Y.O!

(Ed: After our interview with Marck, we have Marilyn, also from the National Tchoukball Team. Let’s hear what our lady has to say.)

E: Tell us about yourself.
M: I am Marilyn Loh Qiao Jun, 15 this year, studying in Bedok South Secondary School. I love sports and physics and maybe Math. I do not like English.

E: Explain tchoukball in 10 words or less.
M: It is a sport which displays sportsmanship.

E: Explain tchoukball in 8 words (to your grandmother).
M: Tchoukball is played without body contact, don’t worry!!

E: Tell us what tchoukball is to you in 6 words.
M: It is a gift from God.

E: How did you get started on this sport?
M: I first played it during a youth ministry outing. It was taught by my youth leader, the tchoukball vice-president, and my mentor asked me to join the training squad.

E: How did your friends/ family react when they knew you are a tchoukball national player?
M: Not much of a reaction but said it was hindering my studies. (Which is soooo NOT true!)

E: Why tchoukball? What is it about tchoukball that attracts you?
M: I suppose it’s the game play and the amount of improvement we can gain from the better players. We can always keep improving and I get to build more friendship other than through school.

E: How are you different now because of tchoukball?
M: I am physically healthier and stronger due to the trainings. And emotionally happier. And spiritually comforted.

E: What other sports do you played/ have to played before? How is tchoukball different from them?
M: I play netball too. But unlike tchoukball, for netball, we can only attack from a side and  pass any number of passes. And we can intercept the ball from the other team’s possession to our’s.

E: How do you juggle your life (school, friends, family, personal time) and your commitment to tchoukball?
M: I do not really know actually. It’s the mindset that being in sports, that should not be my excuse to not study even if I do not like studying.

E: Describe a typical day in your life (don’t miss out any details!).
M: I wake up and bath. Go to school by bus and after school I either go straight home, tbas*, training or cca. Have my dinner and sleep.

E: Where do you hang out when you’re not training?
M: Most probably in tbas or I go out with my friends.

E: What was the last book you read? What was the last CD you bought?
M: The last book I read was a Chinese horror book about ghost. The last cd would be Angela Zhang’s Ang 5.0.

E: What is your favourite singer/ actor/ book.
M: I have a few favourite singer cum actors – Jiro Wang and Aaron Yan From Farenheit, Wilber Pan, Angela Zhang.

E: Complete these sentences
M:
a) Tchoukball has made me more independent and stronger.
b) My greatest sacrifice for tchoukball is time and I get injuries due to over-training.
c) The greatest gift I got from tchoukball is for me to improve in skills and chances to go oversea for competiton.
d) If I could, I would continue playing tchoukball for a million years.
e) My girlfriend/ boyfriend must be good in at least two sports.
f) If my best friend betrays me I would disown him/her.
g) Sad song or show makes me cry.
h) I have a soft spot for my friends and my mother.

This is me.

*tbas = tchoukball association of singapore 

If you have other questions, send them to y.o.ur comments and we’ll try our best to get them to Marilyn.

This concludes our Tchoukball 101 class. Inspired to pick up this sport? Hop on down to The Tchoukball Association of Singapore for more details.

Posted by: Kaydence Chai
Assoc. Librarian, Young People’s Services

1,318 views