Imperial College of Business Studies win title
An announcement by the CIMA student society of their annual sports event, the CIMA Sports Day for 2019 was greeted by mixed emotions at Imperial College of Business Studies (ICBS). ICBS had not competed in any serious manner at CIMA’s sports events for over five years, definitely not since ICBS had switched its focus to offering Degrees from a British University.
Two months to the CIMA Sports Day 2019 and finally the first signs of interest from ICBS, Chanusha Jayawardane was appointed as the lecturer in charge of student activities, and her first project was the CIMA Sports Day 2019. An old student of ICBS, a graduate from the batch of 2018, she dived straight into rallying students in support of her first project.
Six weeks to the CIMA Sports Day and ICBS has teams for almost every event of the Sports Day with students from both campuses in Colombo and Kandy showing interest. Events where ICBS has no proper team, students are slotted in to simply go out and have fun. No sooner do the students finish their end semester examinations they are off to practice for the sports day.
Three weeks to the Sports Day and ICBS is actually putting down the best combination of teams on paper. A timely challenge is issued by the lecturer who was once in charge of student activities, when ICBS actively took part in the CIMA competitions and placed runners-up. A challenge to better that achievement, a challenge that fires all students up, a challenge that unites all students with one common objective, to win the CIMA Sports Day 2019.
Along the way ICBS hits a few stumbling blocks, a champion swimmer is out of the competition, a few injuries and a few reserves called up to make sure a team still exists.
Day 1 of the Sports Day, September 22, the events kicked off with swimming, ICBS put up a fight, but only manage first runners-up at best, with a majority of the success resting with competing institutes. The day passed and the event rolls on to games on the court.
The first positive signs are seen very early on with the male basketball team emerging victorious over their competitors. However as the evening passes it is clear that despite putting up a good fight ICBS still falls short and do not progress beyond the round robin stages in the male basketball category. As the day draws to a close a spark of positive energy for ICBS, the girls basketball team won the championship much to the joy of the large ICBS contingent that stayed back to cheer their team on. Well behind on overall points, but not out of the CIMA Sports Day, ICBS believed once again.
Rejuvenated by the final victory on the basketball court, the rest of the teams from ICBS were motivated to give it their all. Practice sessions, day in and day out, ahead of the big day on the September 29, but rain played spoilsport with the heavens opening gates and Sri Lanka facing one of the heaviest downpours for days on end. Practices aside, the event itself is now in doubt, with rain forecast over the next week and most grounds were waterlogged and appeared suitable for another swimming event rather than games to be played on the ground.
Three days before the second half of the Sports Day and the rain finally relent, the students do not need a second invitation to get out on to the grounds to practice. After a few days of practice behind them, fewer than they would ideally have liked, but the big day has arrived.
The day began to gloomy skies, with the threat of rain ever present. The organisers, teams from ICBS Colombo, competitors, officials and teams from ICBS Kandy arrived. The events kicked-off and right from the beginning it became evident that this is not the same bunch of kids who were present at last week’s swimming and basketball event. There was more intent, more fire and more self-belief. As the day progressed teams from ICBS knockoff rival teams with ease.
Three of the four teams from ICBS reached the semi-finals of cricket championship. The last two teams in the futsal championship, both teams from ICBS, assured them of both the championship and the runners-up. Tag rugby championship was already under their belt. The girls netball team stormed their way into the finals. After a closely competed final, ICBS emerged champions once again.
With the students going full throttle, CIMA Student Society decided to give the students a break and put on a couple of exhibition matches. ICBS Lecturers and Staff versus Wisdom Lecturers and Staff. As the day may had it, ICBS could do no wrong. Much to the delight of the ICBS students, ICBS staff emerged victorious.
The final event of the day was the cricket final, the game that carried the most points for the overall championship trophy. ICBS got off the best possible start, bowling their opponents out for a below par score, then reached the target with more than half the overs to spare.
Every championship on the day won by ICBS and finally ICBS were the champions of the CIMA Sports Day 2019. A true testament to how their self-belief transformed a group of bits-and-pieces individuals into true champions.