Text by NCKU Physical Education Office 　Photos credited to NCKU News Center
 

Entering Day 3 of the preliminaries, enthusiasm for the mixed relay race remains high.

The "Campus Mixed Relay Race," held in celebration of NCKU’s 95th Anniversary, has entered its third day of preliminary rounds, with participating students showing undiminished enthusiasm. A total of 23 teams took the track today. Vice President Chang Shih-Wei was present to cheer on the athletes and fire the starting pistol for each race.
 

Before the competition began, Vice President Chang offered special words of encouragement to the students. He expressed his hope that students would maintain regular exercise habits through such events, emphasizing that staying active throughout life and building a healthy body are the foundations of everything. Additionally, Vice President Chang encouraged students to train alongside peers from different academic fields during their practice sessions. By doing so, students can make friends across disciplines while engaging in sports, thereby broadening their horizons. Before the races kicked off, Vice President Chang once again reminded students not to dwell on rankings, stating that "Leaving behind wonderful memories is what matters most," and wishing them beautiful memories of their campus days throughout the competition.
 

A healthy interdisciplinary connection that deeply reflects the event's original intent: cross-domain teamwork.
 

Among the participants were many familiar faces, including "Smitty WerbenJagerManJensen (史密提威威傑格曼傑森)," a team that has competed in every edition of the event. After finishing a disappointing third last year, the team returned this year to try again. Team captain Pin-Hong Li, a student from the Department of Systems and Naval Mechatronic Engineering, noted that with many veteran members graduating this year, the current team would try to take this roster turnover as an opportunity to become stronger. Senior members invited new classmates and friends to join. Despite limited practice time, members made efficient use of their spare time and pre-race warm-ups to foster teamwork between returning and new members. Even more commendably, the students conducted a debriefing session right after the preliminary heat to review their performance today, aiming for a better showing if they advance to the semifinals. Kai-Tong Yang, a student at the Miin Wu School of Computing, shared that recruiting teammates for these races helped him make many new friends. The mutual call to action among students from different fields allowed everyone to form healthy interdisciplinary connections, deeply echoing the core intention of this event—the spirit of cross-domain teamwork.
 

Students from various countries joined the event and shared the excitement.
 

In addition to returning participants, the event featured numerous international students joining in the excitement, adding a dimension of cross-cultural exchange on top of cross-disciplinary collaboration.
 

As students push their limits, sports injuries are an inevitable concern. Therefore, the Athletic Training Station set up by the Physical Education Office was on hand at the trackside to remind students to warm up thoroughly to prevent muscle strains and other sports injuries. They were also advised to know their limits, pay attention to personal safety while running, and immediately report any physical discomfort to the staff. Giving one's best without overexertion and finishing the race with joy remains the top priority, advancing the ultimate goal of promoting health through sports.
 

All teams give it their all to secure a spot in the semifinals.
 

October 22 (Thursday) will mark the final day of the preliminary rounds for the relay race. Teams will go all out to secure their tickets to the semifinals. All faculty, staff, and students are warmly invited to come to the venue to cheer on the athletes and help create an even more energetic atmosphere on the NCKU campus this autumn.