AIT-TU-NSTDA Sports Day

High spirits and a dash of friendly competition warmed the not
so  common chilly weather on 31 October 2008 at the AIT campus,
just north  of Bangkok central.

That Friday marked the much anticipated AIT-TU-NSTDA Sports Day. This
annual event allowed staff and faculty from Thammasat
University, National Science and Technology Development Agency and
the Asian Institute of technology to engage and compete in a number of
sports and games.

All teams came prepared to battle it out on the field in the
following  13 events:

1. Football (men)
2. Chairball (mixed)
3. Tug-of-War (mixed)
4. Table tennis (men; women; mixed)
5. Tennis (men; women; mixed)
6. Futsal (men)
7. Volleyball (men; women)
8. Petanque (men; women; mixed)
9. Badminton (men; women, mixed)
10. Golf (mixed)
11. Basketball (men)
12. Snooker (men)
13. Swimming (men; women, mixed)
14. Running (men; women)

An AIT player watches as the
exciting plays at the volleyball court.

At the volleyball court, a makeshift pep squad kept spirits high for
AIT. Chants such as “Let’s go AIT, let’s go!” reverberated around the
grounds as more and more onlookers gathered. Khun Mongkol of AIT
Conference Center was clearly the AIT MVP with his intuitive
plays.

TU was at the pool early with drums to cheer their swimmers. The men’s
relay was an exciting event with a neck-to-neck battle for second
from  AIT and TU. For a time, Prof. Peter Haddawy was able to take
second from TU during the third leg of the race. AIT’s small team
put up a strong fight but still came third. NSTDA was clearly the
stronger team and won the competition overall.

Everyone was keen on doing their best and having fun. Drizzles of
rain  did not stop the men from playing basketball on the
hardcourt late  that afternoon. 

Dr. Jonathan Shaw (AIT Extension
Director) coordinated the event
to instill camaraderie among the three institutes.

“The Sports Day was a tremendous success,” declared Dr. Jonathan Shaw
(above). The organizer of the event shared that NSTDA deservedly won
the trophy, after finishing victorious in eight of the 13 events in
competition – not including  the riotous chairball match! Everyone
contributed to a great day for  AIT, Thammasat and NSTDA!”

Next year, Thammasat University will host the event. The golf games
will take place at AIT, giving the Institute an opportunity to show
some of its  renovated facilities.

Opening ceremony with Prof. Sudip
Rakshit (VP-Research)

Tug-Of-War

Chairball