midwestgames (i)
the midwest games 2007 commenced last month.
fyi, midwest games is a quasi-olympic event being held every spring by msian students, sponsored by the Msian Student Department and the Embassy and the host university and at times by the big companies such as Intel etc. the operating budget is usually around $20-30K minimum, and the event is attended by at least 1000 student athletes from all over the continent.
this is all by way of saying that it's a huge event. HUGE.
you just don't screw around with this.
the host this year is *technically* the northern illinois univ at dekalb. i say *technically* because the organizing committee was drawn up out of students from many many other universities. a collaboration, so to speak. the unspoken part was the fact that the committee itself was desperately scrambled together by MSD, like, five minutes ago, and then sent off to the lions in hopes they'll survive unscathed.
so, the organizing committee this year was somewhat unorganized, shall we say.
typical malaysian.
and the unpreparedness the inexperience the disorganization was very apparent. the whole frakking event felt like being held together by cellotapes, and people were like, whoa, is it going to crash and crumble??
i supposed, of all people, i must not be critical of the committee. we at WMU did our own midwest games, i know how tough a gig it is. so i emphatized with the people running the show this year. they didn't have much time to plan and prepare. not much manpower, either. the pre-officials pre-meeting was a hassle. the games started at an ungodly seven-thirty in the morning. the game's rule (i played basketball) kept changing to make sure we all finished in time for the opening ceremony at four pm, wtf. opening ceremony apa la weii orang dah abis main dah, ntah hapa-hapa. and the closing ceremony was, hmm camna nak cakap ek, kira budak highschool buat show pun would be clearly more professional-looking than this dog-n-pony show the 2007MG people conjured up.
again, typical msian. asalkan buat, cukup. now let's slap each other's back. syabasss yehhh mesia bulehhh.
sheeshhh.
but still, i emphatized. i was very unimpressed, but i emphatized. the organizer had an impossible task. but they gritted their teeth and stuck to the gameplan, come hellfire or highwater. and i speak from experience - i took part in several midwest games, and i personally directed one - when i say that many many many other things could've gone wrong butforthegraceofGod no major fuck-ups actually happened, so all in all i suppose they did okay, if for no other reason than that they somehow managed to hold to the flimsy thing together.
and so, when the curtains for the closing ceremony were finally drawned (oh hell, let's be honest there was NO curtain there was just a stage with spotlights on it and mic wires strewn all over the floor... that was how truly kindergarten-y the whole production was, but, i digress...), i ventured into the crowd outside the hall looking for the guy, found him, shook his hand, introduced myself as a fellow former midwest games chairman, and told him that he did a good job putting together everything considering what little resources he had to start with.
till next year, people.
fyi, midwest games is a quasi-olympic event being held every spring by msian students, sponsored by the Msian Student Department and the Embassy and the host university and at times by the big companies such as Intel etc. the operating budget is usually around $20-30K minimum, and the event is attended by at least 1000 student athletes from all over the continent.
this is all by way of saying that it's a huge event. HUGE.
you just don't screw around with this.
the host this year is *technically* the northern illinois univ at dekalb. i say *technically* because the organizing committee was drawn up out of students from many many other universities. a collaboration, so to speak. the unspoken part was the fact that the committee itself was desperately scrambled together by MSD, like, five minutes ago, and then sent off to the lions in hopes they'll survive unscathed.
so, the organizing committee this year was somewhat unorganized, shall we say.
typical malaysian.
and the unpreparedness the inexperience the disorganization was very apparent. the whole frakking event felt like being held together by cellotapes, and people were like, whoa, is it going to crash and crumble??
i supposed, of all people, i must not be critical of the committee. we at WMU did our own midwest games, i know how tough a gig it is. so i emphatized with the people running the show this year. they didn't have much time to plan and prepare. not much manpower, either. the pre-officials pre-meeting was a hassle. the games started at an ungodly seven-thirty in the morning. the game's rule (i played basketball) kept changing to make sure we all finished in time for the opening ceremony at four pm, wtf. opening ceremony apa la weii orang dah abis main dah, ntah hapa-hapa. and the closing ceremony was, hmm camna nak cakap ek, kira budak highschool buat show pun would be clearly more professional-looking than this dog-n-pony show the 2007MG people conjured up.
again, typical msian. asalkan buat, cukup. now let's slap each other's back. syabasss yehhh mesia bulehhh.
sheeshhh.
but still, i emphatized. i was very unimpressed, but i emphatized. the organizer had an impossible task. but they gritted their teeth and stuck to the gameplan, come hellfire or highwater. and i speak from experience - i took part in several midwest games, and i personally directed one - when i say that many many many other things could've gone wrong butforthegraceofGod no major fuck-ups actually happened, so all in all i suppose they did okay, if for no other reason than that they somehow managed to hold to the flimsy thing together.
and so, when the curtains for the closing ceremony were finally drawned (oh hell, let's be honest there was NO curtain there was just a stage with spotlights on it and mic wires strewn all over the floor... that was how truly kindergarten-y the whole production was, but, i digress...), i ventured into the crowd outside the hall looking for the guy, found him, shook his hand, introduced myself as a fellow former midwest games chairman, and told him that he did a good job putting together everything considering what little resources he had to start with.
till next year, people.
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