SAIIER 2016:Aurolympics

Dehashakti School of Physical Education		Physical Education Teacher Training
Aurolympics A project of Dehashakti School of Physical Education

Introduction

“It might be better to remind you that we are here for a special work, a work which is done nowhere else.

We want to come in contact with the supreme consciousness, the universal consciousness, we want to bring it down in ourselves and to manifest it. But for that we must have a very solid base; our base is our physical being, our body. Therefore we have to build up a body solid, healthy, enduring, skillful, agile and strong, ready for everything. There is no better way to prepare the body than physical exercise: sports, athletics, gymnastics, and all games are the best means to develop and strengthen the body.

Therefore I call you to go through the competitions beginning today, full-heartedly with all your energy and all your will.”^[1]

The Mother, 1 April 1966

The Aurolympics at [[Entity::Dehashakti Sports] are competitions between teams, hence the contribution of every member adds or subtracts from the total points chalked up by the team. It is an excellent illustration of the motto “one for all and all for one”.

In this way all our activities — gymnastics, athletics, swimming, fitness exercises, and games — gain equally in their importance to the integral physical development of the child.

Just as we all study various subjects in school for a broader mental development, similarly at Dehashakti we offer diverse physical subjects to develop a student's body integrally.

This year's Aurolympics

A total of 210 students took part in the Aurolympics this year, from 5 Auroville schools. Participants were 7 to 18 years old, girls and boys, and took part in mixed age and gender training and competitions.

The training for athletics and fitness is carried out in the first phase of the year (August to December). In the next phase of the year (January to March) the team games are taken up. Thus Aurolympics is a process, lasting from August to March.

Some of the important attributes that are emphasized in Aurolympics are:

Sportsmanship
Team spirit
Discipline
Social skills

Outcomes

The aim of Aurolympics is to help each child develop his/her personality. The child acquires the knowledge and understanding of healthy living and the importance of physical fitness.

For both the teachers and the students it is a journey to work out together a process most effective and beneficial to their development.

Reflections

This year we made a survey with some students to find out how they perceive themselves and the Aurolympics. Students were asked to rate themselves for self-motivation, respect for self and others, and sportsmanship.

Such random surveys are very interesting and provide a better understanding for the teachers as well. We face a unique situation because ours is a program in which:

Mixed-age groups are encouraged to interact with one another during the competitions
girls and boys are encouraged to play together
different Auroville schools are mixed/combined; students of very different backgrounds and cultures come together in team events, etc.

This makes Dehashakti very special for it is the only space in Auroville to bring such a rich gathering of students and to create a program that encourages primarily good health and positive sportsmanship.

Conclusion

The program is growing and a lot of new activities are being introduced at Dehashakti. It is our primary focus to provide a rich and concentrated opportunity of physical education for all our students equally.

For this a team of dynamic teachers/coaches is essential. Since a few years we have realised that it is most effective to work on a training program for coaches, who can themselves continue progressing in body and mind. We will keep working to develop such a program in Auroville, in support of the growing need of physical education, based on the ideals of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.