By Bryan James Kwa

inline skating

Roller-Soccer tested everyone’s balance and ball control. (Photo 1 © Bryan James Kwa)

*SCAPE, Sunday, March 13, 2011 — Singapore Management University claimed the title of Inter-Tertiary Challenge 2011 champions with Singapore Polytechnic falling short by just few points.

The event kick-started in the morning with Roller-Soccer played round-robin style. Requiring teams to wear skates while playing street soccer, it put the participants’ skating proficiency to the test in a game of agility, balance, ball-control and nerves.

“People were falling here and there, and one of my teammates kept crashing into obstacles while chasing after the ball. It was crazy, but it was crazy fun at the same time!” said Jasmine, a participant from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Inline Skating Club.

Apart from Roller-Soccer, the event comprised a food-hunt challenge across town, inline-hockey with a slight tweak in rules, as well as an obstacle course and racing on kick-scooters. Scores were tabulated across games and contributed to a final amount for each tertiary institute.

Despite a heavy downpour halfway into the event, a few games were halted but most were able to press on thanks to a contingency plan and a shift in venue.

“It was quite depressing, seeing the main venue being a total wash-out, but I’m glad the organisers had back-up plans. I think it was very well planned!” said Lim Wukai, a participant from Singapore Polytechnic.

Before long, the rain came to a halt and activities were back in full swing until the evening.

The annual event aims to promote the local skating scene and encourage participation amongst youths through the day’s worth of fun-filled activities.

Angus Leung, president of the NUS skating club said: “The variety of games were really great and my club’s skaters had an extremely enjoyable time.”

“We were really pleased with the outcome of the event, but we definitely hope to have more tertiary institutes taking part in next challenge,” said Shirley Tay, event organiser from Hvper Sport Singapore and manager of Team SEBA Singapore & Team Freestyle Singapore.

The next upcoming skating event is the annual Freestyle Rookie Competition, scheduled to be on April 2, 2011 at Sembawang Mega Court.

Final Team Standings (Results)
Singapore Management University
Singapore Polytechnic
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
National University of Singapore & Temasek Polytechnic (draw)
ITE Tampines