Another adventure, another happy ending.
Well, almost perfect ending.
Last week, Team UM participated in the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition's Asia-Pacific Regional Round in Beijing. It was only our second foray in Price Media, continuing off from last year's exploits.
(For more info what's Price Media all about and our maiden journey in 2017/2018, check this out: "From Beijing To Oxford (Price Media Law Moot)")
This year in Beijing, we emerged with the biggest haul of awards: Runners-Up, Best Memorial, Best Oralist (Finals), Runner-Up Best Oralist (Preliminary Rounds).
Yes, we missed out on the top prize. But more importantly, we booked our spot in the International Round in Oxford. With such near-perfect dominance in Beijing, we're well on track to conquer at the international stage next in 2019!
As usual, our team had a good mix of experienced stalwarts and rising stars.
Neoh Kai Sheng - fresh off from the IMLAM boat, where his breakthrough heroics saw him finished top of the oralist ranking in the General Rounds.
Esther Hong - lead her team to a runners-up finish in NAMCO earlier in March, and bagging the best oralist award in the Finals.
Afiq Iskandar and Christina Erin Ong - just barely into their second year of law school, and representing Team UM for the very first time.
I wasn't there with the team in Beijing. Workload held me back. November was peak mooting season (LAWASIA, IHL and TSMC).
(For more info on Team UM's recent epic exploits, check this out: "A Mooting Revolution Awakens")
But my presence wasn't really missed.
They had good company and coaching in the form of our moot legend, Suan Cui. She's been helping the team since inception, even as she busily prepped for her own LAWASIA adventure (where she triumphed over NUS in the finals).
And she was kind enough to travel to Beijing, at her own expense. There, she covered for my absence with the same zeal she had as an oralist.
In the end, mission accomplished.
We swept through the Preliminary Rounds as the top ranked team. In the Semi-Finals, we defeated the ever so dangerous University of International Business and Economics (China). Alas, we fell at the final, to Lyceum University (Philippines). It was a close battle - the panel of 5 judges even admitted that there was a lot of arguments in their deliberations as to which side prevailed.
More promisingly, we performed better than last year.
Let's break down the awards to some simple math (1 point for 1st place, 0.5 point for 2nd place).
Beijing 2017
Runners-Up Team (Final): 0.5 point
Runners-Up Best Memorial: 0.5 point
Total: 1 points
Beijing 2018
Runners-Up Team (Final): 0.5 point
1st-Ranked Team (Preliminary Round): 1 point
Best Memorial: 1 point
Best Oralist (Final): 1 point
Runners-Up Best Oralist (Preliminary Round): 0.5 point
Total: 4 points
That's a 4x improvement from last year!
In the Preliminary Round, we won all matches and all judges (except one). So close to a perfect record!
The breakout star is none other than Esther. She bagged both our oralist awards. Her fiery passion wowed the judges in every round.
Trailing not far behind is Christina. Despite her inexperience, she hit her stride once in Beijing. With more room to bloom, her peak is sky-high.
Kai Sheng and Afiq put up rock-solid performances too, in the limited mooting opportunities they had. They're itching for action, and to unleash their full powers.
Lastly, Suan Cui truly epitomises what a coach should be - selfless, driven, and above all, unafraid to push others to surpass her own legacy. A true team player, fighting for the greater good of UM.
And so, the curtain has closed for 2018.
In the last 6 months, Team UM is on a dominating streak. In all 6 competitions we joined, we reached the finals at the very minimum. In total, we clinched 3 golds and 4 silvers.
We're growing stronger every year. We've come a long way since our Dark Ages. We're ready to conquer Oxford.
This year, Asia. Next year, the world.
Well, almost perfect ending.
Last week, Team UM participated in the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition's Asia-Pacific Regional Round in Beijing. It was only our second foray in Price Media, continuing off from last year's exploits.
(For more info what's Price Media all about and our maiden journey in 2017/2018, check this out: "From Beijing To Oxford (Price Media Law Moot)")
This year in Beijing, we emerged with the biggest haul of awards: Runners-Up, Best Memorial, Best Oralist (Finals), Runner-Up Best Oralist (Preliminary Rounds).
Yes, we missed out on the top prize. But more importantly, we booked our spot in the International Round in Oxford. With such near-perfect dominance in Beijing, we're well on track to conquer at the international stage next in 2019!
 |
| Multiple award winners |
* * *
As usual, our team had a good mix of experienced stalwarts and rising stars.
Neoh Kai Sheng - fresh off from the IMLAM boat, where his breakthrough heroics saw him finished top of the oralist ranking in the General Rounds.
Esther Hong - lead her team to a runners-up finish in NAMCO earlier in March, and bagging the best oralist award in the Finals.
Afiq Iskandar and Christina Erin Ong - just barely into their second year of law school, and representing Team UM for the very first time.
I wasn't there with the team in Beijing. Workload held me back. November was peak mooting season (LAWASIA, IHL and TSMC).
(For more info on Team UM's recent epic exploits, check this out: "A Mooting Revolution Awakens")
But my presence wasn't really missed.
They had good company and coaching in the form of our moot legend, Suan Cui. She's been helping the team since inception, even as she busily prepped for her own LAWASIA adventure (where she triumphed over NUS in the finals).
And she was kind enough to travel to Beijing, at her own expense. There, she covered for my absence with the same zeal she had as an oralist.
* * *
In the end, mission accomplished.
We swept through the Preliminary Rounds as the top ranked team. In the Semi-Finals, we defeated the ever so dangerous University of International Business and Economics (China). Alas, we fell at the final, to Lyceum University (Philippines). It was a close battle - the panel of 5 judges even admitted that there was a lot of arguments in their deliberations as to which side prevailed.
More promisingly, we performed better than last year.
Let's break down the awards to some simple math (1 point for 1st place, 0.5 point for 2nd place).
Beijing 2017
Runners-Up Team (Final): 0.5 point
Runners-Up Best Memorial: 0.5 point
Total: 1 points
Beijing 2018
Runners-Up Team (Final): 0.5 point
1st-Ranked Team (Preliminary Round): 1 point
Best Memorial: 1 point
Best Oralist (Final): 1 point
Runners-Up Best Oralist (Preliminary Round): 0.5 point
Total: 4 points
That's a 4x improvement from last year!
 |
| Semi-Final: UM v International University of Business and Economics |
* * *
In the Preliminary Round, we won all matches and all judges (except one). So close to a perfect record!
The breakout star is none other than Esther. She bagged both our oralist awards. Her fiery passion wowed the judges in every round.
Trailing not far behind is Christina. Despite her inexperience, she hit her stride once in Beijing. With more room to bloom, her peak is sky-high.
Kai Sheng and Afiq put up rock-solid performances too, in the limited mooting opportunities they had. They're itching for action, and to unleash their full powers.
Lastly, Suan Cui truly epitomises what a coach should be - selfless, driven, and above all, unafraid to push others to surpass her own legacy. A true team player, fighting for the greater good of UM.
* * *
And so, the curtain has closed for 2018.
In the last 6 months, Team UM is on a dominating streak. In all 6 competitions we joined, we reached the finals at the very minimum. In total, we clinched 3 golds and 4 silvers.
We're growing stronger every year. We've come a long way since our Dark Ages. We're ready to conquer Oxford.
This year, Asia. Next year, the world.
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