On 21 May 2022, RSA held its first Internal Table Tennis Tournament post the pandemic. The tournament was open to students of RSA’s Karama and JLT branches. A total of 48 students participated in the tournament. The tournament was held for three categories – “Under 10, Under 13 & Under 16”. We followed a league & knockout format with around 16 players competing in each category and  a total of 100 matches were played.

The key purpose of the tournament was to provide our students with the opportunity to get match practice and to prepare them for higher competions within the UAE.The children had a fun filled time. The tournament provided them with the opportunity to interact with other children of similar interest and also gave them the exposure to improve their confidence and techniques .There was a healthy competitive vibe and great team spirit being displayed at all times.

We hope such competitions would help children to sustain their interest in the game and lead to healthy living habits. Once young athletes develop interest in physical fitness they are more likely to continue them throughout their lives. This is important since physical fitness helps combat major health issues such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. In addition to the physical benefits, many social benefits like building teamspirit, playing by the rules, good sportsmanship, time management and  pressure management, also result from participating in such sports competitions. These benefits transfer to everyday situations, providing social skills that help them to succeed in the real world

RSA plans to hold these tournaments every quarter.