(Top 4 photos) Banners made by students of the four houses they represent. Students of grades 6-8 garbed in colorful costumes make a formation of Hala International School's logo as part of their drill performance. — Courtesy photos JEDDAH – The annual sports meet is the highlight of Hala International School's calendar. As always, the preparations for the senior section sports started long before the day. There was excitement in the air. The collective heartbeats of hundreds could be heard. The cheers and chants reached the ears as one stood on the sprawling grounds of the school. The theme chosen for this year's Girls' Sports Meet was “Unity in Diversity,” highlighting Hala's strength, its harmonious blend of multiple nationalities, ethnicities and languages. The theme was evident everywhere, from the students' artwork to the drill costumes. The day started with the arrival of the chief guests escorted by the guard of honor provided by the vice-captains of the four houses. The proceedings started with the recitation of a few verses from the Qur'an. After the official declaration of the commencement of the “Sports Meet 2013,” the sport's torch was lit and the school and house flags were exchanged between the sports' head of the departments, headmistress, house wardens, the head girl, school captain and house captains. The first major event was the march past. The contingents saluted the guests on the stage smartly. This was followed by the drill performance by the girls from grades 6-8. All the four houses – Rosettes, Bluettes, Greenettes and Yellowettes – were merged together keeping in line with the theme. The colorful costumes were made up of all the four house colors. Along with the props, batons trailing the four house colored ribbons, the drill was a sight to see. This was followed by an aerobic performance and a special segment by the A-Level girls who carried banners of the four house colors symbolizing rivers; they later merged into the school's logo that symbolized the ocean. Then it was time for the athletics to begin. Races ranged from hurdles to relay, the tug of war to everyone's favorite, the water race. It was a tough fight, with each house competing fiercely for the top honors. This year the nail biting suspense as to which house would receive the trophy was kept under wraps till the last race. The champions of the day was the Bluettes with Yellowettes and Greenettes sharing the second positions while the Rosettes secured the third position. The Boys' Sports Meet commenced with Sameer, the chief guest, declaring the sports meet open in a ribbon cutting and torch lighting ceremony. Later, all the four houses took part in the march past and the ever ambitious Yellowettes were declared the worthy winners. Next up, were the lap races for the junior, sub junior and senior category. The races were a test of the athletes' overall stamina, pace and spirit. The Greenettes ran out winners in most of the lap races. Then came the time for the obstacle races in which the Yellowettes and Rosettes stood out as victors. The tug-of-war in all three categories of participants was won by the Bluettes, with Rosettes and Greenettes in second and Yellowettes in third place. The sport's meet ended with the water race, which decided the champions; and the Greenettes was declared the winner after a fierce and unforeseeable encounter. – SG
