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Photo from XC coaches
On September 12, the Varsity Cross Country (XC) team went to Bangkok to attend the International School of Bangkok (ISB) annual invite. With 14 schools attending the ISB invite, there were also 218 students participating in the meet for both girls and boys. But the size of the competition was not their only challenge. One of the biggest obstacles our varsity XC team had to face was the weather. The difficult and rainy weather made the course even more challenging and unfamiliar.
Grade 11 student Motou described this as one of the highlights of the event. He explained the challenges his team faced due to the large-sized competition and the rain and mud. But, despite this, he said it was a challenge that pushed him and his fellow runners beyond their limits.
To add, the trip pushed the XC team’s limits beyond the race itself. Motou explained a couple of his other highlights, “The freedom we were given to explore Thailand and the exposure to cultural food allowed us to embrace Thailand from the perspective of a well-rounded international student.”
With the wide variety of challenges, for most of the runners, their highlights spanned beyond the track. For grade 10 Issac and grade 12 Auston, one of the boys’ XC captains, one of their key highlights was celebrating their coach, Mr. Ridolfo’s birthday. They described their surprise for Mr. Ridolfo one night, as the girls’ team bought their coach a chocolate cake.
Grade 10 Ikki commented on her memories of bonding within the team and with others from the meet, “It (the ISB invite), was a thrilling experience to work the other schools through the afternoon activities of capture the flag and the Ninja training camp.”
Like other sports events, team bonding was essential for the XC team. One of the grade 10 girls’ captains, Jamie, explained one of her favorite memories was sharing and relating her experience after racing the course with her other teammates.
However, Issac also mentioned the difficulties of team bonding in an individual sport. He describes how their team atmosphere is not as great as a team sport would be, noting their lack of “team chemistry”, yet it was still better than other individual sports teams. Regardless, Ikki described how the team was there for each other’s accomplishments. She explained her last moments of crossing the finish line, as well as the others crossing the finish line as a moment of team bonding. She recounted her experience, “The guys cheered for the girls as they headed to the starting line, and the girls yelled and screamed for the guys as they crossed the finish.” After crossing the finish line, she illustrated their bus ride as full of joy as they celebrated their triumphs.
This year’s XC team was made up of both new and returning athletes. For Jamie, making new friendships, not just with the other schools, but within the team was memorable. She wrote, “The team atmosphere was nostalgia from last year, excitement for this year, and a lot of nerves for the newer runners and returning ones.” Motou, also, described this as an opportunity to strengthen his friendships and team bonding.
As Auston, the boy’s captain and one of the only seniors on the XC team, graduates, he describes this meet as one that he will forever cherish in his heart. He said, “As I graduate from AISG, I will miss the positive, supportive atmosphere the XC group has nurtured. The many times we pushed each other to our limits, laughed at each other’s jokes, and just being there for each other when we needed it made my senior year bearable and fun.”
This meeting made the purpose and importance of being a team in XC even more prominent. Jamie illustrated how valuable it was to have a team around her. She described the difficulty of XC and the feeling when someone is running is only understood by others who also run. She summarized it as, “It is mostly your mental strength and how much you can push yourself, so at the end of the day no one can criticize you because you did your best. The mutual understanding of this feeling helped bond our team and create a positive team atmosphere that was safe and encouraging.”
The other standout individual results of the meet were Isaac finishing in 13th place, grade 10 Jay finishing in 14th place, and Ellie in grade 9 finishing 26th place. Overall, the boys’ team came in 9th place and the girls’ team came in 11th place. Another standout performance, highlighted by the XC 2024 coach, Mr. Ridolfo, was from a runner who improved over 100 places and knocked 10 minutes off his time.
Mr. Ridolfo expressed his pride for the athletes at this meet, expressing his happiness with the team and their performance, especially with some not being able to run a 5K over a month ago. He explained their next competition, APAC will be a smaller event. However, the ISB invite was valuable experience and preparation for the team. After communicating with the coaches from Hong Kong International School (HKIS), the hosting school of APAC, the XC team will be making modifications to their course to stay fit and prepared for their next race!
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