On the 25th of February 2017, the Leo Club of
Wesley Methodist School organised its annual funding project – its first ever Urban
Escape, which is similar to the previous years’ Amazing Races. In order to win
this event, the team that is able to earn the most points and solve the mystery
will emerge as the winner of this event. The event started from 7.00 a.m. and
ended at 1.30 p.m. The theme for this year’s Urban Escape was “The Enigma”, and
involved a total of 119 teams consisting of 357 students of Wesley Methodist
School Kuala Lumpur (International).
The organising committee of this large scale funding project
was led by The Funding Director of Leo Club of Wesley Methodist School, Leo
Wong Hong Ming, who was also the Organising Chairperson. He was assisted by the
two Assistant Organising Chairpersons, Leo Peh Shennie and Leo Liew Dong Xun,
along with his fellow dedicated committee members, Leo Lee Ee Jin, Leo Wong Kit
Wai and Leo Adria Chin Jue Yue. After the committee had been formed, many
different ideas and suggestions were contributed and brainstormed until a main
idea for the gameplay and storyplot was agreed on. As soon as the proposal was prepared and
approved by the Principal of Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur (International),
Madam Chia Loy Tian, the organising committee immediately carried out early
preparations for the event.
The main objective of conducting the project was to raise
funds for the Leo Club of Wesley Methodist School in order to support the
club’s future community service events and activities. In addition to that, the
project aimed to develop teamwork, problem-solving skills and observation
skills among the students, and also to provide them a chance to gain valuable
insights while exploring the city of Kuala Lumpur.
The gameplay of the race was based on a simple and straightforward
storyline. Participants would be playing as agents of a secret intelligence
organisation which had been hacked by a mad scientist. The scientist was in possession
of a very dangerous virus, which could wipe out mankind by infecting people. In
order to save the world, the participants had to gather as much information as
possible and unlock the secret code which provided the cure for the virus. The
participants were required to travel around Kuala Lumpur to play various games
and hunt for clues to solve the mystery.
A total of five locations around the city of Kuala Lumpur
were chosen as stations for the race which consisted of Wesley Methodist School
Kuala Lumpur (International), Kampung Baru, KLCC Bridge, KLCC Park and Quill
City Mall. Various official documents were sent out to the officials, including
the police department as well as the compound owners of the respective
locations. Not only that, countless official documents were also sent to
request for sponsorships from the general public, as sponsorships played an
extremely important role in decreasing the cost of the project which will be
used as funds for the club’s future community service projects. This year, we
were fortunate enough to secure quite a few sponsors who had made huge
significant contributions to our event.
On the 4th of February 2017, a pre-run was held to
identify any unforeseen complications and problems. A number of ex-Leo members
and the ex-faculty advisors, Ms. Leong Peck Lan and Ms. Low Fee Ngoo were
invited to participate in the pre-run. A post mortem was held soon after the
pre-run, and the difficulties faced along with the solutions to solve them were
discussed. As a result, a few changes were made to the positions of the game
masters and also to the gameplay of the event.
After endless late night discussions and finishing touch-ups,
the day of the event finally arrived. On the 25th February 2017, all
the Leo members arrived in school at 6.30 a.m. and were given a final briefing
to ensure the smooth running of the event. The registration counter was set up
prior to the members’ briefing and was opened at 7.10 a.m. for all participants.
Meanwhile, the Leo members departed to their respective stations together with
their teachers-in-charge. The participants were then ushered to the school hall
7.50 a.m. where a welcoming speech was given by Leo Wong Hong Ming. This was followed
by a safety briefing of the rules and regulations of the event, as well as a
short opening sketch and video to briefly illustrate the overall storyline to
the participants. At 8.25 a.m., the participants of Category A which consisted
of the lower secondary students were flagged off by the Principal, Madam Chia
Loy Tian, while the participants of Category B which formed the upper secondary
students were gathered for a group photo. They were then flagged off at 8.35
a.m.
The participants were required to travel between the
stations on foot and through the public transport systems, namely the RapidKL
Sri Petaling line LRT, the Kelana Jaya line and also the KL Monorail line.
During the event, Leo members were positioned around various stations in the
city of Kuala Lumpur, with game masters in charge of the games to allow
students to retrieve the clues and traffic marshals to direct the participants
to the correct destinations. Station masters were also appointed to handle
their respective stations, while the committee members were assigned to patrol
from station to station, ensuring that the event would carried out smoothly.
Furthermore, 8 teachers, including our faculty advisors, were invited to help
out in maintaining order at the stations.
The race ended at 1.30 p.m. according to the planned
schedule. All the participants arrived in school safely and submitted their
answers to the Leo members. The Leo members then cleaned up the school compound
and took a group photo after the debriefing session. After the event, the
results were announced on the 10th March 2017 (Friday) and winners
were awarded with prizes such as cameras, penny boards, power banks, and
drawstring bags.
