The NCC (Air) recently participated in an Orienteering Competition organised by NCC HQ and a personal recount of one of the participants follows. Four of us, Deeban, Jit Ray, Sean and myself were anxiously waiting in the queue, waiting to take on the theory aspect of the orienteering competition This is it, we told ourselves silently. We entered confident, ready to ace the test. Confident that we did well for the test, we knew that it was also necessary to do well in our practicum.
We were given 2 minutes to jot down all six checkpoints to approach on the map. Without a doubt, we managed to plot the points both accurately and punctually. This was it, the “main event” was about to begin. “Detail twenty one Charlie”. The moment finally arrived. We approached the starting point. Sean, our time keeper was ready with his watch to help us keep track of the elapsed time. After all, the most important factors of orienteering are time, as well as the amount of energy left in the orienteer therefore; much judgment and planning had to take place within our run.
Finally, it was over. The moment de veritas had arrived. We anxiously awaited the results with bated breath. “Will the following schools approach the stage…Saint Joseph’s Institution…” A mixture of emotions ran through us within that split second; joy, thankfulness , yet tinged with sadness that SJI NCC land did not win. From the moment we held the medals in our hands, we realized that we had achieved something that out of all our blood, sweat and tears, and it was a gold medal for the team, and more importantly, for the unit.
Written by: Kevin Teng (201)
