sports

Sports Day Speech by Chairman Ian Henney 2013

Honorable guest of honors, ministers, parents, friends, and students, l would like to welcome you to Borrowdale Brooke Academy Sports day.
School sports day is a red letter day on the calendar. It is a day when students are freed from their classrooms to jump and run around, freed from the fetters of learning. It is a day for mothers to wear their summary best and fathers to cheer on their sons. It’s a day when children who may struggle with academic subjects show that they can race faster or jump further than anyone else. It’s a day for red faces and perspiration where t-shirts and shorts are the order of the day. It’s a day for starter guns or teachers with whistles. School sports day is a day for cameras and videos and smiling faces. It’s a day for triumph and disasters, for successes and failures. Speeches are given and medals are presented and, overall, it’s a day for sportsmanship and making memories.
This year, I am pleased to see, many are competing encompassing over 50 staff and family members in a wide variety of events. Not least of which is the tug-of-war which I am told will be vigorously contested.
As I look around here today I am reminded once again of just how passionate teachers are about sport and what great competitors you all are. One of the consistencies I see when I watch students play at school is the love BBA Students have for sport. And what a great thing sport is on so many levels. Beyond the obvious health and activity benefits, sport can teach us much about life. It teaches us about teamwork, it teaches us how to get along with others, and it teaches us to work together to achieve a common goal. It’s also about trust and responsibility and about dealing with success and failure.
Sport also helps us learn about coping with pressure and the need to stick with training in order to improve. As well as the benefits to individuals, sports and physical activity also bring great benefits to communities through such things as improved health and education, rehabilitation, crime prevention, and gender equality.
Another important aspect of sports is its ability to make people feel they are part of something. In a survey done on our last sports day, everybody interviewed said that “the event made them feel a part of Borrowdale Brooke Academy.
Borrowdale Brooke Academy recognizes the value of using sport as vehicle for development
But while the challenges are great, so is the commitment to find solutions. I want to acknowledge all the good work done by Teachers and also parents. Everybody has a responsibility to work towards making communities safer. To achieve that goal parents and teachers need to work closely together. This sports day is an excellent way to bring people together in a relaxed environment that will build lasting networks and friendships across the sector.
I congratulate the organizers and particularly the director of studies Mrs. Henney, the principal Mrs. Rutsito and his deputy Mr. Muridzi, the technical coordinators Mr. Maviki, and other members of the organizing team who have done a great job in putting together today’s program.
And now it only leaves me to wish all competitors good luck and to declare the First annual Borrowdale Brooke Academy Sports Day open.
Thank you