A big shout out to Dalian American International School and Huamei School Boys and Girls Basketball Teams! This past week, both teams successfully participated in the ACAMIS tournament. We competed against Nanjing International School, SCIS Pudong, International School Tianjin, Xiamen International School and the hosts Hangzhou International School.
DAIS Varsity Boys won ACAMIS Basketball 2023 and DAIS Varsity Girls place 3rd. Congratulations to Sea Dragons!
It has been a long time since our students have been able to attend an ACAMIS tournament, and this was also the first ACAMIS core sport (volleyball, basketball and soccer) championship that our school has ever won. This success is a huge milestone for our school. Eddy Liu (Varsity Boys captain), Joni Li (Varsity Girls captain), and their teammates are here to tell us the whole story.
The journey started on Wednesday, February 15. Following the school tradition, DAIS and Huamei students and teachers lined up in the secondary school hallway to send off our athletes. We encouraged and cheered on our varsity basketball teams leaving for Hangzhou that morning.
Joni Li: “Hangzhou is such an amazing city! The environment was very modern, and the place we were staying at was very convenient. Hangzhou International School was a lovely host school too! The campus was absolutely gorgeous, and the layout of their building was really fascinating to me.”
Eddy Liu: “Though I have been to Hangzhou many times before, this is the first time I visited Hangzhou International School. It is a pretty new and modern school, with particularly good sports facilities.”
Preparing for ACAMIS and the tournament itself was anything but simple for our young athletes.
Joni Li: “I felt very nervous about traveling for a competition especially because of the situation we were in. We had limited practices, a lack of people, and little experience in playing full-court games, so I thought traveling to another city to compete with other teams was going to be very challenging.”
Eddy Liu: “The biggest struggle for our team is that sometimes we start losing focus when things on the court are going really well, and at this point the coach was the one to bring us down to earth and make us concentrate again. I also think that we could improve our team’s discipline, make sure that every team member attends every practice: we’re a tight-knit team of only 10 players, and everyone matters.”
Jasper Jia: “Due to the COVID-19, although the whole team did not have enough training times this season, with the help and guidance of the coach and every member of the team practicing outside school, our team still ran in very well.”
Joni Li: “I think the biggest struggle for our team was the fact that everyone on our team was tired and injured. Because our team was small compared to the other schools, all our players had to play longer, so everyone became increasingly tired throughout the day. I still remember on the second day, not one player was walking normally after our games. Everyone was injured, sore, and mentally tired for playing that long.”
One important advantage of big events like this is that our students can make meaningful connections with other students around the country and all over the world and even learn from them.
Eddy Liu: “We made friends with many other teams' members. They were from China, Dubai, Brazil – basically from all parts of the world, so we could discuss our school lives, traditions, university plans and everything else. During the last game, all the other teams were cheering for us, and it was amazing!”
Joni Li: “One thing I could learn from the other teams is to never give up even when the odds are against you. One of the other teams lost every game, but they still fought hard till the last second. They persevered, and although they couldn’t win, they still played to the best of their abilities.”
Both Dalian teams made it through five games each on Thursday and Friday and qualified for the semi-finals. Last Saturday, our hearts were beating hard as we at DAIS were watching the livestream of the final games. It was the most overwhelming day of the whole tournament, but the results were stunning!
Eddy Liu: “Nanjing beat us in the first game, but we destroyed them in the final. It was a wonderful moment!”
Joni Li: “I can’t even describe how emotional I was when I realized our team won 3rd place. I was on the verge of crying tears of joy. It was a moment where we felt proud, and we were not afraid to show that we were proud of ourselves. We shouted our chant on the top of our lungs and cried together in each other’s arm.”
Nicole Liu: “The most memorable thing about Basketball ACAMIS was during the last quarter of our game against HIS. When we won third place, we were hugging and crying together because we thought we couldn't make it with only 5 players left on the court. While most of us were injured, everybody on the team was devoted and we played until the last minute we could endure. That moment felt like a miracle.”
Mandy Li: “During our last game, we only had 5 to 7 people that could play and most of us were injured, it's our Sea Dragon spirit that let us win the game against 12 Hangzhou players!”
We at DAIS and Huamei are extremely proud that our boys' team won the championship, and the girls came third!
Eddy Liu: “Overall, it was a wonderful though very tiring journey. My team did a decent job during the tournament; without them we couldn’t be the champions. They made my senior year, and we as a team made history.”
Joni Li: “The moment I remember the most was when we won our last game and placed 3rd place. I still remember our overjoyed, emotional faces as we huddled together after the clock buzzed and shouted our chant on the top of our lungs. It was an incredible memory that I will never forget. I am proud of every single one of my team members and how we all played this ACAMIS. We broke down barriers and went far above other people’s expectations, so you all should be proud of yourselves! We did it, girls!”
Jasper Jia: “Even though we were not favorites before ACAMIS started, we stuck to our guns and got to the end, which I think we deserved. Thanks to the coach and the players for a short but wonderful season, our final achievement is due to the efforts of everyone in the team and the hard work of the coaches.”
Congratulations to coaches Jeff Jones, David Hopkinson, Jacob Singleton, and Judy Dlamini for mentoring and developing our student athletes.
Eddy Liu: “At the moment I realized we won the final game, I felt very proud of myself, and at the same time grateful to our coach Mr. Jones. He is super professional and patient and taught us many sophisticated things and tricks we used on the court. I’m also personally thankful of Ms. Judy who provided first aid to me and other players if we got injured. With her help, I was still able to play with a sprained ankle.”
For our seniors, this experience was especially remarkable.
Eddy Liu: “For half of my team, this tournament was the last chance for us as seniors, and I’m glad we made the best out of it. I hope that Jasper, who’s to take over my captain role next year, will pick up the torch and continue our winning streak, thanks to his excellent communication skills and basketball talents. I’m planning to continue playing basketball in college. I’m applying to a few universities now, including some in the UK and Hong Kong, and I believe my ACAMIS Championship record will be a good addition to my college applications.”
Click here to see more pictures.
ACAMIS Basketball 2023 is over, but the story continues. Dalian American International School will be hosting the ACAMIS Soccer Tournament this spring. Please come to support our athletes on April 20-22!
Joni Li: “One tip for the other sport teams competing in ACAMIS in the spring is to believe in yourself. Have confidence in yourself and your ability, and just play. Don’t be afraid of other people judging you. Play your best, and the most important thing is to have fun! Enjoy the experience!”
Go Sea Dragons!
Photo credit: Hangzhou International School
