Minggu ini merupakan satu minggu yang pendek. Penuh dengan program dan aktiviti Kelab Sukan Syarikat. Ada tiga perkara perlu diselesaikan minggu ini. Semalam sudah selesai dua perkara. Tinggal satu perkara lagi untuk diberi tumpuan. Hari ini sudah bermula Karnival sukan tahunan bagi pekerja. Bulan sudah Karnival sukan untuk pelajar. Pukul dua petang majlis perasmian akan berlansung di dewan serbaguna. Katanya sound system baru sudah dipasang berharga puluhan ribu ringgit. Jam tiga petang ini berlansung acara Tarik Tali. Dah tiga tahun aku dilantik jadi ketua pasukan. Isk-isk.. mesti boleh dibayangkan jenis orang yang terlibat dalam tarik tali agaknya. Aku gagau dalam internet tentang teknik tarik tali. Jumpa jugak sikit.. boleh kongsi kot..

TECHNIQUE

'Take up the Rope" (rope on right side)
Pick up the rope and stand upright, well balanced on both feet, rope well held under the right armpit with the right arm bent and the right hand under the rope. The left arm should be extended with the left hand gripping the rope from the top. The rope should be in a straight line and fairly taut from front to rear, both hands as close together as possible, and the team should not stiffen themselves in any way. A rigid stance uses up energy that will be required later.

"Take the Strain"
This is the normal pulling position on the rope. Gripping the rope firmly with both hands close together, allow the body to fall back to an angle of about 45 degrees. The correct position here is of the utmost importance, so it will be dealt with in detail.

a) The Feet

The sides of both must be well cut into the ground. It is impossible to push with both feet flat on the ground - a common fault with novices. The feet should not be directly one behind the other, but should be one on each side of the rope and about twelve inches apart. This gives lateral control and prevents swaying about. The feet should be separated about twelve inches from front to rear.

b) The Legs
The leading leg must be perfectly straight. This leg acts as a prop, and the more the opposing team heaves, the more they should pull this leg into the ground, thus increasing its resistance. The rear leg is slightly bent and it is from this leg that the driving power is mainly produced when the heave is made.

c) The Body
The lower part of the body must be kept well up over the rope, and never allowed to sag. The whole body should be in a straight line from the sole of the leading foot on the top of the bead. If the body is allowed to sag in the middle, not only is tremendous strain being placed on the back muscles, but any drive from the legs will not be carried through the body and will merely accentuate the sag.

The upper part of the body should be well over the rope, but in no way lying on it. A man can exert his full force only through his centre of gravity, and the idea is always to have the centre of gravity as close as possible to the rope. The rope should be well up into the armpit. Care must be taken that the leading shoulder is not allowed to fall way from the rope and thus prevent a man pulling along the line of the rope.

d) The Hands and Arms
The hands should grip the rope close together with the palms of the hands facing upwards so the leading shoulder can be more easily kept over the rope. The leading arm must be perfectly straight, and the rear arm as straight as possible, consistent with the position of the hand. If the arms are bent the arm and shoulder muscles are cramped, and much energy is being unnecessarily expended.

e) The Head
The head should be kept back in prolongation of the line of the body, and not thrown forward. This gives extra weight on the rope and facilitates breathing.

The Heave
Keeping the strain on the rope, lower the angle of the body to about 34 degrees with the ground and heave by a powerful stretch of the legs and body towards the anchorman. Immediately take advantage of any ground gained by moving the feet back, being careful to keep them close to the ground. There must be no easing up either before or after the heave, as any relaxation will allow the opponents to take the offensive

*sumbernya ..isk.. lupa nak catit. tapi aku ingat dpd UK je. Sabo je lah..

Dua tahun lepas pasukan lelaki sikit lagi nak menang no. 2. Tahun lepas terus no. 1 dari belakang. Tahun ini macam mana agaknya. Aku rasa team kami bukanlah terkuat dari fizikalnya kerana kebanyakkannya orang akademik yang kerja depan komputer dan mengajar. Ada team yang kerjanya menggali tanah (boring) dan korek tanah dan sebagainya. Mereka ini yang dilihat sangat bersungguh-sungguh menarik tali. Team kami bila rasa berat sangat.. lepas je. kah kah kah. Mungkin ramai rasa tak berbaloi menghabiskan seluruh tenaga untuk hadiah tuala/beg/bekas plastik.

Malam ini pulak satu lagi acara yang aku masuk. Acara yang lebih aku minat iaitu Bowling. Takut jugak cedera tarik tali ni. Sakit pinggang dan urat-urat seluruh badan. Kalau diikutkan kebanyakkan dari kami menarik tali setahun sekali. Agak tinggi risiko kecederaan kiranya.

* Semalam berpenat membuat pemeriksaan akhir Pertandingan kebersihan asrama sempena kempen 'Love Our Campus'. Menapak dari tingkat 8 ke tingkap bawah melawat setiap tingkat. Blok pelajar lelaki agak kurang inisiatif. Lansung tiada apa-apa hiasan dan kreativiti. Berbeza sekali dengan Blok pelajar perempuan. Dahlah ramai yang menyambut lawatan kami, semua tingkat membuat hiasan yang menarik dan kreatif. Memang nampak usaha yang dibuat. Lapornya, banyak jugak kos yang dibelanjakan untuk hiasan dinding, cat dan hiasan depan lif. Penat sungguh aku rasa. Dua orang hakim lain juga berpendapat yang sama. Malamnya pula ada ceramah Isra' Mi'raj. Aku penceramahnya. Mengingat kembali salah satu peristiwa besar dalam sejarah Islam.

Esok banyak acara padang dilansungkan. Datang kerja dengan pakaian sukan. Hari sabtu acara sukaneka di padang bola, sebelah dengan kuarters sahaja.