Author: Anastasha Arlene Junigo of Forest Resource Department; Published Date: 28th May 2022
It was a vast and exciting relief to those at camp when heavy COVID restrictions were lifted. The Sapulut staff could finally and safely hold its long-awaited sports festival and its ceremony day. Held annually, this event is organised to nurture teamwork and strengthen the camaraderie between employees. However, it was abruptly halted in 2020 when the pandemic took hold. Thankfully, this year in 2022, after being put off for two difficult consecutive years, the Sapulut Social Welfare Committee, led by its chairman, Flerrencius Jossilin and his team, managed to relaunch the spirit of sports into FMU14’s orbit. In an opening speech during the final day ceremony on the 14th of May, the FU Executive Manager said,
“Today, the sole feeling I have is a joy because we can finally gather like this again after two years. We take this once-a-year opportunity to build stronger relationships among us and celebrate our sports day. “
He was then asked to use darts to pop powder-filled balloons as a way to start the day. The day began with a Zumba warm-up.
Before the final ceremony, multiple sports were held over the weeks beginning in March, including football, badminton, ping-pong, Speak Takraw, volleyball, and two E-sports gaming tournaments, namely, for the first time ever, Mobile Legends and PUBG Mobile, which garnered encouraging participation. Seven teams competed: the Timber Harvesting team, the Forest Protection team, the Plantation team, the Forest Support team, the Forest Resource team, and two teams made up of departments that merged, the Machinery and Road Maintenance team and the Purchasing team, as well as the FAD team, which was made up of the Finance, HR, OSH, Field Audit, and Building Maintenance departments.
In addition, staff gets to represent their respective departments to earn prizes and points for their teams to win a final grand prize and round trophy.
On the final ceremony day, staff got to have fun with various old-school mini-games such as coconut bowling, tiup tepung, tunjuk bumi, selipar gergasi, water-balloon catch, water bottle filling, ping-pong pass, and human wheelbarrow. The inner child’s happiness and cheekiness showed through in each simple game, as lively cheers and laughter filled the atmosphere at the field of the Tibow forestry department throughout the afternoon.
After an afternoon lunch, the day finally ended by announcing all the winners of each sport or game and awarding prizes. Victory went to the Timber Harvesting team, who got to keep the round trophy until the next annual sports event, followed by the Plantation team and the FAD team,
“We hope to organise another successful sports festival next year,” said the Social Welfare Committee chairman in his final closing speech before everyone dispersed with their prizes, fond memories, and stronger bonds.
This event not only encouraged healthy sports activities but also restored and improved happiness, unity, and teamwork among staff, especially after being plagued by COVID-19. This was possible thanks to the cooperation of the organising team and the support from everyone.
