For a long time, many people viewed sports to stay in shape or as a pastime while in school. However, there’s more to it. Playing a sport helps you gain essential life skills such as responsibility, self-discipline, self-confidence, teamwork, and accountability. Playing a sport can also get you a prestigious scholarship and allow you to pursue your learning at a school that might have been out of reach otherwise.
What is a sports scholarship?
A sports scholarship is an award offered to learners who have excelled in different sport disciplines. Where academic scholarships are awarded on academic merit, sports scholarships are awarded on academic performance and sports prowess.
It means that just like an academic scholarship, your child’s academic performance is also considered. While their sports performance is the primary focus, to get a sports scholarship, they have to perform well academically. To support deserving students, Noida school offers a sports scholarship as a way for them to achieve both sports and academic greatness.
Benefits of participating in sports
There are many advantages to engaging in a sport while at school. They include:
1. It can earn you a scholarship
Participating in a sport can make your child get a scholarship that could, in turn, help them further in their studies. These sports scholarships are a great way to further their educational pursuits while improving their talents.
Your child gets to study at a prestigious school with all the resources and facilities they need to improve their sports prowess. Whether it’s basketball, tennis, cricket, hockey, etc., they have coaches and mentors ready to work with them to fulfil their full potential.
2. It is an excellent way to stay fit
With the growing risk of child obesity, engaging in sports at school is a good way for your kid to stay fit and healthy. Students who participate more in sports such as athletics, basketball, kabaddi, martial arts, etc. find it easier to maintain their weight.
Participating in a sport also reduces your child’s chances of engaging in unhealthy, risky behaviour because their time is occupied. Studies show that taking part in extracurricular activities reduces students’ likelihood of getting into drug or substance abuse or becoming teen parents.
3. It improves focus
Studies show that exercise boosts blood flow to the brain, helping it build more neural networks. In turn, it improves concentration, enhances memory, stimulates creativity, and helps them develop better problem-solving skills. This improved focus positively impacts their academic performance because they can pay more attention to what’s happening in class.
4. It teaches essential life skills
Participating in a sport allows students to gain essential life skills such as persistence, teamwork, patience, cooperation, practice, etc. The life skills learned will be carried on to adulthood, helping them succeed in life. By spending time with their peers, they also improve their social skills, learn the value of hard work and perform better.
They also understand firsthand how their performance can affect others and vice versa. It helps them determine their roles and find their place, whether it is a leader or a supporting role.
5. It grows your child’s support system
Playing a sport can help your child build relationships and friendships that might well be beyond school. This camaraderie is born out of the strong bonds formed while pursuing a similar goal. Being on a team puts your child close to other people who share similar interests.
This means it’s easier for them to create a bond and become friends. For international students, it can make them feel more at home, easing their feelings of homesickness. This friendship can grow beyond the sport they play into their academics as each wants the other to succeed.
All about GIIS Global Sports Scholarship
The Global Schools Foundation seeks to support and contribute to the younger generation’s education through various initiatives. The GIIS Sports Scholarships is one of the many programs the foundation offers through its multiple campuses, such as GIIS Noida. The scholarship recognizes and rewards the achievement of sportspersons who have achieved success either at international, national, or state level.
This 3-year scholarship, renewed yearly, offers budding sportspersons financial support and grows their budding talent with proper mentorship. It is open to learners in grades 1 to 12 who are taking the CBSE curriculum. The scholarship covers both sports and academic expenses, depending on the category you are eligible for. Below listed eligibility criteria is for For Academic Year 2020-2021 :
● Category A recipients get 100 per cent coverage of their sports and school expenses to a maximum amount of INR 6 lacs. To be eligible, you must get a medal at an international sports event.
● Category B beneficiaries get 100 per cent coverage of their sports and school expenses to a maximum amount of INR 4 lacs. To be eligible, you must have represented at an international sports event.
● Category C gets 100 per cent coverage of their sports and school expenses to a maximum amount of INR 2.25 lacs. To be eligible, you must get a medal at a national sports event.
● Category D winners get 100 per cent coverage of their sports and school expenses to a maximum amount of INR 1.25 lacs. To be eligible, you must have represented at a national sports event.
● Category E recipients get 90 per cent coverage of their sports and school expenses to a maximum amount of INR 75,000. To be eligible, you must get a medal at a state-level sports event.
● Lastly, category F awardees get 90 per cent coverage of their sports and school expenses to a maximum amount of INR 25,000. To be eligible, you must have represented at a state-level sports event.
You must be an Indian citizen, come from a moderate-income family, and have an excellent academic performance to apply for this scholarship. If you are shortlisted, you need to pass a skills test and an interview to demonstrate your outstanding potential. The application process is pretty straightforward: submit a duly filled application form and all requested documents and wait to hear from the school.
Good Luck!
