On 18 Aug 07, Fico Sports Hub launched its long-awaited water soccer facilities. The two inflatable water soccer courts were specially imported from overseas and are also the first of their kind over here in Asia.
Various teams from the Singapore Management University (SMU), Republic Poly, Singapore Children's Society and the FAS Young Women team were there to try out the new water soccer facilities, are here are what some of them had to say about their refreshing (but really soaking) experiences:
Abirami Apbai Naidu, 23, FAS young women team:
"It's the first time I'm trying to play soccer on water, and I think it's really fun. But the difference to normal soccer is that here on water, everyone can play, as no matter what your usual skill level is on the pitch, this is a totally differnet ball game.
I feel that the biggest challenge is in trying to shoot the ball. I once attempted to do a volley, and I even had the whole goal celebration of diving onto the water planned in my head, but by the time I jumped, the ball had already fallen back down into the water! It was really quite amusing."
Ms Julie Teo, manager of FAS young women team:
"Water football requires a different set of skills to the usual football. For instance, one needs to learn how to control the ball and keep the ball within the smaller area. It takes time to get used to it and it's not as easy to move on water as it is on the pitch. But it's still a fun and unique way of playing football, and I really enjoyed myself here."
Huahad, 32, Coach of Republic Poly's women street soccer team:
"I find this much more challenging than normal football. Trying to kick the ball is really a difficult task! Anyone can definitely play this, as I feel that it's not so much about skill, but rather just plain luck! One particular funny moment that happened to me was when one of my girls was going for the same ball as me, we both ended up slipping, and her knee hit my teeth!"
Farrah, 17, Republic Poly women street soccer team:
"As the goalkeeper, I had to keep diving to the ground, or the water this time, and I ended up drinking some water!
There were a lot of funny moments today, but the one that got me laughing the most was when one of the players couldn't stop her run on the slippery surface, and ended up with half her body dangling out of the court, and the other half still inside. She was screaming for help, and we had to pull her back inside!
I had expected to get wet, but the surface was really much more slippery than I had expected. To anyone who haven't tried this yet, I'd tell him or her to really expect the unexpected."
Yatie, 17, Republic Poly women street soccer team:
"This is definitely more fun than the usual competitive game. I don't find it so tiring because we are all really having fun! There were so many times I went after the ball and ended up falling into the water though!
It was certainly more difficult to play on water than I initially thought, but after a few matches, I learnt the tactic of kicking the ball with my foot above the water. I realised that the foot shouldn't be in the water if we want to control the ball better."