Cricket is a sport played widely across India, and organizing a cricket tournament is a great way to raise funds for charity. Everyone loves this sport and are willing to contribute to charity whilst having fun. The pricing of this event was relatively inexpensive as this event was not targeted for profit and hence we had 10 teams registering in 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 pools, 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 our CAS project, our organizational and self management skills needed to be at peak . And as there were 5 of us in the organizing committee, we divided our work according to our individual strengths. For example, I like to work with numbers hence I took care of the accounts department. Another member in our organizing committee had a lot of contacts in local turfs, so he focused on Turf bookings and the equipment. Similarly other friends decided to make posters and spread the word regarding the tournament. 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:
There were several new challenges to overcome, the most important of which was ensuring protection, since we had about 80 people on the ground. Enjoying Cricket as well as taking care of ourselves was crucial. 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 Players arriving late and a lot of conflicts happening on the field. Which is why conflict management was a huge challenge during the tournament.
This project was a roller coaster and we developed a lot of skills in the entire process, such as communication, time management and organizational skills acquired during this phase. I improved my communication during the conflict resolution period, it was important to listen to all the parties involved and pass a decision which was fair. I developed organizational skills when creating the tournament plan and schedule because we had planned around 15 league matches to be played in 3 hours, so precise preparation was important. 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:
We love sports and frequently participate in such competitive tournaments intended to raise funds for charity. 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. Usually I am not a very organized person but for this project I had to plan everything to perfection as we had a negligible amount of time to spare. Also a lot of experienced players were going to participate in the tournament which is why everything should have been perfect or at least above average. I discovered my self management skills during this project, I used to set short term goals and then accomplish them in the given deadline, I used to create hard deadlines for myself and my peers and make them adhere to it. After this project and the learning experience received, I believe it will be a lot easier for me to plan activities and 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 commitment required to create a good impression in front of the experienced players who were going to participate in the tournament. So I met with the CAS advisor/supervisor on a regular basis during the preparation of the tournament. Furthermore we, the organizing committee, had frequent meetings and chats 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 according to the strengths of our mates, the ones which were creative, made posters for marketing, similarly I took care of the accounts and costing as I like to take care of the financials of any project/event. 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 the charity or a deaf and dumb school. So we used the profit to purchase stationary kits/notebooks and pens, which we then distributed to the students. This is related to the global issue of lack of quality education, children across the world are not educated because they do not have the money to purchase books or pens or any other stationary required to study. Being aware about this issue makes me want to do something about it, My work in the Cas project makes me feel very responsible and I feel like I am part of something bigger and much more significant in the upcoming times.
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 cannot insist everyone to wear masks all the time as it could hamper their performance, it was very risky for a lot of us playing on a turf which was packed with people and wherein proper social distancing rules weren’t followed. This issue affected us directly since there were sometimes where we just couldn’t help it. We felt helpless for some time because we almost gave up on going there as there were some restrictions made by our families regarding our safety and security. However, thankfully, we came up with a solution. We made COVID guidelines together and made sure to follow them at all costs so that we stay as safe as possible. A few agreements included; Wearing masks when the team wasn’t playing a match, maintain social distancing with each other as well as the members of the public, avoiding hugs or handshakes after taking wickets or winning matches, carry a personal water bottle and hand sanitizer to avoid sharing and transmission of germs and also be as cautious as possible.
Final Takeaway:
The learner profile that I developed during this project is Communicator, I was a communicator through out the project as I had to plan and execute this entire plan with my peers, I was a communicator while I was resolving conflicts and while clarifying the rules and the Covid guidelines with the players and the spectators. This project was a fundraiser and hence It is going to benefit the children for which we are raising funds. The highlight of this experience was when the first match began, it meant the project was underway and we were on our own from that moment. A few of my perspectives were challenged, I used to believe cricket was played for fun but now after this project, I realised the heat of the battle on the field. This project was a success and a failure, We weren’t able to finish the tournament because of the time limit, even after extending the tournament for an hour we were unable to conclude it, on the contrary it was a huge learning experience and it gave us a lot of insights on how to organize such tournaments. One thing I would do differently is that I would tell the players to arrive a lot early than the scheduled time. Also I would tell the players that the schedule might be subject to change which would give us more time.
