| Fadhil Yunus |
YANG Teramat Mulia Pengiran Muda ‘Abdul Muntaqim ibni Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah left for Phuket, Thailand yesterday to represent Brunei as part of the International School Brunei’s (ISB) Under-13 athletics team in the Under-13 Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) Games.
The ISB contingent is made up of 23 of the strongest under-13 athletes in the school as well as three teachers. They will be participating in three days of sporting events hosted by the British International School Phuket, Thailand.
For many of them, this will be their first year of transition from the FOBISIA Primary School Games to the Secondary format. Whereas in Primary, athletes compete in swimming, T-Ball, athletics and football, this year the students will get a taste of a more demanding schedule and fiercer competition as swimming and athletics competition take place over the first day, while football and basketball are hotly contested over the second two days.
The contingent will face competition from strong student athletes who will be representing international schools in Shanghai (China), Jeju (Korea), Pattaya (Thailand), Penan and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
As part of the Under-13 ISB team’s preparations, they have undergone months of training for what they anticipate will be a particularly gruelling three days, requiring endurance and skill across multiple disciplines.
When asked about the team’s ambitions for medals this year, Head of Physical Education at ISB, Phil Morley said, “It will be a good learning experience for our young team, many of whom have only just turned 12, but given our strength in the pool, we’re expecting swimming to be our best collective discipline.”
Morley also thanked Dynamik Technologies and Potato Habit, who came together to sponsor the team kits.
