Inaugural SOH Hospitality Race lets students learn about the hospitality sector

RARING TO GO: Participants from 10 different secondary schools waited for the flag-off to begin during the second half of the Hospitality Race that took place within the RP campus. Participants were required to look for SOH labs and complete challenges there. (Photo: Yeo Pei Yun)
RARING TO GO: Participants from 10 different secondary schools waited for the flag-off to begin during the second half of the Hospitality Race that took place within the RP campus. Participants were required to look for SOH labs and complete challenges there. (Photo: Yeo Pei Yun)

Sixty students from 10 secondary schools participated in the first ever Hospitality Race organised by RP’s School of Hospitality (SOH) on Sept 8. The race sought to educate participants about the hospitality sector in Singapore.

Participants worked in teams of three and were required to decode clues, locate different pit stops and clear obstacles at each stop. Some of the challenges that participants had to overcome involved identifying herbs and spices by taste or smell, and identifying the visual merchandising style for the products put on display.
The first half of the race took place at Singapore Civic District before participants returned to RP to complete the second half.

“We want them to experience how it is like in the future if they want to consider to work in the hospitality and tourism industry,” said Ms. Yeo May Lee, manager for the race.

She feels that through the race, students will also be exposed to more aspects of the hospitality industry. “The spectrum in the hospitality industry is actually quite broad. People always think that it is just hotel, but it is more than that. There is wellness, medical tourism, customer service, events, and even fitness. So we thought that a race is good because it can be multi-faceted, covers a broader area and students can try a lot more,” she said.

At the end of the race, the team from Naval Base Secondary School comprising of Mohamed Azman, Muhammad Syahmi and Daylan Thivyan Paranthaman took home the glory by emerging as champions. Second and third prizes went to Northbrooks Secondary and Nanyang Girls’ High School respectively.

When asked about his thoughts on winning the race, Azman, 15, said: “It was tough. Nothing was easy. There was one point where we had to literally just like sprint all the way from one point to another because of time constraint. It was supposed to be a casual race but then we had to run. But eventually the hard work paid off. Right now we feel very happy, we feel proud, also we feel very thankful.”

Speaking after the race, Ms. Yeo is positive about bringing the event back in future years. “I have the conviction that this will continue for the next year,” She said, “I will open it up to more schools. I also want to involve more of our partners, for example hotels, the establishments or whichever venue we want to conduct next year, so that the students can actually go in, go behind the scenes and attempt some of the more difficult roadblocks and pit stop challenges.”