First sports meet for the village youth
(An impressive display of untapped talent)
Recently AVAG hosted a volleyball tournament for village
youth. It was a feast for the eyes to see the young village
boys play the game in such a professional manner. The ground
play as well as the smashing technique of all the players
was as good as that of any state level team. Every match
was a fight till the last point as all the teams were equally
strong.
For most of the players it was the first tournament of
their life. They all seemed very proud to represent their
village and some had taken pains to get a team uniform with
the name of their village printed on it.
The following Sunday was the 'Athletics Day' for the village
boys. AVAG had specially invited the 'Auroville Sports Team'
to conduct the event according to proper rules and regulations.
The best performances recorded were: 5.80 meters in long-jump,
10.45 meters in shot-put and around 12.6 sec in 100 meters
run.
The 'Auroville Sports Team' comprising 8 Aurovilians was
very much impressed with the performances, knowing that
the boys hadn't gone through any athletics training. Some
of them volunteered to be a part of AVAG's 'Sports Training
Program' for the villagers, which is going to start in the
near future. They also offered the possibility of hosting
some sports competitions for the village children in the
well equipped 'Deha-Shakti' sports ground of Auroville.
To end the day with laughter the AVAG staff had organized
some novelty games like slow-cycling, tug of war and breaking
the pot blind-folded.
Encouraged by the success of these tournaments AVAG has
decided to organize regular sports events for the young
men and women of the region. These youth with such talent
and determination would be a useful asset for their village
if they were given more opportunities to develop their skills.
With the participation of Aurovilians and their discussion
with the AVAG's co-coordinators it is likely that we shall
soon have various sports competitions between the village
and Auroville youth. It will be an interesting exposure
for the village youth to confront a team comprising of boys
and girls from different nationalities playing happily together
without any social or cultural constraint. For the Aurovilians
it will be an eye-opening experience to see the hidden talent
and enthusiasm of a neighborhood which is totally deprived
of all the wonderful opportunities and facilities that Auroville
has in plenty. But most importantly, it will be an occasion
for both the sides to meet on a common ground and make friends.
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