2013
AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE (Part 1)
We needed to play floorball in Myanmar as a demonstration sport in SEA Games 2013 before it could be approved as an official medal sport in 2015. So, we dispatched Stefan to coach the Myanmar team. It was a surreal experience and the most fascinating events happened there. Believe it or not, we found ourselves coaching around a boxing ring in a gym. We also had to get a supply of sports shoes donated by other teams as we realised the Myanmar players were playing in football boots with studs. We found ourselves in a series of comical situations. As we sipped our tea sitting on chairs that were way too short for us, we scratched our heads in frustration as we struggled to think of ways to communicate with the Myanmar players since the language barrier proved to be another inconvenience. Thankfully, we were able to overcome these series of events due to this floorball was finally recognised as an official SEA games medal sport in 2015.
The Trinity
Z decided to co-sponsor the Trinity. It was a monolithic task to promote floorball and sports in general. We thus decided to bring down both the men and women teams from Pixbo, the biggest floorball club in Europe which consisted of the best players in the world. They were given a tour of Asia to help develop the Asian floorball scene. They would play games in Singapore against the best players from that region, then proceed to Bali for the Open tournament there. We had an Indonesian partner that was going to supply all plane tickets and accommodation. Everything seemed smooth sailing until our Indonesian partner pulled out on his side of the agreement weeks before the upcoming events.
This sparked a pandemonium as we sought to find funding, arrange tickets and accommodation for the All-Stars tour in Singapore, Malaysia, India as well as the Bali Open with such a short amount of time left.
Despite all these complications, we still managed to have the All-Stars tour going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore and New Delhi, India. The Showdown went down in Singapore and the Bali Open was completed. On top of the All-stars from Pixbo, we also brought down floorball global superstar players from other teams like the best centre (Johan Samuelsson) and forward in the world.
Looking back, organising the Trinity was nothing short of a logistical nightmare. However, we believed that an exposure of this scale was of paramount importance. The Trinity served as the key catalyst to the path of floorball becoming a candidate as a medal sport for the SEA Games.
