The cool dry morning had an air of anxiety and anticipation. The sun had barely awaken from its slumber when they trickled in two by two. None could have envisioned what they saw on the field of Taman DR, Ipoh that day. There were gigantic structures everywhere, the field looked like giant playground.

DJP had the honour of making The Star Trailblazer 2008 a memorable event for over 350 participants that day. Teams were grouped together into six individual clusters to compete against each other in various challenges. The clusters listened in anticipation when the chief marshal threw down the gauntlet. Each challenge was designed to simulate and reflect the rich history of Ipoh’s past. From the giant abacus to the ‘ore mining’ with the six feet diameter tray to the structure building of a kampung house - each cluster had complete all the challenges in order to earn their money.

The finalists were then whisked off to Papan, a tiny historical town about 30 minutes drive from Ipoh town. The challenges this time around were synonymous with the history of Papan, from Chinese Opera to the sewing of sequins on the Kebaya to the making of the Loy Cha dish, a local delicacy.

In all, it was quite as experience for us too. Final preparations started two days before the event. Coordinating over 70 marshals to prepare and move all these larger than life structures for the games was not an easy task. The smallest details had to be attended to, from logistics to the instructions given.

Behind the scenes, we were also rewarded with unusual but wonderful experiences. During the finals, when the rain poured down in Papan, that experience was just amazing. The old pre-war shophouse structures, the slow pace of the town and the peacefulness just somehow gave the impression that we were actually re-living the past.

We discovered other amazing things also, such as a Koi fish being reared in a drain in front of a coffee shop in Papan. You really do not get to see that anywhere in the city nowadays. The water was so clean that you could actually keep a healthy fish in there!

In all, we too enjoyed ourselves tremendously preparing and running the event. Seeing how successful the event went made all our effort worthwhile. To find out more about The Star Trailblazer 2008, please visit the links below:

R.AGE Trailblazer 2008
http://thestaronline.tv/default.aspx?vid=1761

Blazin’ Teamwork
http://thestar.com.my/youth2/story.asp?file=/2008/7/23/youth2/1633865&sec=youth2

Master Trailblazers
http://thestar.com.my/youth2/story.asp?file=/2008/7/23/youth2/1632755&sec=youth2