Contact is taking a holiday!

On October 1st, Dharamsala’s first ever kids’ Football and Handball Tournament began at Gyalyum Chemo Hall. The four boys’ football teams and two girls’ handball teams were entirely made up of children aged 8 to 11 years old, all students at the TCV Day School.
Everything started when six volunteers from Dharamsala, Tsering Dorjee, Dorjee Palden, Tamorang La, Mgawang Lobsang, Jamyang, and Tashi Gyalpo decided to start teaching sports to kids. “We noticed that the school didn’t have any sports activities, and we all liked football. So we thought it would be a fun activity, both for us and for the children,” said Dorjee Palden. “We first started football teams for both boys and girls. But the girls didn’t show much interest, and so we created the handball teams and decided to try to ‘sell’ each of the teams to local businesses to raise money for the equipment and uniforms we would need.”
The Tibetan Parents Association provided 15,000 rupees upfront, and several local shops agreed to “buy” the teams and sponsor them, at a price of 7,500 Rupees per team. Altogether, 60,000 rupees were raised for sports materials and for the trophies presented in the final matches. The four football teams were sponsored by Nick’s Italian Kitchen, Samyai Real Estate, the Green Hotel, and Dharma Arts. Dompatsang Boutique and Jewels of Tibet sponsored the girls’ handball teams.
Each team was coached by one of the six volunteers after school, from 4:00 to 5:30 in the evenings. After months of training, all their hard work paid off. On the 22nd of October the final football match was played, starting at 2:30 pm. The TCV Day School courtyard was crowded with supportive family members, friends, and community members. This year, the Green Hotel’s team won the final match. Trophies and prizes were awarded to the winning teams, as well as to the runners-up.
The match marked the closing of the sports season for kids this year. But this project is far from over. Following their exams and the winter holiday, new tournaments will be organized to include not only the football and handball teams but also volleyball, table tennis, badminton, and even chess. Each game will be taught by two of the original volunteers, but anyone interested in coaching is welcome to join the group. Students will rotate every day, so that all participating students get the opportunity to try each game.
The tournament this year showed that there is a great deal of support for this endeavour in the Dharamsala community and even further afield. One couple from as far away as Manali, K.P. and Kunsang, donated 10,000 Rs for the creation of the new table tennis team. Many of the kids’ new supporters, including their sponsors, are expected to attend the finals this upcoming year. Sponsorship opportunities for next year’s teams are being offered first to existing sponsors, but if others in the community are interested there will be further opportunities to support the teams.
The six coaches are greatly encouraged by the interest and enthusiasm generated from the recent tournament, and look forward to next year’s activities. “We feel this is something fun and important for the kids.” said Palden  Dorjee. “And it’s something that we volunteers can look back on later in life and be happy with what we’ve done.”