It is not every day that the four Premier Scholars Programmes (PSPs) – University Scholars Programme (USP), the CN Yang Scholars Programme, the Renaissance Engineering Programme (REP) and the Teacher Scholar Programme (TSP) – come together. But when they do, they are decked out in sports gear and united with a spirit to play.
On 27th February, the second PSP Sports Day was held at the NTU Sports and Recreation Centre, featuring games of captain’s ball, floorball, soccer, dodgeball and a nerf gun battle. This year, members of the four PSPs combined to form teams. This was unlike the first PSP Sports Day, where scholars formed teams within their own programmes.
The goal was to foster the spirit of friendly competition and to allow the different scholar programmes to interact with each other, said Year 4 REP Scholar Rupert Leong, the chairperson of the 2016 PSP Sports Day.
Drawing lessons from the previous Sports Day, Rupert said that the restricted number of teams from each PSP last year meant that only the better sports teams had the chance to play. “This year, we wanted to foster friendly competition rather than too much competitiveness,” said Rupert.
“Hopefully, they can also make new friends after playing with each other and getting to know each other,” he added.
The games turned out to be an effective way for the scholars to bond. Members of the different programmes cooperated seamlessly with each other to score points, all the while cheering one another on and sharing much laughter.
Members of the different PSPs teamed together to play sports such as Captain’s Ball.
USPians Geraldine Pang and Max Huang in an intense game of Nerf Gun Battle.
“The people who are more experienced are able to help people who are less experienced. It’s not about ‘you have to win’, but more about trying to encourage people. So that’s a good way for people to bond,” said USPian Lydia Lee, a second-year Linguistics Major who has been playing netball for 4 years.
The bonding between the different PSPs continues even off the court. A group of USP and TSP students were seen chatting away as they took shelter in the shade behind a high-jump mattress.
When we spoke to them, Lisa Chi, a Year 1 Teaching Scholar recounted one of her favourite moments of the day.
“We did our group cheer within two seconds of meeting each other,” she said, adding that it was spontaneous. Chua Jia Yi, a year 3 USPian chipped in: “We didn’t even know anyone in the group, so that was a really good start.”
Apart from forging valuable friendships, the PSP Sports Day also allowed scholars to learn from each other, something that many USPians find meaningful.
“We should take time to know each other, appreciate why CN Yang scholars are that way or why REP scholars are that way. We should appreciate the diversity and that there’s no one way to be good. It’s also a good chance to network,” says Ong Qinhui, President of the USP Executive Committee, who is also in both the USP and the CN Yang Programme.
The games concluded with a prize presentation, graced by Mr David Loh, the head of NTU’s scholarships team. The top two teams of each sport won attractive prizes such as Starbucks cards, Capitaland vouchers and Nalgene water bottles. Afterwards, students were treated to a sumptuous buffet lunch spread.
A PSP team sporting their Nalgene water bottle prizes.
Despite the success of the event, Ng Jin Xiang, the PSP Sports Day Main Committee representative from USP commented that the turn-up rate from the USP could be better. It was relatively low compared to those of the other scholar programmes. This is especially important next year, when it will be the USP’s turn to organize the Sports Day.
Calling out to his fellow USPians, Jin Xiang says: “I hope that next year when the USP organizes this event, more people will show their support.”
A group photo of USPians at the end of the event.
