The 16th Atmiya Annual Athletic Meet

Athletes, Ready?…

The 16^th Atmiya Annual Athletic Meet…

U-17 100m finals…

Athletes… On your mark… Set…

And ‘BOOM’ goes the clapper along with the athletes who run as though a bullet fired from a gun, piercing the winds and their humanly capacities, and surpassing them to meet the awaiting red ribbon 100m away from them. Although the most electrifying race ends just after a few seconds, it leaves the energetic audience spellbound, brimming with awe and surprise. Well, this is just one of the many exciting and thrill-infused events of the four-day sports carnival organised at the large beautifully decorated & prepared school ground. Yes, it was the most awaited 16^th Atmiya Annual Athletic Meet celebrated at Atmiya Vidya Mandir.

Due to the out of this world Atmiya Yuva Mahotsav to be celebrated at Vadodara in the first week of January 2020, our school’s Athletic Meet was preponed by about 2 weeks resulting in fewer hours of practice for students as well as lesser time for our sports teachers to prepare the ground. However, the unparalleled motivation showcased by the students coupled with our teachers’ amazing zeal compelled the event to be far beyond than just success!

The opening ceremony, organized on 26^th December marked the beginning of this wonderful event. Graced by Pujya Suhradswamiji and Pujya Krutarthswamiji along with the ever-divine presence of Param Pujya Hariprasadswamiji Maharaj, the event had an enlightening charm.

During this evening, a very creative and energetic performance on the Fit India Theme was given by Class 1 & 2 trained quite lovingly and patiently by our sports teachers. Furthermore, dumbbell exercises, saree drills, walk past and other eye-catchy drills were performed by our junior brothers quite enthusiastically. There was also a motivational singing performance given by Std 8 students. Adding icing on the cake, Pujya Suhradswamiji blessed us with his insightful words of wisdom. In the end, former best athletes ran along with a torch in their hands depicting fierce but spirited competition. Our principal, Vijay Sir then declared the Meet open. Just as the opening ceremony came to an end, the ever-enthusiastic and super energetic students of the school got ready for their events.

All the students were divided into the following 6 age groups for the Meet: U-8, U-10, U-13, U-15, U-17 and U-19. All the events were segregated among these categories. Our sports teachers with support from academic teachers, had painstakingly planned for 42 events distributed over 7 sessions spread across 4 days!

The 4-days carnival extending from 26^th December to 29^th December was loaded with upbeat motivational music blasting from the speakers and packed with encouraging commentary by dear Mukesh Sir, Gautam Sir, Prabhudarshan Sir and Tarun Sir.

With the best of their abilities and probably the largest pool of energy gushing out from their little hearts, the young athletes of U-8 and U-10 age categories participated in various events like Ball Throw, 50m Ring Race, Standing Broad Jump, etc. An exclusively reserved event for them is the standing broad jump which involves jumping as far as possible from a standing position. Their little strides however, contributed very important 10 points to their respective houses!

The heavy iron ball of shot put thrown in the air by the mighty, lands with a thud on the ground. Competing with each other with the zenith of their force and energy, participants of this event truly fought with their mind and competed with each other by the adage ‘fair and fierce competition’.

The javelin throw event was no less exhilarating. The rigorous training of the participants truly yielded phenomenal results. The athletes made javelins with the metal pierce the wind as a missile and land on the ground piercing through it.

The discus too seemed to be dizzy as the athletes flung it with great strength and tactics. The smooth movement and distance covered by the discus impressed everyone on the field.

‘Wow’, ‘Awesome’, ‘Thrilling’ are some of the words that spontaneously erupt from our mouth watching some of the most competitive events in the Athletic Meet, i.e, Long Jump, Triple Jump and High Jump. The manoeuvres of the athletes to clear the height and distance were unbelievable. Taking a fast run-up, the athletes would fling themselves into the air with gracious movements and then take the leap.

Endurance and Mental Strength are some of the pre-requisites of some of the most nail-biting events of the Meet – races. The available races were 3000m, 1500m and 800m on the longer side and the shorter versions were of 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and 4x200m relay. From the longer races, the most mesmerizing event was the 3K run. The fact that all the 48 participants finished the race even in the chilly mornings is the testimony of the hard work and sincere efforts put by the students and the coaching given by Mahesh Sir. These events also became a medium to showcase the inspirational spirit possessed by AVM students. One such example was of a bhoolku named Krupeshbhai S Patel (Class 5). He completed three laps of 800m even though he lost one shoe on his way. Moreover, during the home stretch sprint, he lost another shoe and yet, it couldn’t deter his spirit and he finished the race without any shoe!

The relay races are very unique events of the epic 4-day festival. Unlike other races, the relays are a team event where 4 athletes run by passing batons to each other requiring extreme discipline and coordination. These also gave a different kind of thrill and suspense to the spectators.

At the end, all the points for all medals earned are counted per house to unveil the champion house. The winner house gets the grand champions’ trophy and the second standing house get the runners-up trophy. Moreover, the highly gifted and skilled athletes who contributed most points to their houses in their respective age groups were awarded “Best Athlete Trophy” to acknowledge and applaud their hard work and perseverance.

The four days of keen competition and enjoyment finally ended with Vijay Sir’s words, “I hereby declare the 16^th Atmiya Annual Athletic Meet Closed” and hoisting down of the house and school flags. But this further added to the enthusiasm of the students which got elevated even more as the GRAND Atmiya Yuva Mahotsav was on their doorsteps!

Many congratulations and heartfelt gratitude to the sports team for organizing such an awe-inspiring event.

Reported by: Harshil Patel (Class 11), Shrimed Sangani & Dev Bandhiya (Class 10)

A Very Blessed Opening Ceremony of the 16th Atmiya Annual Athletic Meet

Memorable moments of the 16th Atmiya Annual Athletic Meet

The Glittering Medal Ceremonies & Closing of the 16th Atmiya Annual Athletic Meet