An ecstatic Sports Week in Thai School

Departemen Sastra Inggris

[Mahasiswa] 

ANISATUL ILMIAH

1 September 2022

Pembelajaran dan Aktivitas Mahasiswa

SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 1, SDG 5, SDG 17

During my Teaching Assistantship in Thailand for the Kampus Merdeka program sponsored by from Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education Indonesia, I had the chance to join in the Sports Week in Thailand. The Sports Week event in the Thai schools is beyond a common sports competition. There are many exciting activities to do; costume parade, performance, games, and also cheerleading. Every year, students and teachers are really enthusiastic about welcoming one of the most fun events at school. 

This event is held to signify the beginning of the summer break (around July and August). Kila Si, or Color Sports Week, means the students and the teachers are separated into four houses with assigned colors. (it reminds us of the houses in Harry Potter). So the students competed against other teams based on their house colors. 

Prakobtham School was one of the places where a student from Universitas Negeri Malang undergoing PPL/KKN program also carried out a Kila Si event for three days (9-11 August 2022). The group was divided into four colors by lottery;  purple, red, orange, and blue. Everyone, regardless of age (both teachers and students) looked forward to this special event. They even spent almost a month preparing all the things needed for Sports Week.

The first day began with the costume parade, where every team created a different theme and there were mascots dressing up like princes and princesses. Then there was an opening ceremony which school officials attended. The following event was the dance performance conducted by female students (Tari Kipas) and the march performance by male students. 

The sports competition between boys and girls is carried out separately. Futsal, badminton, volleyball, sepak takraw, and petong were played competitively. Teachers were also participating and so excited to fight for the championship. 

Another interesting thing is when the cheerleading competition. Each team put in the best effort to surpass each other’s spirit. Whoever could cheer the loudest and creative with the most enthusiasm came out as the true winner. This event was also enlivened by various games such as running competitions, tug of war, and chair fighting.

On the last day, it was announced that the winner of each competition got a trophy. However, the blue team deserved to be the grand champion of the year.  There are a few things that make the writer impressed during Sports Week. Their helpful spirit, playfulness, and mutual values are the keys to running the event smoothly and ecstatically.