" text="#000099" link="#0000FF" vlink="#FFFFFF">
VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 08:23:11 07/24/01 Tue
Author: Edwin
Subject: True Sportsmanship?

The grim reality that we have lost the national schools only truly hit me a few days ago... On a personal level, I was really disappointed that I failed to perform in my own K2 event which I have spent the last one and a half years preparing for... As I lay down in bed late one night, a seemingly unending string of thoughts and emotions ran through my head... I was finally "enlightened" about the entire affair of the race... If this were a year ago, I would have blamed the defeat on everything and everyone else except myself; pointed the finger everywhere except here... However, this was not the case... I guess after going through all the trainings, pep talk sessions and interaction with the team and coaches, I'm finally beginning to grasp the fundamental concept and idea behind the truth of racing... It's not about how much stronger or faster we are compared to our opponents but how much stronger and faster we can go than ever before... I sincerely believe that everyone had given their very best in each of their races and certainly managed to defeat themselves at the end of it... It might be hard for some of us to accept that we didn't win or get a medal... In a bid to comfort ourselves and cushion our defeat, we come up with loads of reasons and excuses why we didn't perform as expected or aced the event like we hoped... I too was like that, until that very night I "woke up"... Some of us entered the races thinking we were great and that we were superior, figuring we could take this boat and that boat, but were disappointed in the end when we couldn't... We tell each other what we could have done to win, especially if the race was a very close one... However, sometimes we should give where credit is due and honour a better athlete: If we think we could have a better start, give credit to our opponents who were alert and focused enough to start the race well; if we think our maintenance could have improve, give credit to our opponents who were well-trained and able to execute a good maintenance; If we think we could have called for a last burst earlier, give credit to our opponents who had the foresight and mental strength to charge earlier than us; if we think we could have done much better had we not slipped or rocked at the last moment, give credit to our opponents who managed to stay strong and conscious enough even at the end to maintain grip and stability... Always remember before you grumble or complain about your poor performance, that there are among us, people who trained much harder, are more determined and focused, more diligent and certainly more deserving than us for success but due to misfortune and other unforeseen reasons, didn't make it as far as us, or wasn't even given a chance for a fair race... "For you reap what you sow..." I hope these individuals will not be discouraged or disheartened, but instead pick up the challenge and strive on... Ultimately, there will be the day when you can savour the fruits of your labour...
Lastly, I hope that this message board can be kept alive with new messages on a regular basis... Though I may not contribute much here, I certainly find delight in reading what each and everyone has to say... I'm sure everyone else feels the same way too... =)Training might have ended for most of us, but I sincerely wish that we will still be able to keep in contact with each other for a long long time to come...

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.