Objectives of Intramural Tournaments

1.4.1 Objectives of Intramural Tournaments

Intramurals are an integral part of educational institutions and communities. Teams are formed among classes, houses or groups, and competitions are held to engage children and youth while giving them a wide range of benefits. The main objectives of intramural tournaments are:

1. Mass participation — to encourage as many students as possible in an institution to take part in sports.
2. All-round development — to support the physical, mental, social and emotional growth of children.
3. Building values — to develop values such as fair play, respect and friendship through sport.
4. First taste of competition — to give students their first opportunity to compete in a safe, controlled environment.
5. Fitness, wellness and health — to keep the focus on the health and fitness of every child.
6. Curricular integration — to link sport with the wider school curriculum.
7. Personality development — to help children develop personality traits such as early leadership, control of emotions and cooperation.

Why these objectives matter together. None of these seven stand alone — a well-run intramural programme achieves most of them in the same event. A simple inter-house football match, for example, simultaneously delivers mass participation (every house fields a team, not only the best players), a first taste of competition (younger students experience the pressure of a real match for the first time), and personality development (a student made captain for the day practises leadership and must manage teammates' emotions after a loss). …