Life In Borneo

Posted by Raz on December 25th, 2008 in Events, Sports

This part of the search was held at 1Borneo on Saturday 20th December. Kota Kinabalu was the final stop for the RBFDS 2008. The Red Bull Female Driver Search is held to find the best female drivers in Malaysia to join the Red Bull Rookies.

Excerpt from their website:
“The Red Bull Rookies is Malaysia’s first all-female amatuer racing team. For year 2007, four lucky young ladies were handpicked from over 600 hopefuls nationwide. The gutsy girls who made the cut are Puteri Ayu Jasmin and Leona Chin, who went on to compete in the 2008 Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race under the tutelage of Team Manager Kenvin Low, who is also the Chief Trainer at the Asia Advanced Driving Academy. Kenvin himself has finished on the podium at the Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race, making him the perfect mentor for the girls. True enough the Rookies managed to finish 6th in their class, beating out 13 professional race teams, nearly half of which didnt even finish the race!”

RBFDS’s Road Shows Nationwide:

• Kuching, Boulevard Mall - October 25 2008
• Ipoh, Dataran MBI- 8th November
• Malacca, Dataran Pahlawan - 15th November
• Penang, Autocity Juru - 22nd November
• Johor Bahru, Sutera Mall, Skudai - 6th December
• Kuala Lumpur, Republic @ Sunway Pyramid -13th December
• Kota Kinabalu, 1Borneo - 20th December

Here are some pics from that day:

Some of the participants being briefed and waiting for their turn.

A participant about to start their time attack, readied by a trainer

Another trainer from the Asia Advanced Driving Academy

Leona Chin and her Domokun

Leona demonstrates to us how it’s done.

We also experienced her driving first hand. To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. She is simply phenomenal.

This year, over 1400 participants were recruited online and later on had around 600 more participants so far (not yet included with Kota Kinabalu at the point of this writing). Red Bull will be announcing the Top 30 finalists nationwide in January 2009.

Info source: http://www.redbull.com.my/rbfds/index.html
Also check out: http://www.redbullmsia-happenings.blogspot.com/

Photos by Zie

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Posted by Daniel on December 15th, 2008 in Events, Sports

The F2 World Cup Powerboat Race 2008 was held at the Kota Kinabalu Waterfront from 12th to 14th of December 2008. It was the final race of this year’s World Cup Powerboat series, and also the event’s second consecutive time being held on the shores of Sabah.

The fastest Powerboat on the South China Sea

There were 18 participants in the F2000 World Cup Powerboat Race, but the spotlight was mainly on two racers - the reigning world champion Colin Jelf and the rising star from Italy, Alex Carella. There was no doubt that Colin had already won the F2 World Cup title from the points accumulated, so all eyes were on who was going to win the Malaysian leg of the F2000 World Cup Series race.

The talented young Italian clocked impressive lap times through the Free Practice and Timed Trials. He continued on to win both the Speed Record and Match Race on the second day of the race.

Colin and Alex met in the final match race on Sunday, but Alex powered through to the finish line just slightly ahead of the Briton to win the Grand Prix race. Colin Jelf won Second place, while Jean Baptiste Thomas won Third.

Here is the race result for the Sabah 2008 F2000 World Cup Powerboat Race:

For more race results, head to http://www.powersportevents.com.my.

Congratulations to Alex Carella and the Steeltrade Racing Team for a superb win, and to Colin Jelf and his team Jelf Racing for winning the overall F2 World Cup Series. We give our hands to the organizers of the event, Powersports Events Sdn. Bhd. for succesfully hosting the F2 World Cup Powerboat Race for the second consecutive year.

Overall Standing Championship Points :

45 points - Colin Jelf
29 points - Jonas Andersson
27 points - Owen Jelf
21 points - Ugis Gross
20 points - Alex Carella
20 points - Jean Baptiste Thomas
19 points - Rick Haakonsen
16 points - Yousef Al Robayan
12 points - Michael Nylund
10 points - Johan Coenradi
06 points - Sven Janson
05 points - Nick Bisterfeld
03 points - Gianni Manici
01 points - Maritns Bergholcs

Information Sources:
http://www.formula2boat.com/index.html
http://www.powersportevents.com.my/
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=61493

Photos by Eshark and Zie

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Posted by Daniel on October 18th, 2008 in Events, Sports

Legend has it that more than two thousand years ago, a Greek messenger ran from the town of Marathon to the city of Athens for two days to bring news of great victory over their Persian Invaders. He ran without stopping, with only the honour of bearing the news giving strength to his weary legs and aching heels. Two millennias later, modern-day runners continued the long-running legacy of Philippides at the Likas Stadium last Sunday in the Borneo International Marathon. We didn’t wish to be left behind, so we packed our equipments and our running shoes and ran to the Likas Stadium at the hour of the owls to cover this international marathon event.

Runners, please take your place

12 October, 2008 - The event started during the early morning hours of Sunday at the Likas Stadium. The organizers - and some of the participating runners as well - had arrived at the stadium as early as 3:00AM to go through their checklists. Representatives from local and international press were also present to cover the event. It is also interesting to note that this is the first time ever that an internationally-recognized event in Borneo had invited bloggers to the event as medias - bringing the Borneon blogging community to the same level as professionals from the press.

The Marathon

The Borneo International Marathon 2008 had 5 categories, but the highlight of the event were the 3 main categories: Full Marathon (42km), Half Marathon (21km) and Quarter Marathon (10km).

The starting of the Full Marathon video

The Full Marathon started first at 4:30AM, followed by the Half Marathon at 6:00AM and lastly the Quarter Marathon at 7:00AM. The routes took the runners to some of the city’s most prominent tourist destination, such as Sutera Harbour, 1Borneo Hypermall and the Coastal Road - known for its scenic view of the coastline. The marathon starts and ends at the Likas Stadium.

The Half Marathon category started at 6:00AM

The Quarter Marathon category started at 7:00AM

Here are the top three finishers for the 3 main categories:

Full Marathon (Men’s Open)
1st - Sammy Kiprop Kiptoo (Kenya), 2hr 25min
2nd - Geoffrey Kiprotich Birgen (Kenya), 2hr 26min 42sec
3rd - Elkana Ruto (Kenya), 2hr 33min 18sec

Full Marathon (Men’s Veteran)
1st - Paul Hague (England), 3hr 10min 31sec
2nd - Duanis B. Indam (Malaysia), 3hr 26min 38sec
3rd - Yusop Tungkob (Malaysia), 3hr 31min 5sec

Full Marathon (Women’s Open)
1st - Frida Lodepa (Kenya), 3hr 18min 4sec
2nd - Pui Shan Chan (China), 3hr 27min 48sec
3rd - Joyce Runo Chemeli (Kenya), 3hr 32min 43sec

Full Marathon (Women’s Veteran)
1st - Tan Lee Huang (Singapore), 4hr 57min 27sec
2nd - Christina Daramat (Malaysia), 5hr 35sec
3rd - Ang Bee Hua (Singapore), 5hr 16min 7sec

Half Marathon (Men’s Open)
1st - Wilson Kibogo (Kenya), 1hr 11min 49sec
2nd - Muniandy Ramadass (Malaysia), 1hr 13min 54sec
3rd - Micah Kiprotich (Kenya), 1hr 18min 1sec

Half Marathon (Men’s Veteran)
1st - Guianus Salagan (Malaysia), 1hr 22min 2sec
2nd - Supermaniam Govindam (Malaysia), 1hr 23min 35sec
3rd - Lim Lian Hock (Singapore), 1hr 35min 2sec

Half Marathon (Women’s Open)
1st - Doris Chuchumba (Kenya), 1:24:10
2nd - Michele Tan Bee Kiang (Malaysia), 1:39:26
2rd - Mariana Mohammad (Malaysia), 1:41:11

Half Marathon (Women’s Veteran)
1st - Lian Bee Hoon (Malaysia), 1hr 44min 28sec
2nd - Kirsten Conrad (USA), 2hr 3min 4sec
3rd - Ling Nyuk Hwa (Malaysia), 2hr 4min 11sec

More results can be found at the event’s official website at http://www.borneomarathon.com/home.html

A smile to the finish line

The Greek messenger Philippides ran for two days from Marathon to Athens, but the spirit of marathon itself will continue to run around the world for many years more, crossing every boundaries. Perhaps the spirit of marathon had visited Borneo last Sunday, inspiring everyone to perform their best. Regardless, the Borneo International Marathon 2008 was a great success.

A few runners from the AirAsia Team

We at lifeinborneo.com congratulate all the runners that participated and we give our hands out for the organizers and their supporters for their tremendous effort. We were pleased to be part of this historic occasion and hope that it will become a yearly event in the Borneon calendar.

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Posted by Xander on October 16th, 2008 in Events, Sports

October 11th , 2008 - The BIM 2008 Pasta Party was held at the Likas Sports Complex Indoor Multipurpose Hall at 6.30pm. Among those that attended the event were the events organizers, local press and various medias including celebrity bloggers and international runners from all over the world. The event was held to welcome the participants especially the international runners to Borneo.

International participants and celebrity runners..

The event was an opportunity to mingle with the participants and organizers alike. Some of the celebrity bloggers that attended that evening was Kenny Sia, recognized as one of Malaysia’s most famous blogger. He also participated in last years Penang Bridge Marathon. Another notable person which attended that evening was the ‘Cat Woman’ which hails from Singapore. Jenap M Said (aka Cat Woman) is widely known for running in a cat woman costume at almost every marathon event held in Singapore and throughout the neighboring countries. Some of the runs she has participated in the past were KL Marathon, Great Eastern 30km, Pacesetters 15 New Balance Run, Penang Bridge Marathon and KL Mizuno Run. In Thailand she also joined the Hatyai Nature Run, Laguna Phuket International Marathon and Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon.

Kenny Sia and Catwoman

And the show begins…

It was a night to relax and enjoy the evening with friends both new and old. Besides the good food and mingling that took place, traditional dances were performed that night. With a wide variety of ehnic backgrounds, Borneo is never short of eloquent performances such as the Sumazau dance and even from the far south of Sabah; a variation of the Daling-Daling dance. The performers even invited a few people from the crowd to join them on the stage especially the international runners and notably the AirAsia staff which was also present that night.

Sumazau Dance

The Kenyan runners join the Sumazau Dance

Kate from AirAsia also tries the Sumazau Dance

A variation of the Daling-Daling Dance

The runners join the Malay Joget Dance

Other than the dance performance was also the demonstration of the Borneon blowpipe. Most of the crowd also were invited to try out this weapon which was used by the tribes of Borneo a long time ago. Though they were only aiming it at the balloons tied to the ends of a long pole, it still looked like a hard task in itself and obviously enjoyable too as the people cheered at every target hit.

Borneon Blowpipe demonstration

It was a night that none may soon forget and the next day happens to be a long day indeed for both the participants and the organizers.

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Posted by Xander on October 11th, 2008 in Events, Sports

11 October, 2008 - Conference started at 1.00pm at the lobby of Tune Hotel in 1Borneo Hypermall. The floor was quite packed with the media from both bloggers and the press. 8 AirAsia staff were present for the press conference and photo shoot session which includes the various medias.

Most of the AirAsia staff that is joining the Borneo International Marathon are mostly from Kuala Lumpur while 7 staffs comes from Kota Kinabalu. From the Q&A session, we also learned that 13 of them (AirAsia) will be running for the half marathon circuit while 6 will be entering the quarter marathon circuit. Only one staff will be running the full circuit(21km) which is the captain of the team, Captain Razali.

Most of the team members joining have had experience in long distance runs like Kate, which have joined the the 10K Power Run held in Kuala Lumpur.

Kate

The only stewardess from AirAsia that is joining the marathon is Lily. According to the officials from AirAsia, she is promised by AirAsia CEO Datuk Tony Fernandez, MYR 1000 for each 1KM she completes. When asked how far she thinks she could run for concerning the offer, she said “of course 21KM!”.

Lily

Tonight the Pasta Party will be held at 6:30pm in the Stadium Likas Multipurpose Hall and those who will be attending are the officials, the organizing committee, international runners, local press and bloggers.

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Posted by Xander on August 20th, 2008 in Events, Sports

Ultimate test of courage, almost nothing is more true than jumping off a 30-storey building and have nothing else between you and an imminent death except the strong winds of the South China Sea. Tun Mustapha Tower, (formerly known as Yayasan Sabah Tower) was that particular building on 9th & 10th August. The jumpers converged at the tower for this momentous event to showcase their skill and of course, bravery.

As the crowd gathered, the accumulation of locals and tourists can’t help but feel awed by the whole show. One of the brave-souls even almost landed among the throng of people gathered but with sheer skill and a little luck; he managed to maneuver himself a few feet away from any spectators.

We had to admit it obviously takes more than just a raw nerves to be up on that tower. Being on top of the 2nd tallest building in Borneo could be a very daunting to normal folks. And for the lifeinborneo.com crew; just being around the jumpers was somewhat comforting and perhaps a little envious of the their level of courage and calmness. To see them simply shrugging-off any fear or doubts and make that leap off the edge was astonishing.

It all started back in 2004 where only a handful of these courageous men trying out the jump from the Tun Mustapha Tower. Since then it has gained popularity and they have been organizing this event; one in 2006 and another in the year 2007.

Officially, year 2008 marks the 3rd year running of such an extreme sports event. Luckily there were no incidents occured this year and hopefully we get to see them again next year.

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Posted by Daniel on June 21st, 2008 in Events, Sports

Qu Yuan would have been delighted to know that his final act of protest against a corrupt government have inspired an internationally-renowned watersport that brings out the best from ordinary people. On 15 June 2008, The 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2008 had just that, when a team of ordinary local fishermen won this year’s Sabah Head of State’s Trophy, despite facing an ocean of a task of defeating the reigning champion Brunei. There were 57 teams altogether that took part in this year’s event, including each from the Philippines and China.

The race went on, come rain or shine

Rain did not stop the participants or the spectators from coming to see this event. People started filling up Likas Bay beach as early as seven in the morning. Hawkers set up food stalls to the delight of the spectators, as food is always a welcomed sight whenever there is a six hour event going on.

The event was officiated by the Chairman of Sabah Tourism Board Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Seri Tengku Zainal Abidin, Organising Committee Chairman Yang Berbahagia Datuk Irene B. Charuruks and the President of Sabah Chinese Cultural Association Yang Berbahagia Datuk Chau Tet On. Among the dignitaries that attended the event was the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment of Sabah Yang Berhormat Datuk Masidi Manjun, the Chief Minister of Sabah Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman and Sabah’s Head of State Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Ahmadshah bin Abdullah.

0:01 seconds.

That was the amount of time that separated the third, the second and the champion of the Sabah Head of State’s Trophy for the 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2008. Despite having only two weeks of training, the Pertubuhan Peladang Tuaran dragonboat team managed to beat reigning champion Brunei and bring home the grand prize - a trophy and a cash prize of RM 4,000.00.

The Brunei national team only managed to get a third place in the Sabah Head of State’s Trophy, as the second place was won by another local team from Tuaran, Sabah.

Here are the final results for the 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2008:

Sabah Head of State’s Trophy

First - Pertubuhan Peladang Tuaran

Second - Terayung, Tuaran

Third - Brunei Darussalam National Team

Sabah Chief Minister’s Trophy

First - Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort B

Second - Pekayuh Skim Remaja, Brunei Darussalam

Third - Tuaran F1

Sabah Chinese Cultural Association President’s Trophy (Men’s Open Category)
First - Penang Forward Sports Club
Second - Persekutuan Persatuan Cina Tawau
Third - Persatuan Teo Chew Tawau

Sabah Chinese Cultural Association President’s Trophy (Mixed Open Category)
First - Sabah Chinese Cultural Association
Second - The Federation of Chinese Association Sabah
Third - Hokkien Association Dragon Team

Sabah Dragon Trophy
First - Mengkabong Mix Team, Tuaran
Second - Nexus Resort Karambunai
Third - Tam Villa, Tuaran

Sabah Tourism Trophy
First - Shan Sui Golf and Country Club Resort B, Tawau
Second - Tay Travel (B), Kota Kinabalu
Third - Shan Sui Golf and Country Club Resort A, Tawau

The race ends for 2008

Congratulations to all the winners of the 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 2008. We hope to see all the participants again next year.

Sources:
Qu Yuan reference from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qu_Yuan
Results from http://dragonboat.sabahtourism.com/2008/results.html

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Posted by Raz on May 15th, 2008 in Events, Sports

Venue: Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium
Date: from 16th June to 28th June 2008
Organiser: Youth & Sport Department, Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport

Information & Inquiry:
Youth & Sport Department
Tel: +673 2381904 / +673 2383904 / +673 2383911
Fax: +673 2380042
Website: www.belia-sukan.gov.bn

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