Jonathan, Year 11, Century Park Campus

This year, YCIS Shanghai gave me an incredible opportunity to participate in an ACAMIS Volleyball Tournament held in Chengdu. The YCIS SISAC Division 1 Volleyball team signed up for the ACAMIS Tournament for the first time in the history of YCIS’s Century Park Campus. This was the first overseas sports competition I have ever attended during my time at YCIS, and this memorable trip lasted for four days, consisting of two full days of volleyball games. This trip to Chengdu let me build friendships with students from schools in Hong Kong, Ningbo, and Dongguan. We learned a lot from this tournament, through our new friendships with others from different parts of China, and from the atmosphere and sportsmanship, which were exceptional.

The volleyball tournament consisted of five teams, including YCIS. We played a total of six games, four group stage matches, semi-finals, and finals. We fought very hard to enter the finals, and finished with the first place title under our name. While we celebrated, the other teams celebrated with us also, allowing us to see the build up of friendship throughout the three nights in Chengdu. This trip was not only about the tournament, but also about relationships and getting to know local cultures. In Chengdu, we also had a wonderful experience at the Panda Breeding Facility as we had close contact with pandas, which were just metres away. Having red pandas right above our heads in a forest in their most natural environment was truly a spectacular scene.

This trip not only gave us the first place title, but also gave us new friendships, knowledge, and most importantly, memories. The memories of this trip remain special to me always.