to lean on one another for support and encouragement, and be able to grow as a team player and balance out each others’ strengths and weaknesses as we develop our own unique style of dancing.

We also hope to be a CCA that contributes not just to the school, but to the wider community as well. Street Dance has, in the past few years, taken up CIP projects such as helping children prepare for their talent show performance at Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home, and raising funds through a performance for children with facial deformities under Operation Smile.

The CCA’s regular practices are on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, though the practice sessions do increase as performances draw near. Our practices include physical training, dance basics drills, and the learning and practising of dance choreography.

If you want to be a part of the Raffles Street Dance family, do sign up for our trials! You will be required to learn a simple dance routine as well as freestyle. Even if you don’t have dance background, fret not! What we look for is basic coordination, your willingness to learn and most importantly, your passion for dance! Here in Street, we believe that ANYBODY CAN DANCE, so don’t be afraid to take the first step to sign up for auditions! We hope to see you there!