It is (at least it was when this reporter was writing this article) mid-November, and the cold is starting to bite. People have resorted to bundling themselves in anything they can reach just to escape from the chilling north wind. It would be quite hard to dispel the notion that in temperatures that can drop to below zero degrees centigrade at night, people would be better off staying snug indoors. Yet, the organizers of the KAIST Autumn Athletics Meet are hopeful that this year’s event will be a success.

Could you both introduce yourselves?

[Lee] Hello, my name is Heyn Lee and I’m the president of the Autumn Athletics Meet organization committee. I’m currently a sophomore.

[Bae] Hello, my name is Jae Wan Bae and I’m one of the two vice-presidents of the organization committee. I’m also a sophomore.

Could you briefly introduce the event?

[Lee] The Autumn Athletics Meet is an annual event, and was originally conceived as an event that would promote friendship among different years and different departments. This year’s Athletics Meet will take place on Monday, November 15. We have noticed that this year is exceptionally cold, so we have put forth the slogan ‘when your sides start feeling cold…’ to encourage students to participate despite the weather.

[Bae] Noting the current temperature we hope that this event as a whole will help students at least feel the warmth of friendship and camaraderie in their year groups and their respective departments.

What prompted you to join the organization committee?

[Lee] Originally, the Athletics Meet was organized solely by Sang-Sang-Hyo-Gwa, which also organizes the Seok Lim Festival, the KAIST-POSTECH Science Wars and various other events. However, this is the first time we are collaborating with the student representatives committee Ban-Dae-Hyup. Coinciding with this is our transition from being sophomores to juniors; this competition will be the first of many events that we will have to take charge in organizing. The time was right, and I felt I could do a good job with this.

[Bae] The collaboration between Sang-Sang-Hyo-Gwa and Ban-Dae-Hyup really presents new opportunities in organizing such an event. And, as with Heyn, I felt that this transfer of duty from the Class of 2008 to the Class of 2009 should mark the point where I should try out my organizational skills, so I could face such challenges in the years to come. I wanted to live up to my responsibility as one of the future key figures of Sang-Sang-Hyo-Gwa who is able to bring about some real change.

What events will there be in this year’s Athletics Meet?

[Lee] We have included futsal (indoor soccer), basketball, kickball, mixed dodgeball, men’s, women’s and mixed badminton, and relay racing. We tried to expand the number of events from last year, and have taken care to ensure most of them are held indoors away from the cold.

What problems have you encountered in organizing this event?

[Lee] Of course, there is the usual pressure of organizing an event that is one of the ‘big three’ that Sang-Sang-Hyo-Gwa has traditionally taken charge of: the Seok Lim Festival, the KAIST-POSTECH Science Wars, and this, the Autumn Athletics Meet. The key problem, as always, is trying to induce student participation as was the issue last year. To tackle this, as I have mentioned, we have tried to schedule events indoors. Luckily we were able to secure the new Sports Complex for most of our events, and this has suited us well. However, for the outdoor games like the relay races, we had more trouble in finding a suitable place.

[Bae] Since the field in front of Tae Wul Gwan is currently under renovation, it was quite difficult securing a large, open area outdoors. In the end we managed to reserve the Stadium, but with much trouble. Also, to add to Heyn’s point about increasing student participation, we have included surprise proceedings such as badminton games between two random members of the audience in between different sporting events.

What hopes do you have for this year’s Athletics Meet?

[Lee] As always, we hope the students will take interest, participate, and have fun. We hope this is going to be an enjoyable occasion not just for the audience members, but also for the organizing staff.

[Bae] First and foremost, I hope the students will enjoy what we’ve put forth, and through this experience, I hope to learn more about coordinating and arranging events. I’m sure I’ll need the know-how next year.