The sound of laughter and feet hitting the gym floor echoed through the CPA on March 24, as International Sports Day was in full swing.
International Sports Day, which is a part of the Civility Month festivities, was organized in an attempt to get students to participate in sports from around the world.
The event included sports, games and activities from other countries for students to participate in.
Some of the sports included cricket, badminton, calisthenics, table tennis and goal ball. Games included chess, Chinese checkers and pick up sticks, among others.
The games and activities were decided by talking to students. Some were picked because students played them in their home and directly made requests, while others were chosen through discussions held by event hosts.
(Photograph by Shawn Cosner / East Tennessean)
“We wanted to include activities and games, not just sports… the name is a little misleading, with International Sports Day.
It was originally supposed to be called International Day of Games,” said Robert Norton, the fitness and wellness graduate assistant who helped put together the event.
Norton said the idea was inspired by his time as an undergraduate at Northern Arizona University, where they partnered with their Cultural Affairs Center to host a similar event, which was very successful in its aim to get international students involved in the recreation facility.
With a steady stream of participants through the duration of the event, Norton expressed hope that the event would return again next year, especially if students showed interest in participating again.
In terms of things he and the other planners would change, outreach was the main goal, including publicizing the event more beforehand and reaching out to International Student Affairs.
With the number of students who participated, it seems the day went well for the first-time event.
“This would be a perfect time to incorporate civility and bring diversity to ETSU’s CPA.
Most campus rec facilities struggle bringing in international students and we thought this would be a great way to bring in international students,” Norton said of the event.
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