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The Other Side of Showdown

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  On August 8, I participated in the 10th National Showdown Cup Tournament with my volunteer group. It was already my fifth time participating in a Showdown tournament, but the moment I stepped into the competition room, I felt like I was playing the sport for the first time. I was nervous. Even though I had played Showdown before, competing in an actual tournament felt completely different. I could feel myself overthinking every move, and at first, I was much more anxious than I expected. But as the games went on, I slowly became more comfortable. I started to trust myself more, and with every hit, I could feel my confidence and energy building. What made this experience especially meaningful was being on the other side of the game. Last time, I participated in Showdown as a volunteer, helping and overseeing visually impaired athletes as they compete. This time, however, I was the one holding the paddle and standing at the table. For once, I wasn't watching the athletes from the o...
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My Third Time Volunteering at the Showdown Competition

 This year marked my third time volunteering at a Showdown competition for individuals with visual impairments. Although I was already familiar with the event, each experience has taught me something new. Going into the competition, I thought I understood what to expect, but I always leave realizing that there is still so much I can learn from the participants. Throughout the day, I helped organize the competition, guided participants around the venue, and made sure everything ran smoothly. While these tasks may seem simple, they allowed me to interact closely with the athletes and witness their determination firsthand. Their confidence, focus, and resilience were inspiring. Rather than letting their visual impairment define them, they approached every challenge with positivity and independence. What continues to stand out to me is how much perspective I gain every time I volunteer. The participants remind me not to take everyday abilities for granted and to appreciate the opportun...
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Volunteering for the 2026 National Showdown Tournament

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  On June 28th, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the 2026 Seoul Mayor's Cup National Blind Showdown Tournament, a national competition where visually impaired athletes compete in the sport of showdown. Through this experience, I was able to support athletes, learn more about the sport, and witness the incredible dedication of professional players. During the tournament, my main responsibility was assisting visually impaired athletes by guiding them between different areas, such as the game courts and waiting areas. I helped ensure that participants could move around the venue safely and comfortably. I also helped manage the environment around the courts by keeping doors secured and preventing unnecessary disturbances during matches so that players could stay focused. One of the most memorable parts of this experience was watching professional showdown players compete. Although I had experienced playing showdown myself as an amateur, seeing the game at a professional level was ...
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In the Silence, We Stood Together

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When people think of sports, they imagine sports as something they watch on TV or a huge sports stadium full of cheers and screaming. However, spending an entire day in the Showdown-cup game room will provide a completely different insight, that sports can also be experienced through sound.  The first thing I noticed when I walked into the room was the constant rhythm of balls rattling across the table, bats striking the ball, and teammates quietly communicating with one another. At first, they were just background noises. But as the competition went on, those sounds began to tell a story. Every swing of the bat reflected the athletes' passion, determination, and the countless hours they had spent practicing. My role was to oversee the competition and guide visually impaired athletes throughout the day. Since I stayed in the game room the entire time, I naturally started paying more attention to what I could hear instead of what I could see. Listening to every hit, every roll of th...
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Crafting hand creams and diffusers with the visually impaired

I recently participated in a volunteer event featuring hand cream and diffuser crafting activities. We were given a set of materials and amples of various scents to add to the base of the hand creams and diffusers. Volunteer assistants helped the visually impaired participants choose the scents they liked by reading out the name of the scents, and helping them smell it. There was also a proffessional instructor helping us through the process, recommending us specific combinations and helping us craft the items. As a result, the activity went very smooth overall, and it was a quite an unique experience for all of us.
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A Meaningful Afternoon of Art and Connection

On May 30th, I participated in an art workshop with the visually impaired, in which we made hand cream and defusers. I got paired with a very extroverted and funny grandmother whose sense of humor seemed to align almost perfectly with mine, making the experience deeply enjoyable and memorable.  The part of this workshop that really stood out to me was when we chose the scents we would use. Her sense of smell seemed incredibly acute as she was able to remember and differentiate which scent was which with accuracy and speed, showing how much people can adapt their different strengths to engage in an activity.   Through our minute conversations and shared laughter, I clocked her personality early on, which made us connect better and gave the activity more meaning overall. It was truly an extraordinary experience. 
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Connecting With the Visually Impaired Through the Idea of Scent

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 On May 30th, our club gathered to help the visually impaired create hand creams and defusers. They both had something in common; they both required our sense of smell. Despite being visually impaired, participants were very sensitive to the scents and the small differences each had. My partner and I were working as a team to bond in the process of choosing scents and working together to drop them inside the small bottle. This activity not only helped us create defusers and hand creams; it helped us realize the importance of smell. Despite the blind people having difficulty seeing what was done, they were still able to participate with their sense of smell, which was very impressive. Also,  during this activity, I bonded with the woman I partnered with. When she found out that I had trouble with cold hands and feet, she introduced me to different ways of massaging and keeping myself warm. She was able to turn the cold into heat through her massaging skills. Later on, I found o...
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