Events
15
Bench & Bar Games 2013
One of the great attractions of working in the Legal Service is that nearly every piece of work is a small tiny bit of national service. That said, in the midst of all the minutes that must be written, the mentions that must be attended, it is sometimes easy to miss the forest for the trees. Which is why the annual Bench and Bar games are so fun –few things stir feelings of patriotism in a normally apathetic Singaporean heart more than a grudge match between Singapore and Malaysia. All the more so since Singapore was going into the games having lost for 6 years in a row, and so a seventh loss (on home ground advantage no less!) would be highly demoralising.
For the uninitiated, the Bench and Bar Games are held annually between the legal fraternities of Singapore and Malaysia. There are a number of events, ranging from the rigorous (such as football) to the more sedate (like golf, which also happens to be a favourite of our High Court Judges). The country that wins the most events walks home with the “Judges Cup”, while the losing country has the dubious honour of getting the “Lawyer’s Mug.” The games are typically capped off with a gala dinner for lawyers and judges from both countries to rub shoulders. It is also the time for some good natured ribbing of the losing side (which, up till this year, was generally directed at the Singaporeans).
And so it was from 16 to 18 May 2013 that a few good lawyers set out to reclaim the tattered remnants of our national pride. Just like last year, AGC sent a sizeable contingent of athletes, many of whom ran for the cross country event. Besides running, our legal officers also fought for Singapore in badminton, volleyball, squash, football, and golf.
It is with great pleasure that we report that Singapore was finally able to claim the Judges Cup this year. AGC’s athletes performed admirably in all the events, playing no small part in the overall Singaporean victory. Cross country in particular was a resounding success for us, with the top twenty runners reading like the AGC telephone list. Special mention should be made of Ms Karin Lai and Deputy Chief Counsel Ms Aurill Kam who came in second and third for the female event, and in the process, also utterly crushed a man’s male ego as evidenced in the picture below:
For the guy on the right, this was the single most embarrassing day for his male ego. One that would live on in infamy, and forever remembered as the butt of countless office jokes. Someday, he might finally gather enough confidence to run again, but for now he is sticking to aqua aerobics.
For Aurill and Karin, it was Saturday.