SAISA track and field in Chennai

At the culmination of OSCs second sports season I joined the travelling team and went to compete in the SIASA Track and Field competition held in Chennai, India. There I represented my school in 4 different events; the 800m run, 1500m run, shotput and high jump. At the start of the season I initially set a number of goals regarding my performance during the competition. These were as follows:

1. Bring my 1500m time to sub 5min before the competition.
2. Bring my 800m time to 2:15 or below during competition.
3. Improve my 3000m and 400m times to try and compete in one (or both) of these events at SAISA.
4. [Set mid season] Throw 10m in shotput.

Retrospective of this season of track and field, I was unable to achieve these goals. During my preparation for the competition, I did not reach my goal of a sub 5min 1500m run. Despite this, I was running significantly better times in pre-season than I was during last years pre-season, reaching a 5:11 run. However after this I came down with a bad cold and fever (only 3 weeks before we were set to travel). This severely hindered my ability to achieve my goals and set my fitness back very badly. Additionally I ended up being one of the better shot-putters at OSC and as it became increasingly likely I was to be participating in shotput as one of my events at SAISA, I set an additional goal for myself;  reaching a 10 meter shotput throw by the competition.

During the competition I was able to run a sub 5min 1500m with a time of 4:56 as well as a 2:19 800m run. I jumped 1.4m in high jump and threw 9.79m in shotput. Ultimately I was unable to hit any of the goals I had set myself, however this was largely due to my two weeks of sickness right before the competition. This absence from training essentially killed the progress I had made in pre season, and threw me way off track to achieving my target times.

Despite this setback, I trained as hard as I could in the short time between coming back and the start of the competition, allowing me to still compete in SAISA 2024. While I was not able to achieve the best times I could during the competition, I think that the competitive experience and social aspect of the track meet were still very valuable. Competing with athletes from other schools really pushed me, giving me someone to chase during the race, even if I felt ill prepared. Additionally, meeting  these students at an event like this expanded my social network, allowing me to build upon friendships I had made at SAISA 2023 the previous year.

During this year’s SAISA track and field experience I faced many more challenges and setbacks than I did the previous year. Nonetheless I think that by facing these challenges yet still competing in the competition (rather than dropping out when it got hard) I was able to make the competition into an unforgettable and invaluable experience.

Learning Outcomes:

• LO1: Demonstrates awareness of strengths and areas for growth.
• LO3: Demonstrates self-challenging, learning development of new skills.
• LO4: Demonstrates perseverance in action.
• LO7: Demonstrates a consideration of ethical implications.