The future of school athletics in Dhaka
A year has passed and has gone without a whistle blown, a coach lending a hand, parents and guardians cheering in the stands, and a student-athlete leading his or her team to success. We have missed a season of rivalry games, annual tournaments, and chances to shine at international school events. We lost the chance to see a student-athlete learn from their success and failure. A year has passed and gone without any school sports in Dhaka which brings up the question of, where do we go from here? What is the future of school athletics in Dhaka?
The student-athletes here in Dhaka have struggled with their social and emotional health during the online learning stages, but the finish line is getting closer and closer; school sports are starting to reopen all around the world. The good thing is that we have learned from other countries that have started school sports again and found that it is possible and eventually will happen here for the student-athletes of Dhaka. Maybe it won't happen right away like it is in my hometown of San Francisco where high schools are already playing sports against each other in cases deemed safe to play during the pandemic. In Dhaka, it will have to start slow and build up again over time. Interschool sports tournaments for student-athletes won't happen right away as we still are in the Covid-19 era.
The main goal that all schools should have is that once schools open again is to get students out playing sports and being physically active. We of course want to follow the CDC guidelines and offer sporting opportunities that are not indoors and that do not force close contact. This means we can still play cricket, badminton, volleyball and take part in swimming and track and field competitions. Of course, all these competitions would still require student-athletes and coaches to wear masks and for those not playing to be sitting or standing away from each other for social distancing. Practice schedules would need to be created and followed to where only student-athletes and coaches are in specific sections of the field and no parents or other students would be gathering. Doing this would require excellence in cleaning and disinfecting all equipment and making sure cleaning schedules are followed without fail. So far this all sounds possible, with kids practicing and being back on the field it begins the conversation for competition.
Starting that conversation, the next question here is how do international schools compete against each other? As the CDC recommends big tournaments are not something schools should do at this time. If this is the case, then how do we get students to compete? The answer is simply to create your in-house league and to create 3 to.4 teams in your program to play against each other. Creating an in-house league keeps the students playing against students whom they already see and socialize with every day, and it limits the number of people they will come in contact with. Additionally, these in-house leagues will keep the student-athletes in competition mode and will keep them ready and involved for when the opportunity arises to go to a future tournament. In-house leagues can be played after school so students don't have to come in on weekends for all-day tournaments and games can be officiated by an assistant coach or a player not playing the game. There would be no spectators allowed and games can be recorded and/or televised live on social media platforms for parents and guardians only. Doing this keeps everyone safe and able to play sports again.
At the International School Dhaka, sports will attempt to capitalize on the possibility of restarting so engagement opportunities for school sports to slowly re-start occurs. Close contact sports like football and basketball are still options, however, it is difficult to maintain social distance when playing these games and contact can occur. Revisiting these sports later in the school year are options to ensure all avenues of sports are further explored before restarting. Here the plan and goal are to create the in-house league for the above-mentioned sports and to have an ISD-only track and field and swimming event. Starting this will allow the student-athletes to be back on the field or in the pool working towards a common purpose and to help improve their athletic ability. Most importantly, it gives them something to look forward to, a reward to be able to wear that Hawks jersey again.
Times like these are tough for all and the circumstances have been unfortunate this academic year. However, it is time to get these kids back out playing the games they enjoy. It is time for hustle, it is time for sweat, it is time for tears, it is time to learn from success, it is time to learning from failure, it is time for school sports to restart and hopefully if all schools can do their part in getting these kids ready the transition back into tournament play will be an easy one. I do hope we get to host your school soon in one of our school sports tournaments, but until then, let's get these kids back out to play as safe as we possibly can.
*The writer is athletics director, International School Dhaka and Bangladesh national baseball team's coach
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