Oh Tigers You're So Fine!

written by the Panel (Austin Ng, Akhilan Manivannan, Alisraa Aldin Class of 2015, Ryan Yoong Class of 2014)

It’s an undeniable fact that Harimau are the proud and strong underdogs in the race for the First House Cup (FHC). Fondly dubbed as the “Winners of Big Splash”, Harimau has never really been among the top ranks - in fact, you could almost say that they were in a slump after emerging victorious in the FHC race back in 2010 at the helm of Alvin Soo and Goh Mei Jing. With Harimau’s unfavourable past, it was a daunting challenge for Jazmyn Chang Weixin to step up as house captain and attempt to pull Harimau out of its losing streak in order to return the house back to its glory days, as many captains have tried before her. "Not this year!" she often says. We'll see how her plan unfolds. 

This FHC season proved to be no different with the Annual Games Carnival beginning early in extremely rushed conditions. It is safe to say that Games Carnival was never Harimau’s forte, and the dilemma of having less time to train and no new influx of juniors to replace the graduating seniors did not help their chances. Seated far away from the rest of the competition, with the closest being Helang 15 points away after they received a large number of penalized points, GC 2014 was marred by losses. Harimau only won a dissatisfying two events out of all the sports they participated in, namely Ultimate Frisbee girls and Water Polo boys. 

Photo Credit : En Syariz

“Our biggest mistake was that we spread out the well-rounded athletes in various different sports each day to even up the odds and prevent us from going down without a fight. In the end, this turned out to be a fatal move on our part. I should have prioritized all the sports we could have won, and put all the athletic people in the sports we actually had a chance of getting gold for.” - Jazmyn Chang Weixin, Harimau House Captain 2014.

The importance of strategy; clearly portrayed. 

However, Jazmyn remains optimistic for a turnaround as this FHC season has been nothing but unpredictable. Harimau’s performance in the House Deco competition is a testament to that fact, with the team comprising of fellow Harimaus from all three campuses unexpectedly breaking the last place jinx that the house has been trapped in for so many years. Congratulations to them for dispelling the supposed curse. 

In the previous season, perhaps the most bitter of all pills to swallow, Harimau fell short of winning the Swimming Gala title by a mere one point to Seladang - a point that could have easily been avoided if their SFA scores were not significantly lower than the other houses due to a large number of absentees. However, with a formidable set of state swimmers, and roaring spirit to match, Harimau has succeeded in claiming the trophy in the recent Annual Swimming Gala. 

When asked, Marcus Toh Shen-Li, Harimau’s Sports Day Captain, stated that Harimau has got a good chance of winning Sports Day, provided that everyone does their part to compete for the house. “Although we may not have emerged as champions in the previous season, we have number of good athletes that have the potential to bring back the trophy. Sports Day and Swimming Gala have always been one of our strong points over the years, and I feel that this year will be no exception”.

What the panel has to say:

Despite their poor performance in the Annual Games Carnival, Harimau still has Sports Day to vie for especially after their victory at the recent Swimming Gala. However, it remains to be seen whether Harimau’s efforts in SFA this season enough to prevent a cruel repeat of history. Nevertheless, Harimau still should not be underestimated, especially in the athletics arena. As for CeMA, Harimau lost one of its main powerhouses Dean Tan Yu, but this loss should be able to be minimized provided that the new iMovie captain, Ow Syen Yee, steps into his shoes and strategizes well which should be interesting to see. 

Our closing question to Jazmyn was, “Do you have any last words to your fellow Harimaus to motivate them?” 

Photo Credit : Justin Goh

“We are not really a house filled with all rounders especially in sports, but I believe that as long as there’s hard work and dedication within the house, we can do well. I know that sometimes that it’s hard to have faith in Harimau, but that does not mean we should give up and let other houses underestimate us. If anything, we should take this opportunity to prove to everyone, and most importantly, ourselves, that we will not go down without a fight. It might be a little stretch to say that Harimau will undoubtedly be crowned the winners of FHC Season, but we definitely are not a house to be taken lightly of.” 

Photo Credit : En Syariz