Sports programmes at Yew Chung International School of Beijing are not only a great way to unite our community, but they also serve as a valuable way for students to develop additional skills that contribute to their holistic well-being.

This week, we spoke with Shannon Speight, our Athletics Coordinator & Primary PE Teacher, and asked her to introduce the myriad of opportunities the School offers to our students.

Ms. Speight is a passionate teacher committed to ensuring that students’ sporting potential is fully explored, on and off campus, and contributes with her ample experience to make our students shine not only academically, but in physical activities as well. She also shared her passion for sport and why being part of a team is beneficial for students.

Please introduce yourself.My name is Shannon Speight. I am originally from New Jersey, USA, but I lived in Doha, Qatar for 4 years before moving here. I came to Beijing to pursue my love for sports and become the Athletics Coordinator for Primary and Secondary. I really enjoy playing sports outside of school; my favorites being flag football, Gaelic football and netball.  What made you choose YCIS Beijing? YCIS had a great reputation in international teaching and I loved that it was in a central location.

Where does your passion for sports come from? I was an athlete from the age of 2 years old. I started in gymnastics and then ventured on to compete in many other varsity sports. As an adult, I am still very active in sports. I like to practice what I preach and show students that you can be an athlete at any age!

What new sports initiatives have you put in place? Any new ones for the remainder of the year? I am really trying to build our primary sports opportunities. We had our first U11 football teams last season (with a first and second place finish!) and I am now trying to grow our U11 volleyball teams. Our U14 volleyball teams are both full this year and have about 5 games/ tournaments scheduled before Christmas. I really think the more exposure to actual game play will help students at the final tournament next February.

What opportunities are available for students who would like to partake in sporting activities?We belong to many sports leagues in Beijing. Every season there is an U14 sport and an U19 sport; for example, right now the season is U14 volleyball and U19 basketball. We will hold tryouts for our core sports, which are basketball, volleyball and football. We also add a racquet or paddle sport in there as a fun, but competitive club. We also partner with the swimming club across the street from YCIS called FIREPOWER. They also help to coach our YCIS swim team throughout the school year. We just competed at the ISAC U10 swim meet held at ISB over the weekend.  The swimmers really put out their best effort and enjoyed themselves as well.  We had many heat winners and close finishes! 

What other sports events are planned this semester?We have a few U11 table tennis and mini-volleyball tournaments coming up before Christmas.

Since the beginning of the school year, what has been our overall performance?

I think our overall performance has been fantastic, along with incredible positive attitudes.

What are the benefits to being a part of a sports team?1. Learning important values like dedication, perseverance, teamwork and sportsmanship2. Healthy body, healthy mind3. Make incredible friendships

To know more about our upcoming sports events, click here