Two special needs teams from RAYZ memorized 150 facts to compete for the title of Globe Master Team.
Contributed By Joshua Lok
A battle of general knowledge between contestants. CN PHOTO: Bernard Soh.
It’s remarkable what a long way a little motivation can go.
RAYZ, a service provided by City Harvest Community Services Association for people with special needs, organized the RAYZ Globe Master Team Challenge to create an interest in learning among the special needs students. The general knowledge competition has been proven to inspire these students to stretch their learning capacity, increase their knowledge base and retention power, while boosting their confidence.
The competition was open to all RAYZ clients attending special schools. Participants were required to memorize 150 general knowledge facts before taking part in a quiz two weeks later. The finals were held on Oct. 29 in City Harvest Church’s Jurong West premises.
The event kicked off with a sing-a-long cartoon video that broke the ice among the attendees, followed by an English lesson. The organizers encouraged the participants to pay attention by giving out prizes for correct answers to a quiz based on the lesson.
It was all fun and games but the students were eagerly anticipating the main event: the Globe Master Team Challenge. The hall was filled with anticipation as the final two teams comprising two contestants each, stepped onto the stage. There were three rounds in the competition; first round required contestants to complete a multiple-choice questionnaire individually, the second required them to team up and answer as many questions as they could in 90 seconds, and in the exciting snatch-and-answer round, contestants were tested on their knowledge as well as their speed and accuracy.
Excitement grew with every round of the competition as the crowd cheered for their friends. They celebrated when the contestants gave the correct answers and shouted encouraging words to motivate them when the answer was wrong.
Goh Zhiyong from Northlight School and Goh Huisi from Metta School won the title of Globe Master Team, and walked away with a trophy and a pair of tickets each to Singapore Science Centre, the Omnimax Theatre and the Dinosaur LIVE show.
Santhi Singaram, organizer of the competition, said that this competition was a breakthrough. “Zhiyong’s mother often complained that he was very lazy and would not study, so she was totally surprised to see him bring home the winning trophy. At the finals, Zhiyong had most of the answers at his fingertips because he had studied diligently for the competition!”
Singaram is gratified by the success of the event. “This is the purpose of the competition—to remove the perceived ability-ceiling that people have
with regards to persons with special needs. Given the opportunity, support and encouragement, people with special needs can excel beyond our imagination too!”
