Chapter 22: MR500 -20 March 2011

The importance of being d backstage crew. An SMS reply frm Lisa aft I text to thank her for yet another race tt both of us can look back be proud of..

haha..is this an attempt at knight pts gaining again!? If it is, it worked wonderfully! Haha no la no la, u noe ur backstage comments reminded me of weiyi's autograph bk entry. Sometimes ppl at the backstage r also essential for success! I def exp it this time rd..N yes, w/o the other backstage crew..urself esp (do without complaining), annie (mother of emo boys), doreen (disciplinarian), this wld nt hv been possible!!! (is my speech time alrdy up? Did I hear the backgrd music?) :D I love the fact dat ppl put in effort.. It jz feels appreciated n all worth it. I dn mind being the "slave"..N putting my tears, sweat & blood in it. Even if it means growing super thick skin to ask favours from the organisers n rowers alike!

MR500 race is one that bears plenty of significance to me. I say this becoz I always remember MR500 as a "come back race". I recall the MR500 in 2006. It was our come back race after our painful defeat during the previous race - Regatta. In 2005 Regatta, we came in last. Within a short period of 3 mths under a new coach, Sir-Coach Nasiman, led our ladies team to go frm zero to hero. For that year's MR500, we came in 2nd. Not champions, but hey, it was a something really spectacular for us :] This year's MR500 was also somewhat a "come back race". For 2 years, we never had a men's team. U'd be surprised, perhaps ur jaw may even drop, to know that we do not even have 10 men to form a team for inter-corporate mens event. For the past 2 years, we have been sending only ladies and mixed team down for races.

We decided that with the extra funding we've got frm Rec Club, we wld use the $ to send an all-mens team to compete in our MR500 race. We have 2 newest addition to d team, jeffrey and tyrone. Along the way, royal one shamelessly asked for the commitment of some rowers (staff of ocbc rowing full-time for other teams, but part-time ocbc dragons) for the race. With that, we managed to formed a men's team and it marks a beginning of a new chapter.

Truly, we are blessed.

Oh btw, did I tell u that I'm d drummer? :PLet d pix do the talking..

Introducing..Weggis the golden retriever What a regal, handsome retriever, isnt he?Introducing..Sunny the Cavalier King Charles SpainelCheeky Sunny..eyeing, erm..well, u'd see ltr Damn gross..yea, wad can I say? Sunny's out and proud?Me and WeggisAnnie and SunnyRoyal one, with Weggis and SunnyDoreen and WeggisEugene and WeggisSo the guys were down for 2 events today. Inter Corporate Opens- Heat no. 2, following which Inter Corporate Finals (for 1st 2 teams and 3rd best timing). For the heats, our mens team came in 2nd. Gd enuf to get into the finals. We were thrilled! I rmb drumming and jz shouting as loud as I cld for the guys. From the corner of my eye, a team was clearly ahead of us. It was HP Team B. When we came back onto the pontoon, I was given a warning for not drumming vigorously enuf. Like, wtf?

Coach debrief d guys and then we rested, ate, picnic-ed, and chill until it was time for the Corporate Open Finals.

A race is incomplete without supporters!
Some of our lovely rowers who cheered on our guys!

Ethan: Poor boy! He was supposed to row, but he fell off the pontoon a wk before MR500. D part above his love handles, below his rib cage, hit the gunwale when he fell. He was in so much pain, but only managed to visit a sinseh ytd and has to be out of action for the timebeing..Our foreign talents frm Philippines..Rosiel and Marvin :]Foreign talent no. 2-XiaoPei..frm Indonesia :DCheck out our new cooler box and how royal one took alot of effort to have "OCBC DRAGONS" stenciled to perfection!Soon, it was time for our mens team to go down for the Corporate Opens event. Remembering what they had alr done for the heats, and what cld be done better, our mens team went down with 1 goal in mind- Row 1 GOOD set.

They came in 3rd! Yes, our newly established mens team got a race cookie! The supporters on shore were so proud of us. I was so proud of our mens team!

It was also Jeffrey's birthday today. Apart from getting a nice cookie as present, our guys had something else in store for him..TAU POK!Jeffrey being a willing victim as he obediently lay himself downWhat a nice bdae present~He survived!
Winning carries a lot of weight (wait). So yes, we had to wait for the prize giving ceremony to receive the medals and trophy. What better thing to do than cam-whore?

Lisa and AnnieLisa and MeAnnie, mother of emo boysOur newest addition, jeffrey and tyroneTogether forever..bromance-Kenneth and Bryan We were 2nd runner up, behind HP Team A and Team B. U noe the most ironic thing was that you probably wouldn't be able to find a team who clinched 3rd, yet they were genuinely contented and so happy for themselves. Wanna know why? Ask OCBC..Dragons :DOur Mens Team going up to stage to get the awardDrummerReservesOCBC DragonsMen's TeamWe proceeded back to OCBC Rec Club to shower, following which we had dinner at Golden Cafe. Those who remembered to bring their Adidas windbreaker decided to segregate themselves from those who din bring..tsk tsk, such poseurs! :p Us without windbreakersSomething that was really memorable which I felt was worth sharing was that at din table, we had diz impromptu thing whereby we went one rd and each of us talked abt our post-race feelings. It started with me, cz royal one arrowed! Roarz!

It was a very gd "debrief" whereby each of us shared our feelings and gratitude toward one another for all their effort :D For this race, d ladies were the backstage crew. The ones that quietly fade into the background, but are nonetheless crucial in ensuring the success and smooth-running of the performance.
OCBC SHA!