In March Sharjah English School (SES) hosted their first ever BSME competition. Schools travelled from 8 different countries across the gulf to take part in 3 days of sport and fun activities along the way. Over 200 athletes enjoyed the opening ceremnoy which included some of SES’s own music bands and singers to welcome them to the Games. Once all the students had changed into their new BSME Games t-shirts and opened their goody bags with their own ID badges, laynards and visors, they were ‘good to go’ for the first event – the Swimming Gala.
The schools taking part in the Games included:-
1. Sharjah English School
2. Horizon School, Dubai
3. The Eglish School, Kuwait
4. Dhahran British Grammar School
5. Jumeirah English Speaking School, Arabian Ranches
6. British International School, Cairo
7. International Community School, Jordan
8. Jeddah Prep & Grammar School
9. Park House English School
A packed poolside with some fun music motivated the swimmers to do their best and created a big atmosphere for the first competition of the Games. Squads from all schools won races in the 48 Gala events. Overall, this event was very close in scores, with JESS just pipping TES and Horizon to the trophy.
After the Swimming Gala all the competitors enjoyed the pool party, with party music, inflatables, and much fun in general, before tucking into pizza and ice cream before heading home or to hotel.
Friday morning saw the Track and Field competition. The sun was shining and the atmosphere buzzing for another day on the playing fields of SES. Students competed in both track and field competitions, and when not racing cheered on their friends, with awesome views from the stadium seating, located in a prime position for the finish line. The winners, once again, were JESS, clsoely followed by TES and BISC.
JESS Swimming & Athletics Winners
In the afternoon the competition turned to basketball, and the atmopshere was electric inside the full-to-capacity sports hall, with loud chants and cheers by both students and supporting spectators alike. Qualified officials provided expert referring for the tense pool and positional matches. The final was between TES and JESS, which TES won in a close game. Park House were victorious in the third-fourth play off against BISC.
On Friday evening some schools took in some local Dubai sights and went to experience two of ‘The World’s Biggest’ – the Dubai Mall and the Burj Kalifa. Students spent fun time in the world’s biggest mall and taking photos of the world’s tallest building.
The final day was divided into the Boys’ Football and Girls’ Netball. The football tournament was refereed by some of our local football clubs, who did a great job. There were 3 pools plus a ‘BSME Dream Team’, enabling almost all boys to play some football throughout the day. Some of the knock-out games were decided by the ‘sudden-death’ penalty competition. The final was between TES and ICS, won by TES. The third-fourth play off game saw BISC beat JESS. The overall trophy competion was becoming closer and closer.
The Girls’ Netball was played indoors as well as and outdoors. Once again there was great support from parents and spectators, with much singing and applause. I have never witnessed such an exciting final as the one between JESS and TES. After the 2 quarters the game went to extra time, but with the scores still level, a second set of extra time then needed to be played. TES won the centre pass and with ‘golden goal’ as the deciding format, TES finally took away the trophy on this occasion. A very big ‘well done’ to both players and umpires for holding the game together under such pressure.
The U11 Small School Games was then over for another year, with TES taking the Overall Event Trophy back to Kuwait. ICS from Jordan took the honoured prize for ‘Fair Play’ home with them – with lots of supportive comments from all the Tournament players, which was most pleasing to see. A weekend full of highlights was rounded off with a Carinval, where students were able to play fairground games, climb inflatables and enjoy a BBQ supper. We do hope SES created a truly friendly atmosphere and spirit for these Games. Many thanks again to all staff and students for coming to the SES BSME Games, and we do hope to see you all again next year.
The English School, Kuwait
