Balikas from all over the UK had been anxiously waiting for the one and only Premvati Cup Netball Tournament 2007. The day had finally arrived – Saturday 21 July 2007.
At 10am, 15 teams and around 110 players from all over the UK gathered in the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Haveli, London for the opening ceremony. All the balikas were seated with their teams, dressed in specially designed T-Shirts. The tournament was opened in the traditional way, with a Deep Pragatya ceremony, conducted by each team manager. The messages of sportsmanship, team work, unity and respecting one another were reinforced with a speech and through an enlightening video. Thereafter dhun and prathna was performed to focus the the minds of the balikas and sanchalikas on Maharaj and Swami and to pray for success in the coming games.
Amazingly the weather was sunny and therefore the first phase of the tournament was conducted outside in the Swaminarayan Independent School. The tournament was divided into three age groups with teams in each age group playing each other. With 32 matches to be played before lunch, the tennis courts were full of fun, laughter and delight. Many parents had also come along to support their children.
After lunch the semi-finals and finals were played. All the balikas were excited and there was a sense of good team sprit in every group. The winners are shown below:
Age Group
|
Winners |
Runners Up |
Top Goal Scorer |
| 6 - 8
|
Leicester 1 |
London |
Pritika Gohel – 5 goals |
9 - 11 |
Akshardham Stars |
East London 2 |
Araddhna Patel – 15 goals |
| 12 - 14
|
Ekta |
Leicester 3 |
Hetal Tank – 8 goals |
The closing ceremony commenced at 5.30pm with the highlights of the days games and thereafter the awards ceremony. The message of Samp, Suhradbhav and Ekta was once again reinforced as this tournament was about increasing the unity within the whole of the UK Balika Mandals. All the balikas thoroughly enjoyed themselves and left with a lasting memory of the Premvati Cup.
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=link}
