Attended by over 200 students and staff members, the long awaited Sports day was held on Friday, October 7, 2016 at the KDI Sports Park. A matchup among four teams; Red, Blue, Green and the Grey Team unfolded before a once-in-a-year backdrop in Korea’s new city, Sejong. KDI School’s mini-2016 Olympic games included; the Plate Flip Game, Obstacle Race, Dodge Ball, QX Quiz, Soccer, Tug of War, Relay Race and in place of gold, silver, and bronze, Raffles and Prizes were awarded to the winners

With the perfect weather, right outfit, high energetic levels, students and staff matched to the sports park early morning and by 11am, the sports park was flooded with students looking spectacular in their team colors. Associate Dean Shin Jaeun opened the occasion, encouraging fun, a competitive team spirit and a showcase of talent in different sports. She concluded by stressing fair play and that every team would be winner. The event then kicked off with start-up exercises.

First on the games line up was the Plate Flip Game. The rule of the game was that the team that had the most number of plates flipped when the final whistle was blown would emerge as the winner. Taking home “gold” was the green team that flipped over 10 plates with the first whistle. Next off was the obstacle race. Team participants were required to race with the one foot inside a cut-circle shaped soft board hole, eventually the Red team which had collective effort took home “gold” in this one with the green team coming in close second.

The Q and X quiz conducted by the event’s MCs Zambia’s Ngane Mpengula and Russia’s Anna Lalova asked simple but factual questions which tested the students general knowledge on KDI School and highlighted on the importance of being update with school history, previous, current and future activities/ events.

One of the most interesting games of the day was dodge ball, it combined both efforts from participants and those off the court while showcasing the importance of team spirit. The trick that determined the victor in this game was that teams had to cooperate with their team members outside the court to have an edge over the team that had more members getting knocked out of the court. Ultimately, the Green team showed the best strategy and it emerged the winner.

 Time check, it was midday, lunchtime and a chance for students to refill their energy levels for the remaining second half of the event. As the tradition has been for year now, the KDI School provided delicious lunch that catered for all cultures among students.

The second half of the event kicked with Soccer. “This game is so passionate to me, I have to showcase both my ability to run and score and secure a win for my team and a place in the final game,” exclaimed a member from the Blue team. The toughest soccer game was between the Blue team and the Grey which ended in penalty shootouts. But the final showdown was between the Green team and the Grey team.

In the tug of war game, the blue team emerged victorious. And finally, the relay race gave students the opportunity to display their athletic abilities and teamwork, the Blue team emerged as the winner followed by the Green team, Grey team and Red team.

As the Associate Dean had announced at the beginning of the event, every team would be winner and every participant would receive a gift, all four teams were awarded prizes namely; the Green team- Knowledgeable, Blue team- Devoted, Grey team- Integrated  and the Red team- Strategic. In addition to this, raffle prizes were also awarded with majority of them going to the Red team members and souvenirs were also awarded to students. Also among the awardees was designer of the Logo for the sports t-shirts Rakhmatov Shokirjon. The long awaited KDIS 2016 Sports Day ended with successfully with light rain drizzles, students and staff sharing moments and events of the day that were memorable!

By Micheal MUGISHA [2015 MDP, Uganda]