Council mulls removing 3 IHG events

By Khairul Anwar

Hall 3’s sepak takraw captain Muhammad Firdaus (right) hopes the sport will remain a part of IHG. PHOTO: ZHENG JUNCEN

The futures of sepak takraw, squash, and water polo are up in the air for next year’s Inter-Hall Games (IHG) due to the opening of six new Halls of Residence in NTU.

If removed, this will reduce the number of sports played at the IHG from 20 to 17.

Cheah Wenqi, 22, former Hall 6 president and outgoing member of the Hall Presidents Council (HPC), said that factors such as logistics and scheduling of matches were taken into consideration during discussions between the HPC and Joint-Hall Sports Committee (JHS).

Three of the new halls — Binjai, Tanjong, and Banyan Halls — will be opening in October, and another three are slated to open by the next academic year, bringing the total number of halls participating in the IHG to 24.

“To accommodate all 24 halls for 20 sports in the same timeline — two to three months — will be rather difficult,” said Jeremy Tang, 24, former Hall 3 Sports Director and outgoing JHS member.

In addition, Cheah added that the three sports were singled out because they “fulfill less of the IHG objective than others.”

“The aim of IHG is to bring all 18 halls together to play the 20 sports, engaging both players keen to play or learn the sport, and bond the hall by engaging residents to support the game,” said the third-year student from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

The decision to remove these sports will be finalised by the incoming HPC and JHS committees, who will pick up where the previous committee left off.

While the decision has not been set in stone, students have expressed concerns on the proposed changes.

Hall 3’s sepak takraw captain Muhammad Firdaus Bin Ismail, a final-year student from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, was disappointed with news of the potential removal of the sport, in which his hall emerged champions during the previous IHG.

“IHG aside, it’s such a waste, especially since this sport originated in Southeast Asia and most Singaporeans don’t know how to play it. If they take this away, there will be a loss of culture in the community,” said the 26-year-old.

Luk Siu Hoi, 21, Hall 11’s squash captain, felt that the decision could adversely affect residents, who require IHG participation points to secure a hall stay.

The first-year student from the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering said: “Since I’m under the IVP (Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic) scheme, I have nothing to worry about. But I worry for my hall teammates who now have to do extra activities in hall to get their spot back.”

Hall 16 water polo player Kelvin Tam, 22, believed that the sport was picked due to its niche nature as only the halls with experienced players consistently performed well in the sport.

But the second-year student from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering felt that, if true, the reason was not compelling enough.

“I’ve seen new players still making an effort to train at the Sports and Recreation Centre, not because they want to win IHG but because they enjoy learning to play the sport,” said Tam.

The HPC and JHS will decide the outcome before next year’s IHG season in December 2017.