Forest Adventure 2010

Forest Adventure – 23 Jan 2010

Location: Bedok Reservoir Park

A truly thrilling tree-top adventure! We climbed a series of obstacles built high up on trees and zipped around in mega zip lines around Bedok Reservoir! There were many obstacles each varying in difficulty and testing in their different ways. Swinging logs and walking on steel lines are examples of the constant challenges thrown at us.

It was really a hair-raising experience to traverse the course, but safety was never an issue. With two points of security at all times, and safety drills being constantly re-iterated by the instructors, we all knew that it would be a safe experience.

The mega zip-lines, resembling flying foxes, are perhaps the best of the course. Besides the amazing scenery and the cool breeze, its landing involved a parachute-like landing style which required us to run while landing. There was also a near- free fall feeling when attempting one of the ‘tarzan swing’ obstacles!  The rest of the course, although requiring quite a bit of arm-muscle, should be manageable by everyone. All in all a wonderful experience trumped only by the new friendships made and company enjoyed. Its all part of the Xseed experience. When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Written By:

Mok Zixuan, Jamon

Organizing Committee I/C

XSeed Combined Camp 2009

4 – 6 December 2009

My experience at SMUX Xseed Combined Camp 09/10 was good fun at a good price. The $250 each participant has to pay was reasonable for transport, accommodation and all the activities that were listed.

The ‘Pain(t)-Ball’ arena was spacious and appropriate for our group, and it was good fun coordinating together, trying to capture the flag from the other team and all of us enjoyed the paintball session.

The next activity was Wind tunneling at Genting Highlands. I never knew such a sport existed till the Combined Camp. The instructors at the site were able to teach us the skills to wind tunneling in a short time. I started my first try at wind tunneling cautiously, focused on trying to balance myself against the high speed wind. With guidance from the instructor, we were able to perform maneuvers inside the wind tunneling chamber after awhile. It was an excellent first time experience.

On the second day, we arrived at Sunway Lagoon for the Go-Kart session. Since we had a full pass at Sunway Lagoon, we were able to explore the Adventure park and tried out different stations like the ‘Flying Fox’ and ‘Reverse Bungee’ as the Go-Kart station could only not accommodate all 30 of us at a go.

Our last stop for the trip was the fabulous dinner at a seafood restaurant located in JB. The food was naturally cheaper as compared to Singapore, we ordered dish after dish as though it was buffet-like and had a sumptuous meal which consisted of different cooking styles of crabs, and other seafood delicacies.

I must thank SMUX and the Organising Committee for the Combined Camp. Without the Organising Committee, the event would not have been such a success, and without the SMUX XSeed Team, there wouldn’t be alternative adventure sports catered for the SMU Community!

Written by:
Chua Kim Yong
Participant
XSeed Combined Camp 09/10

XSeed

Horse Riding. The name of this activity says it all. Come experience a whole new riding experience with us!

Paintball is a sport where players try to win by hitting their opponents with pellets containing paint, usually from paintball marker with the aid of pressure. A common play mode will be “capture the flag”.  The objective of the game will be to get the other team’s flag while protecting your own. While doing so, you also try to eliminate opponents by tagging them with the pellets.

Laser tag is a sport where players eliminate their opponents by engaging targets, usually with a hand-held infrared-emitting tagger. Laser tag is considered to be less painful than paintball due to the lack of physical projectiles. Check out these pictures of our recent laser tag event: campus carnage!

Wind Tunnelling is an activity that gives participants a chance to experience the thrill of skydiving (jumping off an aeroplane) and freefalling. Xseed frequents Skyventure in genting which is the one and only wind tunnel in asia. At skyventure, you get to experience the skydiving simulator fly in winds up to 193 km/hr

XSeed

XSeed Combined Camp ‘09

The camp was an invigorating rest for us, a great break following the end of examinations. The first event was windtunnelling, an exhilarating feel of freedom floating in the air and good practice for those of us interested in skydiving. Then, we did Horseriding at a highland ranch run by a group of professionals from Europe. We rode on a mountain trail breathing in the crisp, cool air, led by friendly instructors. Its was a pleasant and peaceful experience especially for first time riders.  Finally, our paintball grounds had many interesting features:  small hillocks, a tunnel to flank the opposing team, barrel obstacles, and strategic sniping spots. Between activities, we enjoyed shopping at Berjaya Times and having a self-planned cookout.  Overall, it was a fulfilling experience where we get to try out different activities!

XSeed Team

The Crew Story

Why does the SMUX executive committee call themselves the Crew?

Here, we bring you an excerpt from Shawn Tee, President of the 1st Crew and the story behind it.

Paintball

Paintball came out as a result of two cowboys mischief in the old west.  Back then, paintball markers were utilized to mark cattle from a distance. It was not till one farmer decided to turn his marker on his fellow cowboy neighbor in a fit of mischief was the game of paintball formed.

Since then, the game of paintball has evolved to become a more professional sport. On the 24th of January, SMUX brought 12 members to Octville country club to play the tournament version of the game called speedball. In speedball, two sides of 3 to 5 members square off in an elimination game where one is called out of the game the moment he is hit.

The other variation of the game of paintball is woods ball, which is a far more tactical game that requires greater tactical awareness, movement and fire control. It is usually played in a jungle and is fully mission-based.

For five hours teams took turns to square off against each other in a round-robin style tournament. Other games like capture the flag were played as well. In total, all 12 players expended a whopping total of 6000 balls throughout the entire day. No one left unscarred by the experienced as all players walked away with well bruised legs and hands to show off for the experience. They were however, comforted by the fact that they had been furnished with the necessary protective equipment like paintball masks and vests to prevent permanent bodily harm.

In the end, comrades in arms and fellow players from other teams bonded through the experience as everyone traded their battle stories over a common seafood dinner. No doubt, this paves the way for future alliances and rivalries in the game.

Leonard Ng (24/01/09)
XSeed Team Manager