ContactSports organised its first 3-on-3 Kids Floorball Challenge on Saturday at the Penang Red Crescent Society. The event which serves as a platform to introduce floorball to the public, received great response in terms of participation and cheering crowd. A total of 24 teams of kids ranging from 6-12 years old mainly from churches and organisations participated in the event. Before 9am (the time which the matches were supposed to start), kids and parents were already seen flocking the place.
Some were just curious to know exactly what floorball is. Some others were seen practicing their passes and shots (especially those from the Floorball School!) As most of the kids were first timers coming to experience the game, a crash course on how to play floorball was given by Edward just before the matches took place. Both categories (junior and senior, in terms of age) had their matches run simultaneously.
All the kids showed their enthusiasm on court by playing their hearts out, although they were new to the game. The kids from the Floorball School did the school proud by qualifying for semi-finals, and 2 teams, each from Junior and Senior category emerged champions. The junior champions were represented by Josiah, Ashlynn and Nathalynn who made their debut appearance in a floorball competition. The Senior Champions were represented by Eythan, Nicholas and Ross. Overall, it was truly an awesome event with participation from all the teams, cheers and support from the crowd, assistance from referees and helpers and last but not least, contribution of drinks and hampers from Excel Cranberry Isotonic Drinks. Syabas folks!
The Results:
Junior Category (6-9 years old)
Champion – Team RED (Reservoir Garden Baptist Church)
1st Runner-up – Team SAMUEL (Air Itam Methodist Church)
2nd Runner-Up – Team DANIEL (Air Itam Methodist Church)
Senior Category (10-12 years old)
Champion – Team BLADES (Wesley Methodist Church)
1st Runner-up – Team DAVID (Air Itam Methodist Church)
2nd Runner-up – Team BLUE (Salvation Army Boys Home)
It was definitely a good fight between both teams. Innebandy! Co won the match by a score of 9-3. Losing only a game to Frontliners in the overall league, they took home the Challenge Trophy and having their name marked down in the history of Penang Floorball for being the Champion of the 1st Penang League. Syabas! The 1st Runner-Up went to Penang Islanderz who did fairly well in the league. 
Frontliners who did not do too well in the first few matches rose above their inferior position by winning Innebandy! Co and Dalat in their last two games. With the 2 wins, they stood a chance to take home the bronze medal. However, Dalat managed to keep their 2nd Runner-up position by winning over Contact in their last game. 
Contact did not do very well in this league, technically. But then, despite the continuous loss in the matches played, it did not dampen the team spirit. Everyone certainly did their best to make every match count. The last game against Innebandy! Co was ultimately the best game in the whole league. At the third and final period, Contact had drew 4-4 with Innebandy! Co. It was indeed a close and tough fight as the team trailed behind Innebandy! Co to allow them the win of 7-6. The league which ran for 6 weeks was held in Dalat International School . The league got many people excited, regular players, non-regular players, non-players, young and old alike. Supporters flocked the arena every match to cheer for their favorite teams. It was indeed a great scene to see many being involved in the development of floorball in Penang whether directly or indirectly. Cheers to all who came!!
This league was a platform to identify and nurture younger players for the development of floorball in Penang. The league which runs for 3 consecutive weeks beginning 26 February 2006 , attracted the participation of 3 teams from the Frontliners, St. Xavier's Institution (SXI) and Contact Juniors.This league is of no less importance than the Penang League although the latter caters to the more seasoned players, state players and national players. It got many people excited over it, players and supporters alike, particularly parents of the players who flocked the Penang Red Crescent Society Hall for the 3 weeks. Many of the players had their first taste of playing in a league, with official size goalpost and goalkeeper. The first and opening match between SXI and Frontliners was full of intense and actions as we saw the latter trailing behind SXI . The Frontliners had to field in one of their outfield players as goalkeeper at a very last minute to win the match by a score of 9-8. A very close fight indeed!
The second match was between Frontliners and Contact Juniors. Contact Juniors comprised mostly kids below 12 years old fought a great battle against the more experienced players from the Frontliners. Although they lost by 11-4, it was truly a great experienced for the first-timers. The final match saw SXI and Contact Juniors battling in the court for the 1st Runner-Up placing. Although small in size, Contact Juniors showed no intimidation to take on challenges. Their never-give up attitude and an excellent spirit truly deserved applause. SXI won the match by a score of 4-3. 
All's well, end's well with Frontliners emerging Champion, whilst SXI got the second placing and Contact Juniors the third placing. The league would not have been such a great success without the enthusiasm for floorball by the players, supporters, helpers and our faithful sponsor, EXCEL isotonic drinks. Hip hip hurray for all who make this event a reality!!!
Contact Juniorz had a slow and shakey start for their 1st game against Jets; which they marginally lost by 0-1 with some tough defending by the team. After some minor changes in positions, Contact Juniorz came back with a vengence in their 2nd game against a rather tired and subdued Justice League. Contact Juniorz won the game 6-0; in which Bryan scored 4 goals and Nicholas 2 goals. The 3rd game against Fire was basically a must win situation in order for Contact Juniorz to progress to the semi-finals stage of the competition. Although trailing early in the game by 1 goal, Contact Juniorz held their round, persevered and came back to win the game by 4-1 (3 goals by Bryan and 1 by Nicholas) and earned their spot in the semi-finals. The semi-final game against Eaglets was by far the most exciting game for the team. Contact Juniorz played their hearts out and continued fighting although were found trailing behind. In the end, Contact Juniors lost by 2-4. Bryan and Nicholas scored a goal each. Contact Juniorz's final game to determine either the bronze medal or 4th placing, was against Tripod. Both teams were already rather tired but continued to play a good game. Contact Juniorz opened the scoring with a goal from Nicholas. Tripod then came back with the equaliser mid way through the game. With the bronze medal at stake, Contact Juniorz pressed on and clinched the winner, with another goal by Nicholas. 
Final score 2-1 to Contact Juniorz and the bronze medal. The final standings, Jets - champion, Eaglets - silver medal and Contact Juniorz - bronze medal.
Innebandy! Co. (formerly known as Blazing Eagles) and Penang Islanderz showed very consistent game and won all the 3 matches to top their table. Both teams made it to the finals and fought a good fight on court. Penang Islanderz which showed some really good play were the better of the both that day and won the Champion's title by a score of 4-3. They took away gold medals, Precision balls and hampers by Excel. The 3rd Placing match was no less intense as Team Underdogs and Permata played a very good game as well. Underdogs won the 2nd Runner-Up title to take home the bronze medals. The Ladies' teams – (FH)2, Sempoi and Xcel were determined to play their utmost best to get a good worth of their money and also to win the Champion's title. Team (FH)2 comprising 2 players of Contact Club namely Sarah Ng and Melisa Leng together with Sharon Tan and Tabitha of Frontliners Club managed to top the Ladies' team to bring home the gold medals, Precision balls and hampers by Excel and Precision. Indeed it was a good event for Contact Sports to fulfill its visions in helping people make the right contacts and develop skills and precision. 
Overall, it was also a good event for many to develop friendships and gain experiences. A good development for the Penang Floorball scene as well! Many thanks to all those who help make the event a succes – Excel for sponsoring drinks and hampers, Red Crescent Society for making its venue available, participating teams from various clubs and schools, and the ardent fans and spectators. Look out for the next 3-on-3 Floorball Challenge 2006!
