Curro Thatchfield in Centurion held their second annual Inter-Curro school Soccer Festival on 19 and 20 August – a tournament hosted in partnership with SuperSport United for the second year running.
The annual Curro Soccer Festival saw 10 Curro schools competing for the title of tournament champion, while teams from the under 11 to the under 18 categories took part in numerous matches over the two day festival.
Alongside encouraging, teaching and supporting the individual players and their teams, SuperSport United also provided referees for the matches, assisted in player selection for competing teams, and took the opportunity to scout for possible future SuperSport players.
Once all matches had been concluded, the winning teams were celebrated in an awards ceremony on Saturday, 20 August. Waterstone College reached top spot in the under 11 category, while Northern Academy Secondary School clinched first place for the under 13, 15 and 18 teams). All players received a tournament medal, while the winning teams were awarded a trophy, as well as the opportunity to play a friendly match with the SuperSport United players at their own training grounds.
Curro Holdings Chief Operating Officer, Andries Greyling, said the aim of the Soccer Festival was to build team spirit, help learners develops skills, and allow their dreams to become a reality.
The Soccer Festival is just one of the many Curro sports initiatives that serve to ignite the passion for exercise. Sports activities allow learners to develop both mentally and physically. This is in keeping with Curro’s educational philosophy that views schools as communities in which our learners develop their emotional quotient (EQ), and acquire the social skills, knowledge and experience necessary to work and play together.
“Sport is a great way for learners to make friends and overcome challenges such as not always winning,” said Greyling. “As a team, you have to practise and work together to succeed. They learn to overcome challenges such as losing and go on to learn how to win – not only on the sports field but also later on in life.”
Curro’s educational values honour child friendliness, encourage a positive sense of self-discipline, uphold Christian ethics, and nurture creative thinking. All these values are applied on the sports field, where honesty, integrity, discipline and sportsmanship are openly on display.
Sport teaches discipline and collaboration, improves concentration, and allows the learners to excel on another level than the academic one. Events such as the Soccer Festival also serve to increase the popularity of the sport concerned and lift it to a level that will give Curro schools yet another edge nationally.