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Faculty Eagles Roar in the Lion City - The JP Morgan Corporate Challenge 2006 By Ian Coppell, SAS Team Captain Photos by Paul Griffin, HS Faculty
SAS 1st Place Ladies Team: Wendy Liddell, Katherine Hallam, Becky Green, and Lauren Mehrbach
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n a cool, damp Wednesday in late April over 11,400 participants from the Singapore corporate world took part in the third Singapore version of the JPMorgan Corporate Challenge at the Padang. SAS had 99 participants, up from 71 in 2005 and 39 in 2004. In 2005 our Women’s Team swept the honors and represented Singapore in the Championship in New York. We had set a very high standard for ourselves. Resplendent in vivid yellow the teachers, administrators, aides, technicians, nurses, and security personnel representing SAS battled to secure decent starting line positions. The overcast conditions were excellent for fast times and our crew of volunteers waiting at the finish knew that our team had done well by the high number of SAS shirts crossing the finish line early on.
It took some strategizing to decide to enter our fastest two women and fastest two men in the Mixed category but it paid off and the Singapore Police were toppled as Andrew Hallam, Ian Coppell, Annika Ferrell, and Cary Greegor will represent Singapore in New York in October. Their combined time beat the Gurkha Contingent by nearly three minutes and was fast enough to have won the recent Johannesburg race. Such was the strength of our ladies’ team that our women filled seven of the top 22 places. Our 3rd to 6th place women won the female category by over nine minutes from the Inland Revenue Authority. Katherine Hallam, Becky Green, Lauren Mehrbach, and Wendy Liddell will also travel to New York in October. Hopefully, our NY-bound athletes will again meet up with some former SAS students in the Big Apple prior to the race and strengthen SAS alumni relations.
SAS 1st Place Mixed Team(L-R): Ian Coppell, Cary Greegor, Annika Ferrell and Andrew Hallam
For the same organization to have two teams represented in the championship is an incredible achievement, especially when there were 298 companies taking part in Singapore. The competitive element of the race is evident, but the themes of healthy lifestyle habits, camaraderie and team-building are perhaps the fundamental goals of the event, and the major reasons why Singapore American School continues to be an active and successful participant. All the runners, joggers, strollers and volunteers who represented the school had fun and although participation is a key theme of the event, winning is a very powerful stimulus and we hope to increase our number of entries in 2007!
SAS Teachers Win Ambassador’s Cup Golf Tournament By Chip Miller, MS Faculty
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teve Betts, Eric Burnett, Steve Bonnette, and Frans Grimbergen brought fame and glory to the Singapore American School once again as they captured the 2006 Ambassador’s Cup championship on Saturday, May 6! The American Association of Singapore sponsored “Texas Scramble” golf tournament was held at the Palm Resort in Malaysia and saw over seventy teams, including five teams of SAS teachers, try to walk away with this year’s trophy. Playing on the Chempaka course, Team Betts put together a seven-under-par round which placed them in a tie with a team led by another SAS teacher, Mark Guggisberg. However, Team Betts won the tie breaker and advanced to the two-hole playoff against the winning team from Palm Resort’s other course, Allamanda. With a large contingent following them, SAS’s Team Betts handled the playoff pressure beautifully. On the first playoff hole, Steve Betts hit the team’s tee shot into the middle of the fairway, Eric Burnett followed with an 8 iron shot onto the green, Steve Bonnette hit his 25 foot putt to within three feet, and Frans Grimbergen knocked in the three footer to finish off the par. This proved to be the match, as their opponents self-destructed, taking an eleven on the hole! Congratulations again to Steve, Eric, Steve and Frans!