A reflection on the 6th LufBru Summer Games

AFTER yet another successful edition of the LufBru Summer Games, the President of the LufBru Society spoke about what it takes to organise the highly popular event.

In an exclusive with the Brunei Times, Umi Atul Nur Afiqah Ali Hassan, the President of the LufBru Society, which represents Bruneian students studying at Loughborough University, spoke about the hard work and effort that goes into running the games at the closing ceremony yesterday.

"It's definitely a challenge for us (LufBru Society). We started plans six months ago while we were still in the UK, so we went about contacting the relevant authorities, organisations and sponsors in Brunei via telephone, internet and contacts in Brunei, which proved challenging as we had to take into account factors such as time difference."

The event found sponsorship from some of the most distinguished organisations and businesses in Brunei, which includes Brunei Shell Petroleum and KFC.

Speaking about attaining such sponsorship, the 20-year-old said that she had to "speak to the managers of the companies informing them what the games is all about, as well as what we can offer them from a business angle, by promoting positive exposure and brand awareness."

The LufBru Society is professional in their event management, as described by Umi in reference to the executive committee which was created for the event, covering everything from logistics to refreshments, thus leaving no stone unturned.

"We held bi-weekly meetings in preparation for the games, complete with the minutes". Umi also said that the meetings "could get quite tough at times."

Despite the difficulties, which include working from early in the morning to midnight during the course of the three day event, Umi says that the society and herself personally are made better by the experience.

"Personally, I have learnt to manage my time more efficiently, finding the balance between leading the society, my academic duties as well as my social life."

Umi is also grateful for the opportunity to be elected President of the LufBru Society saying that it has developed her character and given her the opportunity to work with people who she would never get to meet otherwise.

A highly anticipated event in the calendars of Bruneian students studying in the United Kingdom, The LufBru Summer Games was held for the sixth time over the recent weekend at the indoor sports complexes of both Universiti Brunei Darussalam and the Brunei Darussalam Sports School.

The Brunei Times