FOC rundown

VENATORIS '04 came to a close on Thursday 15 July. 
  
Day 0 went by rather uneventfully. I came late, we had some last minute meetings for the opening ceremony, and i presented the roleplay that we were all a part of. we spent the nite at Asy-Syakirin Mosque, but not before we made the videos of the princess who was to be kidnapped...that was cute. I apologise to Brother Hafiz AGAIN for having thrown him on his bum...utterly unintended... :)
 
Day 1 was kind of a rush...participants arrived earlier than expected, and we had to begin our socialising and preparations all at the same time so that the participants do not get bored. it was very nerve-wrecking when you see that things had yet to be done, but the participants were already there waiting...thankfully, the Exco were there to assist in the initial mingling... everyone had to hurriedly prepare the room, change into their "costumes" and run the roleplay through their heads. some last minute orders, and we were off.
 
the opening act was very very well received, with Abu as the King, Fadiah as Royal Advisor, Rezuan as Minister of War, Syaiful as Minister of Health, Nasir as Minister of Home Affairs, Iqbal as Minister of Expeditions, Karima as Minister of Information and the Arts, Shikin as Minister of Foreign Relations, Hakim, Ridzwan, Firdhaosh, Hafiz Kamal and Taufiq as the Generals, Siddiq and Shahisdah as the Warlords, Mazlinah and Marlina as the King's attendants, Farhanah as the Chef, Suhaila, Firza and Shahih as Heralds, Marliana as the Wise Woman, the Station Masters as the Dark Knights, the Facilitators as the Guards and lastly, yours sincerely as the Chronicler.
 
Everyone was really spontaneous, and very sporting despite last minute changes... and that made the whole play all the more interesting and amusing to watch.
 
We then carried on with our ice-breakers, and the the 2KM2 game, which made the newly inducted warriors get to know each other as well as the school. A few glitches in control issues came up, but was quickly taken care of. The weather held up fine, except for a part during the 2KM2 where the station had to be relocated due to lightning concerns. There was a shield presentation ceremony and then the groups were given their tasking for the next night, which was presentation night. After Isya', the groups moved to Hall 11 for a very interesting night game, Hunt Or Be Hunted. I was deeply impressed with the efficacy of the programmers in making sure that the limits of contact were adhered closely to (quite ingeniously too, if you ask me...) and how they were able to tweak the games to suit the objectives while not compromising any values... their resourcefulness in modifying what was needed really deserves applause and credit...
 
when the game ended, everyone was transported to Mendaki where they would spend the night. The committee had a late night debrief which left me with a bad taste in my mouth - but i was too tired to bother... i was incoherent myself... to the point that i could not understand what Rezuan was trying to tell me... hahahah  
 
Day 2 began with a late subuh on my part... i was very reluctant to wake up... hahaha... I ensured that everyone was ready for the briefing by 0800 and let Iqbal and Jabbar take over the emceeing for the morning... which i must say, they did a much better job at working the crowd than i ever could... made me wonder why i was needed in the first place... the surveillance video camera of the princess being kidnapped was shown, and the faces of the culprits shown in mugshots were also flashed... the participants then set off for the next activity which would take them all the way to maghrib... Amazing Race... they travelled from Mendaki to Pasir Ris to Shahih's grandmother's place to Darul Ma'wa to East Coast Park to Plaza Singapura to Al-Falah Mosque to Masjid Tentera then back to NTU before they rescued the beautiful princess (thank you Farida!!!) from the clutches of the evil warlords... and amazingly, they did it much much faster than we had all expected... these participants were really really on...
 
After the rescue was complete, they were given time to rest and prepare for their presentations that would take place later on. With five virtues to act out - integrity, wisdom, brotherhood, trust and courage -  the groups were really entertaining and creative. It gave me heart when i saw them re-enacting the roleplay, which showed that it was really something cool for them... WEEE!!! they took inspiration from many things, Taegukgi, Ali Baba, the roleplay, Internet... it was really fun!
 
Then the highlight of the camp came. Hunt for Faith. The weather did not look very promising in the evening. There were hints of wet weather, which would have caused the event to be called off. Many of us, especially the programmers, were worried, because this was the one event which cannot and should not be cancelled.  The cemetary walk had many objectives which were crucial to making VENATORIS '04 a true Muslim Camp. Alhamdulillah, the weather held up, and instead of rain, the entire grounds became misty and dark, adding a mystical and sombre touch to the already unique atmosphere. Almost everyone went through the activity (the exception being those who did not feel they were in appropriate attire) and gave positive reviews, stamping our successful conduct of the activity. We headed off to Masjid Al-Firdaus for the night and rested our tired heads till the time for reveille came.
 
Day 3 was the only relaxed day for us all. We left the mosque close to 11.00am, arriving in NTU just in time for the final physical activity, Sendaloka Bersama Syai. Apparently, the long rest at the mosque was enough to give everyone the energy needed to carry out the really active games during the telematch and extreme soccer. Everyone took part in the games - participants, Adhoc and even the Exco. It was an uplifting end to the events of the camp.
 
We then had lunch and zohor, afterwhich the participants packed their belongings up. We initiated a short game which culminated in the surprise birthday party for the July babies, and then went on to the closing. After the knighting ceremony and the presentation of prizes, Shamir from NUS gave a short invitation speech to the participants for the NUS FOC camp. Then we viewed a powerpoint presentation put together by Hafiz Mustaffa on the activities of the camp. Brother Luqman gave a final speech on behalf of Exco, and we had a sing-a-long session. Finally Brother Firdaus led us in the closing du'a and we shook hands and hugged each other.
 
I present to you, the 4 days of VENATORIS '04.