By Ang Zi WeiPaddling fun in the sun.

The brightly-lit sun shone on the sea as bumboats carried 63 youths from the Punggol Point Jetty to Pulau Ubin for an outdoor adventure. The youths, who hail from different countries including Australia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK and Vietnam, were on their way to experience Island Adventure, one of the seven Culture and Education Programme (CEP) activity formats that athletes will participate in at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Conducted by Outward Bound Singapore on Pulau Ubin, an offshore island, the Island Adventure try-out was part of the CEP pictogram launch on 30 September 2009.

Island Adventure requires participants to work together in teams to overcome physical challenges. Through specially-programmed activities which include paddling, raft building and the inverse tower, participants will learn about the importance of teamwork and mutual respect, and build friendships in the process.

Once the bumboats docked at the Pulau Ubin ferry jetty, the students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, National University of Singapore, Student Care Services Centre, Overseas Students’ Association, Tanglin Trust School and Republic Polytechnic hopped off and headed for some water-based fun. Zipping up their bright orange life jackets, they moved towards the cool waters surrounding the island for raft-building and paddling activities.

Paddling in groups of six, the young people had to demonstrate synchronised teamwork to propel their boats forward. While some crews made paddling look effortless, others fell behind, making more splash than progress.

Back on shore, the participants were given poles, drums and rope to construct a sea-worthy raft. Sounds of discussion and occasional laughs peppered the morning air as the youths put their heads together to figure out how to build a floatable raft with the tools given. After many trials and errors, teams took to the water to test the sea-worthiness of their rafts. Loud cheers and laughter were heard as they safely launched their rafts.

Youths scaling the Inverse Tower

Over at the Inverse Tower, which is a height obstacle course, some youths came face to face with their fears – the fear of heights. As friends rose up to the challenge and scaled the five-storey tower, the excitement level grew. Fifteen-year-old Matthew John DYSON from Tanglin Trust School said he “couldn’t wait for (my) turn” – and when his turn came, he successfully ascended the tower swiftly three times. Now that is a towering feat for a first-timer!

Ngee Ann Polytechnic student Ying Ying KOK, 17, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief as soon as her feet touched the ground. “I wouldn’t have climbed so far on my own. I was so scared up there!” she exclaimed. “I have my team mates to thank for their continuous support and encouragement throughout the climb.”

New-found friends: One of the teams that took part in the Island Adventure activities on 30 September 2009.

While having fun with the physical activities, the youths also took the opportunity to pick up new phrases in different languages as the activities’ safety instructions came in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russia to cater to the diverse language needs.

The half-day island adventure activity try-outs ended almost too soon as the sun climbed high in the sky at noon and the 63 youngsters boarded bumboats headed for mainland Singapore with new-found friends.