ver since the sports marks were added to the academic marks in 2013, over 4000 students have managed to make use of the extra marks to get through their HSSC and SSC exams.
In the recent SSC exams, some of the students got 100 % results, thanks to the extra marks allotted through participation in sports.
Laurell Ignez D’Souza from St Anthony’s HS Monte de Gurim, a hockey player said it was her goal to achieve 100 % results. Like Laurell, Tejal N Shetty of SS Indirabai V Bhat Dhavlikar HS, Dhavali, Ponda also said she had high hopes of performing well and the sports marks were an added advantage. Having won silver in archery at the State level, Tejal participated at the National level at Indore.
Irwin Savio Lopes of Loyola HS, Margao says he worked very hard to achieve 100% result. Irwin plays table tennis and won silver at the National level held at Vadodara in Gujarat. Gaurav Sandesh Madkaikar of AJ Almeida HS Ponda, a chess player, says good performance in academics would help him achieve best results in the Board exams. Gaurav has won the top place at the taluka, district and State level besides participating at the National level.
Ana Marie Braganza of Our Lady of Rosary HS, Dona Paula says she expected above 90 % besides her 32 marks in sports. Playing football and Sepak Takraw, Ana Marie’s school narrowly lost in the Subroto Cup International Football Tournament after qualifying to represent Goa in New Delhi. Sneha Jeetendra Gaonkar of People’s HS Panjim had not expected to get 100% results. “I was aware of my sports marks and thought I would be happy with 96.5%,” said Sneha who plays softball.
Laurell of Guirim attributes her success to her PE teacher Luino Menezes and coach Victor Albuquerque who always encouraged her to perform better. She says that sports not only keeps her fit but also helps her in scoring more marks.
Tejal says her parents encouraged her to take part in sports and allowed him to go for practice every day. She says her school always encouraged her to take part in various school-level tournaments and it was her PE teacher who suggested he take up archery. Having chosen to continue in Science stream, Tejal said it will be quite difficult to continue in sports, she will surely practise archery during her free time. Tejal said she was good at studies and found it difficult at first to manage studies and sports at the same time but her parents supported her in balancing both. “I am an IIT aspirant and want to work as a scientist at ISRO,” said Tejal who secured 100 marks in Science.
Loyola’s Irvin says he is grateful to his principal Fr Pedro Rodrigues, teachers for allowing him to take part in sports and supported him in his studies when he missed classes. He thanked his personal coach Sir Lenny do Rosario and confirmed he would continue playing table tennis, which he took up at the age of 10. Irvin intends to continue his higher studies at Alva College Mangalore in the Science stream as it gives him an option to choose between medicine and bio medical engineering.
AJ Almeida student Gaurav says his PE teachers played a big role in honing his skills in chess. Whilst thanking his parents for their support Gaurav wants to do well in Std XI and XII. “My parents not only motivated me and supported me but gave me the freedom to participate in various tournaments,” said Gaurav whose aim is to become a successful computer engineer.
Ana Marie of Rosary Dona Paula says she is very happy to have had dedicated sports teachers who encourage them and groom them in sports from Std V onwards. “Our school now conducts football training at the primary level in collaboration with the GFDC, says Ana Marie but admits that it is quite difficult to continue sports at competitive level as it takes up lot of energy as well as time. “At the moment I wish to focus on my 8th grade in violin at the Trinity College, London, besides academics. Sports will continue to be my hobby as a healthy lifestyle is the basic requirement for a fruitful life,” says Ana Marie who has joined Science stream.
People HS’s softball player Sneha, who will continue in the Science stream in the higher secondary section, says she will continue playing the game. “My parents gave me moral support. They encouraged me to play and made sure that I don’t take much stress,” says Sneha. “My school encouraged me to play softball, knowing that I could handle both my studies and sports. They not only support me but also other students who want to take part in sports”, she adds.
