Athletics and Activities Blog
February 10 2023,
Athletics and Activities
Jonathan O’Sullivan –  Athletics and Activities Coordinator

Dear Chinthes,

It was a big weekend for high school sports. The season two tournament for the Southeast Asian Sports and Activities Conference (SEASAC) was held in Bangkok over the weekend. Continue reading below for a roundup of how the tournaments went and the results.
Middle School football continues to shine at ISY. Our boys had another game on Tuesday. Please read below for a report on how the game went.
ISY will provide community activities. There will be a range of activities. Some of the activities will be drop-in activities while for some of them you will need to register. More details of what will be offered, where, when and how much is below.

Upcoming Athletics

Middle School Football

Wednesday 2:40-3:25 PM: Training for boys and girls
Friday 3:10-3:55 PM: Training for boys and girls
Friday 10th, February: Boys Vs International School Myanmar @ ISM
Friday 17th, February: Boys Vs ILBC International School @ISY

High School Basketball

Friday and Saturday 10th and 11th February: Girls and boys City Wide Tournament
Thursday 16th, February: Girls and boys Vs Yangon International School @ ISY

Community Activities

From the week of the 20th of February ISY will be offering activities and classes for the community. These classes are, zumba, yoga, cooking, burmese language and beginning SCUBA classes.
Yoga and zumba will be drop-in classes. This means that you do not have to register for these classes. These classes will be 15,000 MMK per class.
For the cooking, Burmese language and SCUBA classes you will need to register. SCUBA and cooking classes will be for 5 weeks, the Burmese classes will be for 10 weeks. You will be able to register for these classes through PowerSchool.

What, Where, When and How Much:
Yoga: These will be lessons taught by a qualified yoga instructor.
Where: 200W
When: Sundays 3:30-4:30 Start Sunday 19th of February
Fee: 15,000 MMK

Zumba: These will be lessons taught by a qualified zumba instructor.
Where: 200W
When: Tuesdays 4:00-5:00 Start Tuesday 21st of February
Fee: 15,000 MMK

More information will follow about these classes:

Cooking: Learn some cooking techniques and enjoy your work

Burmese language: Develop a better understanding of the Burmese language. There will be a maximum of 5 students for this class. The low number means a better learning experience for each student.

SCUBA Diving: Come and try out the basics of SCUBA diving. This is an introductory course that you can have the option of turning into a basic qualification.

After School Activities: ASA

This week was the last week of moving or joining ASAs.
The last week of after school activities is the week of April 3rd.

Middle School (MS) Athletics

The middle school boys football team played against Yangon International School on Tuesday. The boys had to travel to South Dagon for this fixture. After an uneventful bus ride the team was ready for the match. The game went very well with the ISY boys able to control most of the match. In the end ISY won 6-3.
The next match for our boys is today against International School Myanmar. ISM will be hosting this game at their campus.

High School (HS) Athletics

Southeast Asian Sports and Activities Conference (SEASAC) tournaments are the pinnacle of our high school sporting seasons. This year is the first school year since 2019 that the competitions have been held. So it was with great pleasure that we were able to send four teams to the SEASAC Season 2 Tournaments held in Bangkok. The teams that went were, boys tennis, girls touch rugby and girls and boys basketball.
Tennis
The boys tennis team fought hard all weekend. The boys had to recover from a late withdrawal of their number 1 seeded player. This meant that all the other seeded players would all have to move up one and play opponents that they may not have played under normal circumstances. What made matters worse is that with one player down, ISY would have to forfeit a matchup for each tie. Effectively meaning we were 0-1 down heading into each tie. Having said that, ISY students have a way of fighting through adversity and making the best out of a difficult situation. The boys played remarkably well all weekend and finally came out with a win in the final playoff game winning 3-2 and coming 7th. This was a great effort!
Touch Rugby
The girls touch rugby team might have been short on experience but excelled on enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn. This was exactly what this tournament was all about for these young athletes. Most of the team is either grade 9 or 10 and that means ISY will be able to carry through to the coming years a vast amount of experience. The girls were able to see how teams that have played touch rugby all their lives play and the up to date styles of offense and defense that they used.
The coaches and athletes had a set amount of goals that they wanted to get out of this weekend. They scored three tries and came 6th in the tournament. More importantly the girls were awarded the sportsmanship award. This team truly displayed the ISY way.
Basketball
Both the ISY basketball teams faced very experienced competition. One coach told me our game was his 30th of the season, I told him it was our second. This was really the tone for the rest of the weekend.
Our girls fought as hard as they could in every game they played. They were competitive in all their matches but experience and players that have played many games together showed in the end. There was also a factor of height. I don’t know what some of our competitors have been eating lately but they were tall!
The girls used every game to achieve a goal. Every game they got better and every game they achieved something new.
In the end the girls won 7th place.
The boys had a bit more experience on their side but still faced teams at the end of their seasons. They were competitive throughout the tournament and had some close losses. In the end they played for 5th and 6th place. This game proved to be one of the best of the tournament. The game went to overtime and unfortunately they lost by one point.
Both the girls and boys teams learnt a lot about how tough competition can be and how tough ISY athletes can be. They made ISY proud this weekend.
All the teams that traveled to Bangkok for the weekend should be happy with their efforts.

The basketball teams had no rest this week with a scheduling oversight meaning they had to back up their weekend with a game on Tuesday. This game was against International School Myanmar. The girls were up against it in this game. By the end of the match we were down to 6 players that could take the court. In the end, after a better second half performance ISY lost to ISM.
The boys put in a good performance and lead for the whole game. They showed how well they are playing together with their coaches’ guidance. The ISY boys team were comfortable winners in the end.
Both boys and girls teams will play this weekend in a city wide tournament. We wish both teams well.

Tennis Court

The tennis court is located at the top of the West side of the SAS building. This facility is for all ISY community members to use. To use this facility you will need to make a booking using the ISY Facilities booking form. The tennis court will be available all day Saturday and Sunday and after 2:30PM on school days. For safety, elementary and middle school students will need to be accompanied by an adult to use the court.
The court is available to book now.

Swim Team

The swimming team will continue their training this new year. The secondary school team trains on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the elementary school team trains on Monday and Friday.
It is not too late to try out for the swim team. If a student is interested they can talk to Coach Chu Chu and arrange a trial swim. All competent swimmers are welcome.

Facility Schedules

Fun Fair

The ISY Fun Fair will be held on the 18th of February.
This will affect the facility use times.

Outdoor: Closed
Fitness Area: Open until 4 PM
Pool: Closed at 12:00
Tennis Court: Open until 4 PM

Please remember that to use any of ISY’s facilities you must fill out the booking form.

Tennis Court

Weekdays 2:30-6:00PM

Weekends 8:00AM-5:00PM

(Middle and elementary school students need to be accompanied by an adult)

Swimming Pool
Mornings
Open 6 – 7:30 AM Monday – Friday
Afternoons
Monday 5-6 PM
Tuesday 3:30-6 PM
Wednesday 5-6 PM
Thursday 3:30-6 PM
Friday 5-6 PM
Weekends
Open Saturday 8 AM – 12 PM
Closed Sunday
(Please note to use the Swimming Pool you must book your place)

Fitness/Weights Room
Weekdays
Closed 7 AM – 2:30 PM (School hours)
Weekends
24 hours (Please note to use the Weights/Fitness Room you must book your place)

**Please note** The Fitness/Weights Room is busy with a lot of equipment in it. Could all users please tidy up after themselves. This means wiping down equipment after using them and returning all weights and moveable equipment back to its correct place. This will make for a much more pleasant experience for everyone!

HS students may use the Fitness/weights Weights Room unsupervised.
MS students may use the Fitness/Weights Room only with adult supervision.
ES students are not allowed in the Fitness/Weights Room.

Outdoor Areas
Weekdays
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 3:30 – 6 PM
The Field
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the field will be used until 5:30 for ISY sports teams practice.

(Please note that to use the Outdoor Spaces you must book your place)
Weekends
8 AM – 6 PM
**These times may change once more sports start up at ISY**

Questions or More Information

As always, if you have any questions about what is in this blog or anything else that you may think of related to activities or athletics please feel free to contact me at:

josullivan@isyedu.org

Kindest regards,

Mr. Jonathan O’Sullivan