At the brink of twilight, I struggle to lift the duvet from the warmth it offers, visions blurred from last night’s poor sleep yet the clock unrelentingly cries. Ptosis seems be doing much of the work than our upper eyelids, same applied to the rest of the swim squad: 11 poker-faced swimmers jam-packed themselves at terminal H like penguins huddling for warmth. None of us really talked to each other rather focusing on the footsteps which is moving unconsciously beneath us seemed like our first priority.  Once boarded, we sat down and like a smooth lullaby, the roaring engine of the plane muffled by metallic hull put us back to sleep again. This time, destination: Singapore. ETA: 5hrs.45min. The weather forecast said a storm was imminent the day we arrived, just like any Southeast Asia tropical weather, it stood and delivered. We checked into the hotel and prayed for the storm to pass away. We woke up at 5:30am the following day and headed straight to Singapore American School. The suffocating air and the thick vegetation were the first impression of Singapore when we stepped outside of the air-conditioned bus. Belated by a slight detour, we quickly put on our swimsuits and headed to the pool for a quick warm up. Salty pool? Peculiar pool, the water seemed thick and dense, but nothing stopped us from diving in. Many of us have five to six individual events and one to two relay events across the two days. . A word to sum it up: lethargic. More like interval training than a competition. Here is the end results: Agnes: 2nd overall for 11-12 age group with 74 points, two gold and two silver medals; Tommaso: 1st overall for 11-12 age group with 74 points, two gold and two silver medals; Ettore: 1st overall for Under 6 age group with two gold, one silver and one bronze medals; Damian: 2nd overall for 13-14 age group, three gold and one silver medal. We understand that the nature of winning and losing is a common occurrence. This is the bare essential of competitive sports, an essential part of swimming. This stuck in our heads as we were slowly marching up to the diving blocks, our bodies and minds slowly turning to mush by the blistering heat and the event that was unfolding before us,   also known as a swim race. I cannot describe to you the feeling of euphoria achieved when slamming a hand into the touchpad and the heavy breathing that ensued, I can only describe it as a feeling of nirvana. James, Year 12 and Damian, Year 10 Wellington Swim Team