Flag off

The weekend could not have been better for the students of Fazlani L’academie Globale (FLAG) as they became worthy champions of the inaugural Wibit Aqua Games.

FLAG stacked up 3800 points, beating runners up American School of Bombay by a comfortable 600-point margin at the Andheri Sports Complex on Sunday. Ecole Mondiale International School came third among the six participating schools.

The coach of FLAG, Abdul Samad Pawaskar, was a happy man. He had a strategy in place. “In the team meeting after Saturday, I asked all my kids to get me some points rather than winning individual events since we were leading the table. They listened to me and here we are,” said Pawaskar.

Tracy Siingh, sports coach of Billabong International School felt that most kids in the enthusiasm of participating in the novel concept failed to realise this.

“I have a national swimming champion in my team. For him individual brilliance mattered the most but here it wasn’t about ‘him’, it was about ‘us’ and we lost the plot there,” confessed Siingh.

The best boy and girl athlete came from Singapore International yet the team languished at the bottom of the table. The tournament, though, was more than just winning. It was a learning experience, a meeting of cultures combined with a unique sport-cum-leisure event which cured many kids of aqua phobia.

Pradeep Chechani was a proud father when his daughter Mahima won the high jump event for girls. Mahima’s parents feel this unique concept gave her a chance to understand the importance of team work.

Robert Cirjak, CEO of Wibit, said that learning combined with fun could be of great effect.

All the parents, students and were looking forward to the next year. “We are planning to buy some of these products for our school to train them better for next year’s edition,” said Milind Jadhav, coach of Singapore International.