Playing hockey for Raffles Interact (Singapore)

I was chatting (via WhatsApp texting) with a student in the Tuesday Mandarin group, now in her early 80s, about our earlier school days (hers in Lancashire, mine in Singapore) and the kind of school activities then.

    She said she was always getting elbowed in the eye during netball, but got her revenge on a tall girl whom she particularly disliked by tackling hard during hockey.

    This reminds me of a time during Pre-U 1 (1971) at RI (Raffles Institution) when I was recruited by Raffles Interact (or the Interact Club of Raffles Institution) for their friendly inter-club competition with other schools.

(Googling tells me that Raffles Interact is the oldest interact club in Singapore, formed in 1963.)

    Being a sprinter, hurdler and long jumper, I was only able to take part in the running events as a full and proper participant.

    The RI hockey cohort had enough people for two teams. Team A won in its group, Team B "won" in a walkover in its own group, so the final game was between RI Hockey Team A and RI Hockey Team B, played on the field opposite SJI (St Joseph's Institution) on Bras Basah Road. (Maybe it belonged to them.)

    I was recruited for Team B as they were one player short last minute, given rudimentary lessons in handling the hockey stick, and assigned the goalkeeper position, as it's the least active one, I was told.

    At one point, Spencer Khoo in Team A was approaching my goal with the ball. I ran up to intercept it, and swung my hockey stick at the ball. There was a thwack and a loud "Ow, Pheng!" (my Chinese name) from Spencer that could be heard for miles away. He collapsed onto the ground, clutching his knee in agony.

    Well, I did stop him (a school team player) scoring a goal for his side.

PS: They never asked me back the following year to play hockey again for them. I wonder why...

(Singapore, 1971)

* (from googling)

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Raffles Institution (RI) Interact Club is a service-oriented CCA, guided by the motto "Service above Self," focused on community service, leadership, and international understanding. Members participate in weekly, hands-on community service projects — including befriending seniors, mentoring youth, and food preparation—along with organizing day camps and attending, leadership training.  

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(from googling)

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Raffles Interact is a premier service-based Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) in Raffles Institution (RI), focused on community service, volunteerism, and developing empathy with the motto "Service before Self". It offers students, known as Interactors, opportunities to engage in weekly volunteering, mentorship, and large-scale projects to aid the underprivileged, elderly, and those with special needs.

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Read also: Playing football for the RI (Raffles Institution) Interact Club

https://piccola-chinita.blogspot.com/2026/03/playing-football-for-ri-raffles.html 

It’s all relative: 02 (Singapore)

 

I was active in sport throughout my school days.

    After only two years in London, I went back for a visit, and found myself unable to go out much.  Spent a lot of my time sitting under the ceiling fan, and even then, I still couldn’t stay awake.

    So how did I manage to be an athlete and a netball player for almost a dozen years?!?

    I was a sprinter, hurdler and long jumper.  For netball, I played the Centre position which covers all three sections of the court, while all the other players only cover two out of three.  A lot of training had to be put in, not just competing on the days of the races and matches.

    Yes, most of the time, we did have to wait until the sun was less fierce before starting our training round about 4pm, but it was still tearing around the field/court in the open outdoors.

    Yet, after just two years in London, my body had adapted so well to the British climate that I couldn’t even leave the house without feeling like a blob of jelly, or “a slab of butter left out in the sun” as an English ex-colleague used to say of his time in Xiamen (/Amoy) in Fujian province, S.E.China.

(Singapore, 1960s / 1979)