NLCS JEJU Sports Council Newsletter #18 [Sept 12, 2021]

Sept 12, 2021

NLCS JEJU SPORTS COUNCIL

NJSC NLCS Jeju | Sports

General Notices

Message From Your Editor

NJSC will also be available through the school website.

With the recent 2020 Olympic, alongside with the new

If you would like individual achievements to be mentioned, send details to jspark22@pupils.nlcsjeju.kr

start of our CCAs and Bryant, there is a lot of enthusiasm radiating from young athletes in NLCS Jeju. In this Newsletter, we would like to talk about the

Contacts

“Paralympic Games”, our new start in diverse fields of

Editor-in-chief: Jason Jongsuh Park

sports CCAs and Bryant and also an enthralling interview

Editor: Shona Hyun Park Chair: Nick, Sung Hyun Oh Alex, Yoonjae Chung

with our Senior School Librarian who shares a colossal passion in sports.

Link Teacher: Ms J Forster Sports Council Email: sportscouncil@pupils.nlcsjeju.kr What would you like us to write about? Tell us through: Instagram:

A big warm welcome for those who joined our sports CCAs and Bryant and hope to see more young athletes finding their passion in sports!

@nlcsjeju_sc Facebook: NLCS Jeju Sports Council

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NLCS JEJU SPORTS COUNCIL

The Paralympic Games

By Wendy Lee (Yr 11)

Underrated and shadowed by the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games take place every four years in order for athletes with disabilities to have the opportunity to compete on a global scale.

The word “Paralympics” originates from the Greek preposition “para”, which means “alongside”, followed by “lympics”, representing an event held alongside the Olympics. The Paralympic Games officially began in 1960 but developed from the Stoke Mandeville Games founded by Dr. Guttman.

He was a British neurosurgeon and he discovered that sport was a crucial factor in the rehabilitation process while working to help WW2 soldiers with spinal cord injuries.

Despite the Paralympic Games being founded 64 years after the Olympic Games, the event is organized with the effort from the International Paralympic Committee, consisting of 28 sports in total and taking place in summer and winter. The major difference between the two events is the requirements for participation. In order to participate in the Paralympic games, participants are to have at least one of the 10 impairments listed on the Paralympics website, for instance, impaired muscle power, involuntary movements and more. The classification is specified into further details and depth for each sports category in order to minimize the impact of impairments on game performances and to ensure the success is determined by skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability and mental focus.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, originally scheduled for 2020, recently came to a close on September 5th, 2021. The event began on August 24th and lasted for 13 days with 22 sports, 162 countries, and 4,401 participants. The South Korean team finished in 41st place with 24 medals in 2

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total: two gold medals in table tennis and boccia, 10 silver medals and 12 bronze medals. China came in first place, Britain in second and followed by the United States. The event involved exceptional athletes such as Morteza Mehrzadselankjani, well-known as the tallest Paralympian in history, who is a part of the Iran men’s national sitting volleyball team. With the dedication from the 2.46 metres tall man, Iran earned their eighth gold medal in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Photo by Paralympics of a sitting volleyball game between Iran and Bosnia & Herzegovina at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

Even though the Paralympic Games receive a myriad of support globally, controversies exist nationally and globally, relating to its rules and advancements. One of the infamous benefits of being a Korean Olympic medalist is a military exemption. However, unlike Olympic medalists, Paralympic medalists aren’t eligible for military exemption by the Enforcement Decree of the Military Service, dismissed, despite their efforts and devotion in representing their nation.

Globally, some athletes have argued that the substantial development in the technology of

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prosthetics leaves certain athletes in a disadvantageous position, as David Prince, a training partner of Greek single-amputee runner protests, “Last year and this year were really hard for me to stay motivated to actually continue training because I go into the race knowing that they (double amputees) run faster times and I know I'll get beat”.

The Paralympic Games deserve much more attention than they are celebrated today in appreciation of the efforts of athletes with disabilities. Equality begins with small efforts and therefore constant attention to the event will ultimately resolve controversies and maximize its potential.

Photo by Insider of a double-amputee runner

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Sept 12, 2021

Unknown Sports Player of NLCS Jeju: Mrs. Braham, the Librarian!

By Sharon Yoon and Bella Kim (Both Yr 8) Every day, we go and visit the library -- well, to borrow books of course -- but most of the time, to chat with the librarian! After a short brief chat with Mrs. Braham, who is the senior school librarian, we figured out that she was actually a sports player in our school! The moment we heard this, we stared at each other’s faces with widened eyes glimmering with curiously, and at that point, we decided to write an interview about Mrs. Braham as a sports player. As always, we hope you will sit back, enjoy, and read through the whole story of Mrs. Braham.

Can you give us a brief summary of your major sport and how you came to play it?

I think I’ve always been an active sports player. Way before I came to NLCS Jeju, when I was in University, I used to play basketball for four years, and I was on the basketball team. Later, I began to coach students’ ultimate frisbee for two years. Through many years of playing sports, I injured my ankle and that’s when I started playing volleyball. The thing about volleyball is that it is much safer than any other sport, so somehow my ankle injury turned out to be an opportunity to find my life sport.

Were there any challenges you faced while playing Basketball?

There were different challenges, such as gathering team unity. We had to communicate thoroughly during the game, acknowledging the potential team members to pass the ball at a certain time. Especially in basketball, team spirit was very important, as it is a sport played by multi-players (normally six) in a team.

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What does sport mean to you?

Sport, in general, is very important in my life. Starting from when I was young, I swam a lot: played handball, volleyball participated in cross country, enjoyed skiing and slow blading, too. I don’t think our lives would be as interesting, and most importantly, healthy when we live without sports.

There is a famous phrase in Latin called: “Meno Sana in Corpore Sano” -- “a healthy mind in a healthy body.”

Did anything change after being a volunteer sports coach at NLCS Jeju?

Well, I can definitely say that my interest in volleyball has developed. Being a part of the NLCS community, the time I spent playing volleyball increased since I became a volleyball coach for the team. I had the opportunity to compete with different players, enjoying myself and just being with people who shared the same amount of interest in volleyball, which allowed me to be more passionate about this sport.

What is your life like as both a librarian and a volleyball player?

I think playing volleyball with the students rather than just spending my time in the library makes my use of time more efficient. Seeing the students being happy and motivated also makes me cheerful. Due to COVID-19, it is difficult to arrange outdoor activities for the students, but despite that, seeing students enjoying their sports makes me feel very joyful.

Through this interview, we can see how Ms. Braham is much more than just a librarian. She is a marvelous volleyball player, passionate about so many things; Teaching, Playing sports, and seeking out for opportunities of improvement. As the saying goes, “Meno Sana in Corpore Sano”, our librarian Mrs. Braham has a healthy mind and a healthy body. Though we only tend to think of

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her as our friendly and caring librarian, let’s be mindful that she is also an amazing sports player, and a person with so much to learn from!

A picture of Ms Braham in the library with her students.

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Sept 12, 2021

NLCS JEJU SPORTS COUNCIL

CCA and Bryant Sports Trials

By Jay Jung (Yr 8)

This week was full of eagerness and excitement. It was the starting week of CCAs! As an important part of the NLCS Jeju's curriculum, CCAs and Bryants promote a healthy lifestyle and are therefore very valuable. CCAs and Bryant give all students the opportunity to either improve their passions or to explore diverse fields of new activities they have not experienced before. This term, the CCAs are divided into general groups each day. Tuesdays are the squads that are currently on their season, Wednesdays are pre-season sports and Thursdays are just regular sports CCAs.

CCAs and Bryants have always been a way to improve student’s diverse skills across different fields of interest. As the years have passed, the activities expanded more! This term, a lot of CCAs and Bryants have included additional” Fitness” to their programme, hoping to cover more basic sports techniques as well as a particular sport. Also, there are now “Girls Only” programs that are held. This could possibly be a key to draw more girls into sports and try to cultivate their skills by having a gender split; focusing on shaping the program for one gender’s needs.

These changes are what some might consider subtle, but changes that definitely improved our program, ultimately elevating the lifestyle of the students in NLCS Jeju.

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During the first week of school (8/24~8/26), CCA trials took place in various parts of the school.

Lots of students joined sports trials from all different ages groups from Year 7 up to Year 13, making the sports trials more competitive and engaging to take part in. More than 700 applications were listed to participate in making the trials, transforming what might have been a very grave event, into a mini-festival. Every trial event was taken seriously with grit, with the joy of the students adding a tint of cheerfulness to these events. As a result, most students were able to join the CCA or Bryant they wished to participate in.

This is an astonishing number of students and teachers that showed interest in sports and extracurricular activity. For each event, there are at least 2~3 coaches that support and guide the pupils to diverse activities. Among those activities, there were some activities that were oversubscribed due to their skyrocketing popularity. Some of these activities were Badminton Squad Girls, Basketball MS Pre-season, Rugby Squad MS boys, Tennis Squad, Football Recreational boys, Netball HS Squad girls, and Table Tennis Bryant. Well done to all the students who made it into these popular CCAs despite all the competitiveness. It must have been really difficult!

The CCAs and Bryant selected this term will continue until this Winter. The Sports Council hopes that everybody chose their CCAs and Bryant the way they wanted it to be with the peers they desired to be with. By the end of this term, the hard work will pay off and bring some positive results in increased skills. Have a wonderful term accompanied by sports!

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