Sports Day '08

Yes people.

It was that time of the year again. Yesterday, four houses marched out onto a field determined to prove themselves. Four houses, competing for one silver trophy. Needless to say the competition was tough. I've never seen it like this before. There wasn't really a clear leader for quite a large portion of the day, but in the end - Blue House emerged victorious.

Yup, for the first time in YEARS Blue House holds the trophy high up in the air.

So, congratulations to all in Blue House. You guys did well.

Yellow was close though. Two points robbed us of that trophy. Though it was a disappointment for many of us, I thought it was just a great reminder of what we can do if we set our minds to it. I'll take this time to remind the general public that last year, Yellow House came in last place by quite a margin. This year, we almost won.

Instead of looking at the placings, I choose to look at the improvement. A lot of heart went into the performance yesterday, and it shows. I can't really express my gratitude to those who gave their all on the field. The tradition is to reward them with ice cream or something...but I don't think that is enough to show them how much I appreciated their efforts.

A shout out to the other two houses too, Green in third and Red in fourth. I say it was a good race run by all. But there has to be a winner right? And this year, it was Blue House.

I won't say that any house did or didn't deserve to win. That wouldn't be fair to anyone. So I shall keep that part out of the equation as I continue.

One medal belongs to me, but I feel as if I won so many more. It's like every victory for one member, was my own victory. And that's how it should be in teams. It's not about who gets to run which race, not about how many medals you get as an individual or whether you win at all. It's about working together and supporting each other.

Tug of War is the best example to illustrate how important teamwork and support is. If one member on a Tug of War team decided that they didn't want to participate, then the team would fail. EVERYBODY has to participate in order for something like that to happen.

Why do you think Tug of War is the last event? Because it's the most physically and mentally draining event. And it's fun to watch.

When you are pulling, your body takes on so much strain. That is evident to anybody watching. But what they can't see, is the mental battle. It is so easy just to let go of that rope and let the other house win. It's easy to let go and let others do the work. But that isn't the point. The point is to hold on for dear life and pull with every single muscle in your body. Never give up.

I know I had that battle. It would have been so easy to just let it go that little bit and give up. To say 'I tried'. But that isn't the point. You have to discipline yourself to the extent where that doesn't even cross your mind. Where you just say, 'I'm gonna do this and win. No two ways about it'.

It's important to keep in that mind frame. Focus on the task at hand and complete it.

That's what I told the Yellow House runners. All they needed to do was focus. Everything around them was irrelevant. Those that took my words to heart did extremely well. Not because they were my words. But because of the thoughts that they were channelling. What they achieved was what they deserved, and I couldn't be happier for them.

:D