The second semester has arrived at XLIS and with it comes new opportunities for participation in competitive sport for students across all divisions in the school. The recent changes to the covid-19 epidemic prevention policies have meant that normal sporting activities have been able to resume uninterrupted. Here are some highlights from the second season of the Blue Dragons Athletics Program, as well as the teams too look forward to in season three.
Table Tennis
XLIS entered primary, middle, and high school students at the second annual XIS Table Tennis Invitational on December 8th and 9th. Blue Dragons from all age groups participated in the singles tournament on a Thursday evening, winning three silver and two bronze medals. Then, on Friday, a team of three high school students participated in the team tournament, also finishing second place and receiving silver medals.
P5 Eric Kim – U11 Boys’ Division Bronze Medalist
P6 Rory Lv – U11 Girls’ Division Silver Medalist
M1 Alice Xu – U14 Girls’ Division Silver Medalist
M1 Irene Kim – U14 Girls’ Division Silver Medalist
DP2 Joe Guo – U19 Boys’ Division Silver Medalist
DP2 Joe Guo, Jonathan Kang, and Hiroto Ishikawa – U19 Team Tournament Silver Medalists
The Chang’an Cup
On January 14th and 15th XLIS hosted the second annual Chang’an Cup. After two cancellations last school year due to covid-19, the tournament returned with excitement and fervor. Seven schools that offer international programs in Xi’an participated in the tournament, with 7 teams making up a boys’ division and 4 in a girls’ division.
In the boys’ division, the XLIS Blue Dragons finished the tournament with 2 wins and 3 losses for a fifth-place finish. The final took place between Xi’an Qujiang Kangchiao International School and Xi’an Foreign Language School, with Kangchiao emerging as the winners.
In the girls’ division, the XLIS Blue Dragons made it to the finals courtesy of a buzzer-beater shot in the semi-finals by team captain Jessica Qi. In the finals they met the Hanova Hawks and were unfortunately beaten by a score of 12-5. This is the second straight silver medal for the XLIS Blue Dragons girls’ team at the Chang’an Cup.
Upper School Soccer
U14 boys (M1-M3)
U14 girls (M1-M3)
U19 boys (M4-DP2)
Upper Primary Basketball
This spring will mark the third year that XLIS has organized the Jr. Chang’an Cup basketball league and tournament for primary students in Xi’an. XLIS will have one boys’ team and one girls’ team compete in the league against other international schools in the city. The boys will look to repeat their success and make it three championships in a row, while the girls will try to improve on their second-place finish last season.
The teams will play league matches on select Saturdays throughout March and April, which will culminate in a final tournament on Saturday, May 6 at XLIS.
ACAMIS Invitational Tournaments
With the easing of travel restrictions within China, invitational tournaments hosted through the ACAMIS Sports League will resume this semester. The tournaments offered through ACAMIS in the second semester include: team badminton, golf, swimming, and track and field. XLIS is committed to sending a small, select group of students to one ACAMIS swim tournament this spring. This will mark the first time XLIS student-athletes will have travelled within China for a sporting event.
Click here for more details.
Author:
Zachary Dwyer (MYP Individual & Society Teacher, ACAMIS Athletics Coordinator)
