International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

6 April is International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. The day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013, and has been celebrated each year since. As the name of the day hints, it is an annual celebration of the power of sport to help drive social change, community development and to foster peace and understanding. As such, the day presents an opportunity to recognise the role that sport and physical activity plays in communities and in people’s lives across the world. Sport promotes tolerance and respect, and contributes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities, as well as health, education and social inclusion. This year’s International Day of Sports for Development and Peace is related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the way that sport can help in building resilience and in the recovery from the pandemic, as well as efforts to build back better and more equitable world.

At TISB we deeply value the benefits of sport and physical activity, both for an individual’s health and well-being, and for social benefits, such as healthy competition, humbleness, camaraderie and collaboration.

PY Sport Day 2021

Every year PY comes together and participates in the annual PY Sports Day, arranged by the PE Department. Students gather together on the TISB cricket pitch and celebrate by performing drills with singing and dancing, participating in track and field competitions and earning points for the four Houses: Explorers, Discoverers, Pioneers and Voyagers. Sports Day always begins with an Opening Ceremony, introductory speeches, students pledging the Oath of Allegiance and the Torch being ceremonially lit. This year of course, things were a little bit different. However, the 21st annual PY Sports Day still took place on 31 March, although it was in a virtual capacity.

PY Sports Day is one of the most important events in the PY calendar – Ms Emily, PY Deputy Principal

The PE Department have been busily preparing suitable exercises and challenges to ensure the students did not miss out. “I know that the PE Department and parents at home have done their very best to keep fit”, said Dr Caroline, expressing her appreciation for the continuation of the PY Sports Day and regular exercise. “During this year of remote learning, sport has been very important, but also challenging” said Dr Caroline.

In her opening speech, Dr Caroline expressed the importance of developing the art of sportsmanship: “With sport here at TISB we like to develop the art of sportsmanship, where if we win, we are dignified, we don’t brag about it, we don’t get arrogant, but we deal with it in a dignified way. Sportsmanship is also about being gracious when we lose, so we celebrate other people’s success, and we also learn from our disappointment, rather than getting upset”.

When PY Deputy Principal, Ms Emily, formally declared the meet open, and the HOD for the PE Department, Mr Tarun, briefed the contestants online, a feeling of excitement was palpable amongst students and staff and the 21st PY Sports Day was underway.

Special Olympic Bharat

Sport events at TISB also have a bigger purpose for socio-economic development. For example, since TISB students started Swimathon five years ago, it has been in collaboration with Special Olympic Bharat to help build awareness around the challenges that thousands of mentally and

physically disabled people, including athletes, face every day. The organisation supports people with disabilities by building inclusive communities and societies.

Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt  – Special Olympics Athlete Oath

With the Special Olympics Oath underpinning their actions, Special Olympics Bharat works with people whose disabilities are characterised by below-average intellectual functioning as well as difficulty in carrying out varying aspects of daily life and adapting to a normal social environment. The organisation is also involved with the wider society and young people, to spread awareness about disability, unjust inequalities in society, and to create environments where new relationships and understandings are made to contribute to a better social and economically inclusive society.

This year, the funding from TISB will focus on arranging events, physical and online, to encourage student engagement in the Special Olympics, and also expand youth activation in Bangalore and Karnataka.

Between Wednesday 31 March and Tuesday 6 April, the United Nations asks us all to share a picture or video with the hashtags #OnlyTogether and #SportDay, to show the value of sport in our lives and highlight the importance of ensuring we are all protected from COVID-19.

The International Olympics Committee is encouraging us to join the #BeActive campaign during the period to show unity and solidarity of the sporting community with the rest of the world.