Bersatu Games is an annual sporting event that gathers Malaysian students throughout New Zealand. This year, it was held in the capital city of New Zealand, Wellington and commenced from 28th June to 2nd July 2008. Bersatu Games 2008 were joint-hosted by Wellington Malaysian Students Organisation (WMSO) and Massey University Malaysian Students Association (MUMSA). Other than competing in sports, Bersatu Games offer opportunities for students to meet old and new friends.
Taking this opportunity, UMNO New Zealand sent a contingent consisting of 37 students down to Wellington to compete in the Bersatu Games. It was an improvement with reference to the number of players because during, Bersatu Games 2007, UMNO New Zealand sent only 18 students to represent the club. This year, UMNO New Zealand is proud to participate in all 10 games.
This year, three new games were introduced which are, Ultimate Frisbee, Futsal (Women’s) and Handball. There were also 8 other games, which were, Soccer, Badminton, Touch Rugby, Netball, Sepak Takraw, Volleyball, and Basketball.
Wellington is a city that is famous for being the city of the wind. Because of this, there were few unexpected events occurred during the course of Bersatu Games. The games started on the the 29th June 2008 and the games that were scheduled were all outdoor games. We were greeted with strong wind and heavy downpour which made it even impossible for us to play outdoor. Hence the organizers had to come up with their backup plan and we ended up playing indoor. Most of the participants were not happy with it but we had to compromise since we couldn’t make the rain and wind to stop.
Apart from the chaotic 2nd day, everything went according to plan. The course of Bersatu Games ran smoothly. All of the contingents showed their own strengths and tried their utmost to win games, especially UMNO New Zealand players. We fought like warriors on battlefields, on court. Never gave up and did everything that we could to win. But win and lose are the nature of competitions. We won and we lost.
We managed to get through to the semi-final stage in 7 from 10 games. It was a marked improvement. Last year, we only managed to get one silver medal. At the end of the Bersatu Games 2008, UMNO New Zealand contingent brought home 2 Silvers (Ultimate Frisbee and Badminton), 2 Bronzes (Volleyball and Soccer)and 3 4th places (Netball, Touch Rugby and Handball). It is hoped that next year UMNO New Zealand will play even better.
UMNO New Zealand managed to get number 4 in the overall standings, an achievement that we should all be proud of. Even though we were far from home, arguably, we were the loudest throughout the five days of Bersatu Games 2008. We cheered our teams in order to enhance their spirits. In my personal opinion, we were No.1 in every department. Effort, support, attitude, we were the No.1. As the head contingent, I’m proud with all of my players. Win or lose came second. The most important thing is the fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude, which were demonstrated by every single member of UMNO New Zealand contingent.
We left huge expressions to everyone. We made ourselves big from the very beginning to the very end. Last year, we were merely a small unknown team that every team looked forward to attack, but now, we are a big team that every team tries to avoid. We already have plans for next year’s Bersatu Games which, perhaps, will be held in Auckland, and we are aiming to win next year.
