Monday Memory: Asia Pacific Activities Conference

By Sam Wong, ISB Alumni Relations, and Nick Yates, ISB Communications

In 1995, the International School of Beijing (ISB), along with four other international schools in the region, founded the Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC).

What started out as a grouping of the founders to compete in basketball, soccer, and volleyball has grown to now encompass 12 schools, 12 sports, and festivals for five performing arts. Over a quarter of a century, countless students have experienced the thrill of match day and the buzz of concert time thanks to APAC.  

The first ISB APAC honors came courtesy of the 1997 boys volleyball team, followed by the ISB girls winning the APAC volleyball tournament the year after. ISB’s girls basketball champs from the year 2000 are pictured.

While all students involved in occasions like APAC benefit hugely from their experiences in sports and performing arts, a number of ISB athletes and artists have also risen to the very top level of these fields. Joe Alexander, who attended ISB from 1996 to 2002, went on to play in the National Basketball Association, and Camille Cheng (Class of 2011) swam in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

When we asked Camille Cheng about her fondest memories of ISB, she said they were “all the competitions like China Cup and APAC with my teammates.”

ISB is proud to be celebrating its 40 years of existence, including those enlivened by APAC. In 2020-2021, everyone is invited to join in celebrating the 40th anniversary through a range of events. Check out  the Celebrating 40 web page for more details, and please send your photos and memories of ISB to celebrating40@isb.bj.edu.cn for your chance to be featured in this series of articles and in the Celebrating 40 Exhibition.