CAS PROJECT: Cricket is one of India’s most popular sports, and after seeing the public’s enthusiasm for the game, my friends and I decided to organize a cricket tournament on turf ground. It was a one-day tournament, and I was one of the competitors. The profit we made was donated to a non-profit organization.
The event was organized outside school on a Turf ground, we had a lot of work to do. We had to reserve the Turf and search for various locations where we could get the best turf at fair rates. To raise awareness about the Tournament, we created an online poster and shared it with people through Instagram and other social media sites.
We kept the event reasonably priced for the players hence we had 10 teams registered for the tournament, each with 8 players (total of 80 participants) and no gender restrictions. We kept the cash prices for the winner and runner up to draw more players to the tournament (4500 for winner and 2500 for runner-up). We split the teams into 2 divisions, group A and group B, and then made the teams play league matches over the time of 3 hours. By keeping the winner’s price as money, the event took on a more professional appearance.
LO 1- Identify own strengths and develop areas of growth:
Since this was my CAS project, it necessitated a great deal of organization and management. Since there were 5 of us in the organizing committee, we divided our work according to our individual strengths. For example, I am skilled at creating posters and advertisements, so I focused on the marketing aspect. One member of the organizing committee had contacts with the Turf manager, so he focused on Turf bookings and the equipments. Over here, I identified that even though there was a lot to manage, I was able to see myself possess various skills and abilities which helped me manage the tournament.
LO 2- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process:
This project was a roller coaster where we faced several challenges but also developed various skills. There were several new challenges to overcome, the most important of which was ensuring protection, since we had about 80 people on the ground. This was particularly important during this period. With the matches on, reminding everyone to put their masks on and take other precautions was challenging. Another major challenge faced by us was time-management, the matches were getting delayed due to conflicts during the matches and so settling down the conflicts and again scheduling the matches became very difficult for us plus due to the delay we had to extend our turf booking for 1 hour. Another problem that emerged was time management. During this time, I had a lot of other schoolwork and tasks to complete, and exams were approaching. We were also given the team/entries a little late, which slowed down our preparations.
Various skills, such as communication, time management and organizational skills, have been acquired during this phase. I improved my communication and organizational skills when creating the tournament plan and schedule because we wanted to finish the tournament in 3 hours and we had 10 teams that too league matches, so perfect preparation was important. While planning the schedule, we listened to each other view point and then made a final decision. These discussions helped me to develop my communication and listening skills. Furthermore, since there were so many players on the ground during the tournament, there was a lot of coordination needed, making it easier to plan and schedule the matches on time.
LO 3- Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience:
My friends and I enjoy sports so much that we go out almost everyday to play cricket and frisbee. We had the idea for a cricket tournament one day, and after seeing the interest in cricket among other people, we decided to make it our CAS project to organize a cricket tournament. I went to my CAS advisor the next and met with her, and as a result, we decided on this project. After a few days, my friends and I began work on this project. We discussed the necessary aspects/details first and then started the planning. After this project and the learning experience received, I believe it will be a lot easier for me to plan events from now on.
LO 4- Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experience:
I was really excited for this tournament, but there was a lot of work to be done, so I met with the CAS advisor/supervisor on a regular basis while also preparing for the tournament. Furthermore we, the organizing committee, had frequent discussions about the tournament’s costing, facilities, teams and other important information.
LO 5- Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively:
We divided our responsibilities collaboratively. We had a lot of work to do, so we decided to break up our duties. Two of my mates and I handled the marketing part and scheduling, while the other two handled the turf bookings and equipment purchases. At times there was work where we all needed to work collaboratively. A prominent example of this is when we worked collaboratively and came up with a solution when we were running late on schedule due to conflicts during matches.
LO 6- Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance:
The tournament was a fundraiser, and all the profits were donated to a deaf and dumb school/charity. So we used the profit to purchase stationary kits, which we then distributed to the students. This is related to the global issue of lack of quality education, children across the world do not have the privilege to educate themselves, the major reason is because they do not have adequate money to enroll kids into schools, purchase books or pens or any other stationary required to study. Being aware about this issue makes me do something about it and so we decided to buy stationary kits so that they at least have the proper resource for studying. This makes me feel very proud that I am a part of something very significant and I am helping with a issue which is very consequential in this time.
LO 7- Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions:
One of the biggest ethical issues that were involved in this activity was the global pandemic. It was a sports event where we can not insist everyone to wear masks and maintain proper distance as it would hamper their performance on field. It was very risky for us to play on a ground where we were packed with a lot of people and where no social distancing guidelines were followed. On the other hand, there were also some restrictions made by our families regarding safety and security, so sometimes we found ourselves helpless. So we together came up with a solution. We made proper COVID guidelines and made sure that everyone follows it at any cost, also they were convenient enough. Some of the agreements include; Wearing masks when the team wasn’t playing a match, maintaining social distancing wherever possible, even with your own team mates, avoiding hugs, handshakes or any physical contact, carrying own equipments (water bottle, bat, hand sanitizer etc).
