Taking a breather from work, teams comprising of SCELSE researchers participated in NTU Campus Recreation & Wellness (CReW) games and emerged champions and runners up in SIX different categories – ranging from football, road race, bowling, darts, cricket and volleyball!

The various competitions took place last year, and culminated in the CReW staff games 2023 prize presentation ceremony in March 2024.

Sudarsan Mugunthan, SCELSE research associate and cricket team lead, said:

Eze said: “I love sports.”.

Here’s a full list of the participants and winners:

Staff Soccer – CHAMPION!

JP, Martin, and Eze from SCELSE won the Championship prize for the Soccer category!
The team was formed by: Xin Chang, Simba; Nianchen Han; Alexander Ludwig; Chung Byung Hun; Georgios Christopoulos; Santillan Ezequiel; Pereyra Ortega Joao Paulo Andre; Ayan Zhumekenov; Victor Daniel; NADAR MARTIN GONSON RAJAN. It was very diverse in roles with one Prof, 4 A/Profs, 1 SRF, 2 RFs, 1 RA and 1 Admin Staff; and nationalities, with 9 countries represented: Argentina, Australia, China, Germany, Greece, India, Kazakhstan, Korea, and Peru.

Staff Road Race: Team category (Mixed team of SCELSE/ASE/EOS/IDMXS) – CHAMPION! 

Our combined team for the staff run won the championship prize for the Road Race (Team) category, which was held under the “Best Foot Forward 2024” NTU race.  It was the first 7km race for Nabilah, Aaron and James. 

The team comprised of:

Ezequiel (Eze) Santillan, SCELSE, snr project panager
Solange (Sol) Astorga, SCELSE, research fellow,
David Lallemant, ASE, assistant professor
Nabilah Taqiah binte Hasnuddin, SCELSE, research assistant
Gautam Rohan, ASE, research assistant
Aaron An Rong, SCELSE, research assistant
Dennis Wagenaar, EOS, research fellow
James Ho, SCELSE and IDMxS, snr research fellow
Cindy Chan Mei Ying, IDMxS, snr assistant manager (graduate affairs)

SCELSE members shared their thoughts after completing this rigorous run:

Nabilah said: “I enrolled last year in a 3 km virtual run but wanted to maintain my pace and consistency hence decided to join the NTU BFF 7 km physical run + 30 km virtual run to destress, keep fit and contribute to the cause. Was quite nervous before the run but felt cathartic afterwards after connecting with our amazing SCELSE colleagues over some waffle ice-cream and music 😄.”

Meanwhile, Aaron said he joined for fun and his only goal “was not to stop during the run.”

Sol said: “Completing the 7 km run is a challenge I embrace. The campus run offers an environment for everyone to run, push their limits, and challenge their endurance. I have been participating in the campus run since 2018, and it has become an annual event not to be missed. The NTU campus route features steep slopes and few flat surfaces, making the course particularly challenging. The rain before the race added to the difficulty too. Despite these challenges, finishing the race is incredibly rewarding.”

Adding to Sol’s comment, Eze said: “it was hard to climb the “SBS Hill of Death” at around KM 3, and then follow that with the “Graduate Hall Slope of Discouragement” at around KM 5 😂. Still, we made it!”

Some other prizes we picked up for various sports include…

Staff Road Race (Individual Male Category) – CHAMPION!

1^st Prize: Ezequiel Santillan, SCELSE Snr Research Fellow  (2^nd time winning this!)

1^st Runner up: David Lallemant, ASE assoc prof

Staff Road Race (Individual Female Category) – CHAMPION!

1^st Runner Up: Sol Astorga, SCELSE research fellow

Bowling:

2^nd Runner up:

Ezequiel Santillan, SCELSE, snr project manager
Solange Astorga, SCELSE, research fellow
Phung Wen Jia, SCELSE, manager research admin,
Ricky Lim Lye Hock, MAE, lab executive

Darts:

2^nd Runner up:

Joao Pereyra , SCELSE, research rellow
Phung Wen Jia, SCELSE, Mgr Research Admin
Neo Ah Yong, CEE, Laboratory Teaching Assistance & Support, Assistant Manager
Yap Lee Peng, Merilyn, SCSE, Senior Executive, Administration & Faculty Affairs

Volleyball:

2^nd Runner up:

Desmond Chua, SCELSE, Research Fellow
Santillan Ezequiel, SCELSE, Senior Research Fellow
Vineeth Kodengil, SCELSE Research Scientist
Martin Nadar, SCELSE Research Assistant
Soheil Neshat, SCELSE, Research Fellow

CreW Sports Conveners Appreciation:

Phung Wen Jia, SCELSE, Mgr Research Admin