Keekli Reporter, 9th September, 2014, Shimla
Lefroy House wins the Sports Shield; Matthew House bags the Marching Cup; and French House lifts the Proficiency Cup.
Chirag Chauhan was adjudged the Best Athlete, while Sumit Kumar was the best Gymnast !!!
Principal Auckland House School for Boys, Michael A. John warmly greeted the chief guest Dinesh Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate, Shimla, on the occasion of the Seventh Annual Sports Day – 2014 held here today. The programme began with an impressive March Past by the four houses — Lefroy, Matthew, French and Durrant — as the Commissioner took the Guard of Honour after which began a series aerobic exercises, gymnastics and Yoga routines.
Amazing musical displays were performed by 276 students from Form III to IX in various colourful and synchronized acts. The first performance was by holding reused plastic bottles with pebbles inside them, followed by another equally remarkable display with band sticks attached with ribbons. Then followed the Yoga exercises and Taekwando routines. Yoga was at its best as the young performers started with the Surya Namaskar, followed by other asans, laying emphasis on their importance and on healthy living. The next stunning performance was of Taekwondo techniques, a modern martial art form which can be used for defending oneself in dire circumstances. Trained under the able-guidance of Mr Balbir, the students displayed the use of different moves and feet to showcase their skills.
Next event was gymnastics in which various exercises on the vaulting horse were performed, much to the delight of the audience. The boys here showed immense physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination and balance, which concluded with the Pyramid formation that was greatly appreciated by one and all present.
It was now time for some competitive events and the roaring cheers from all the houses was quite evident, as all the students were rooting for their houses. The excitement and thrill of winning each race was also evident among the House Teachers. Interesting races like baton relay, ball relay, kangaroo race, spoon and lemon race were conducted by different groups. The participants put up their best and kept the audience spell bound and enthralled.
The first competition was the Baton Relay and the winners were: Group A – Ankur Sharma, Sumit Kumar, Parvaldeep; Group B – Arnav Arya, Aryan Sharma, Sujan Sawant; followed by the Ball Relay, which was won by Group A – Ankur Sharma, Sumit Kumar; Group B – Aryan, Sujan Sawant, Paris Prabhakar; Group C – Sujal Verma, Akshansh.
Next was the Kangaroo Race, which definitely bought cheers and laughter as the boys’ hopped to the finish line with a basketball held between their knees. The winners here were; Group A – Aaryan Vashisht, Ravi Kalta, Atik Jain. The ever so famous Spoon and Lemon Race too had a few fallouts but those successfully crossing the finishing line were Group B – Arnav Arya, Kunal Rana, Paris Prabhakar; Group C – Samarveer S. Thakur, Akshansh Sharma, Dhroovansh Tanta. A show of mettle and strength was witnessed during the Tug of War, and winners to take home the trophy in order of standings were Matthew House, French House, and Lefroy House.
In recent years skating is being taught in schools, and Auckland House has made an exception in promoting this sport in a big way. Under the leadership of their Coach Pankaj Prabhakar, a national champion, the boys made a swift dash to the finish line. Loosing balance or falls was not a deterrent, but completing the race and bagging that medal was the only target. The winners in this race were Group C – Chirag Chauhan, Parth Sharma, Ayush Grover.
Parents too stepped on the field to bag their medals, mothers had the task of participating in the Spoon and Lemon Race, while fathers hopped on one leg to reach the end line. The winners in this category were Ladies – Asha Sharma and Sheetal Thakur; Gentlemen – Jaidev Gautam, Suresh Pathania, Kuldeep Thakur.
Principal John gave an inspiring speech and said, “It does not matter if you win or lose as long as you give it a try. Children have to be active every day as physical activity stimulates growth which directly improves ones health. Exercise is also known to relive stress and a fit child is more likely to be fit and mentally sharp”. He further laid emphasis on the importance of holding such events which boost the morale of the children and lays the competitive foundation in their future lives.
Chief Guest, Commissioner Malhotra then stepped up and awarded medals and trophies to all the winners. He praised all the students and the faculty on giving such a wonderful performance today and congratulated all the winners. He said, “Auckland School has a definite imprint on the mind, body and soul of its students as I witnessed today that all the students gave am amazing performance. There is no shortcut in life, be it on the field or in studies. In today’s world only those students can survive who have both a healthy body and a healthy mind, and I would advise you to be sincere towards your duty, which is to study and play at this growing stage”. He further added that importance should be given to physical fitness and a healthy brain, and students should have courage, conviction and courage to achieve all their goals in life.
The day ended on a high note of loud cheers and celebrations for an overall brilliant performance given by all the students !!!
Winners of Other Events
Soft Ball: Group A – Sumit Kumar, Abhishek Chauhan, Arya Aggarwal; Group B – Aryan Sharma, Jagat Narayan, Sarthak Chawla; Group C – Chirag Chauhan, Divyansh K. Gautam, Omansh Sharma.
Flat Race (100 mts.): Group A – Himanshu Chauhan, Atik Jain, Sumit Kumar; Group B – Arnav Arya, Kunal Rana, Harshit Gupta; Group C – Pranav Chauhan, Chirag Chauhan, Samar Veer Singh.
Obstacle Race: Group A – Pranav Shandil, Ankit Sharma, Ravi Kalta; Group C – Pranav Chauhan, Saksham Tanwar, Chirag Chauhan.
Taekwondo: Ansh Rohta, Parth Sharma, Shreay Verma.
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