So the Open Mic Night that I mentioned before was part of a fundraising effort for our school staff team that would participate in the "Home and Away Football Tournament". This is the third annual football tournament that raises funds and awareness of the political refugees and asylum-seekers living in Hong Kong. Basically all sixteen teams in the tournament pledged to raise money towards the cause and then have a friendly tournament. The teams came from various corporations such as JP Morgan and Pacific Coffee, to organizations such as the Vine Church, the Diocesan School Old Boys' Association and our staff team.
The sun was shining through clear skies on the Saturday of the tournament and it stayed that way the entire day. We literally played soccer from around 10am - 5pm with a lunch break in-between. It was only 7 v 7, so the fields were small and the games only lasted 20 minutes which was more than enough time for me. Although we had the disadvantage of having never played together as a team, we managed to finish 3rd in our pool of three teams (lost a tie-breaker for 2nd) and then finished 4th in the "Silver Bracket" - which basically means to me that we finished 12th out of 16 teams. Regardless, we had a great time and were quite competitive, even in losses.
The best part about the event was the community that was built within our team since our school is very segregated into different parts of the school. This was one opportunity for us to share an experience and get to know each other outside of school.
The sun was shining through clear skies on the Saturday of the tournament and it stayed that way the entire day. We literally played soccer from around 10am - 5pm with a lunch break in-between. It was only 7 v 7, so the fields were small and the games only lasted 20 minutes which was more than enough time for me. Although we had the disadvantage of having never played together as a team, we managed to finish 3rd in our pool of three teams (lost a tie-breaker for 2nd) and then finished 4th in the "Silver Bracket" - which basically means to me that we finished 12th out of 16 teams. Regardless, we had a great time and were quite competitive, even in losses.
The best part about the event was the community that was built within our team since our school is very segregated into different parts of the school. This was one opportunity for us to share an experience and get to know each other outside of school.
DBS Staff team sporting the shirts I whipped up in less than a week - went with the military "M*A*S*H theme.
Photo-op with the Old Boys' Associate team (it's like our alumni association)
Still got it, busting out some of those "All-County" moves.
Artsy shot of the eventual champion "Vine Africa" - they were fun to watch.
Mr. Jackson is dangerous in the open field - don't let him turn.
You'd think that we would've won our last match from the looks of this post-game photo.
DBS Staff bringing home the hardware!
Yes, they even have a trophy for 12th place!
With all of our efforts, the event raised over $200,000 HKD (20,000 Euros / $28,000 USD) for the refugees. A noble effort for a noble cause. Can't wait to do this again next year!
--Justin
