FOR the third successive year, the American International School of Kingston (AISK) will be doing what no other pre-tertiary level educational institution has managed to do, using sports as a catalyst for local and regional integration among students.

Following the success of the inaugural SoccerFeva two years ago and the even greater success of the upgraded sporting spectacle SportsFeva 2011, AISK has decided to continue the staging of the annual competition with SportsFeva 2012.

The events that will be contested in this year’s staging of the competition are: sporting clays, six-a-side soccer, mini-tennis, golf, and gymnastics. The golf segment of SportsFeva has been altered to constitute a junior partner tournament, as well as a family tournament while gymnastics, which is for elementary students, is a new addition to the schedule of events aimed at increasing competitive sporting opportunities for younger students.

As stated before, what makes this event so attractive is its well-designed construct as a regional event that allows students from schools across Jamaica and the Caribbean to face-off in a friendly and family-oriented environment.

This year’s component of SportsFeva will run from November 4 to November 17, with sporting clays getting the competition underway before being concluded by the soccer competition.

Speaking at the launch of the event at AISK’s Jamaica Day Thursday, October 11, Erica Tillinghast, director of athletics at the school, stated: “The lesson of ‘sport’ resonates not only in the PE classroom or on the playing field, but in all aspects of our lives where we aspire, dream, explore new limits, and engage with others.” As such, the tournament coincides with AISK’s mission to have each student maximise his or her potential, both inside and outside of the classroom.

Participating teams in this year’s SportsFeva come from local schools including AISK, Hillel Academy and Immaculate Conception, as well as schools from Aruba, The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. Most of these teams are previous participants and they have been instrumental in the tournament’s annual accomplishments.

The title sponsor of this year’s competition is PROVEN Wealth Limited, while FLOW, National Outdoor Advertising, Manpower & Maintenance Services Limited, Ranger/Hawkeye Security, and Reggae Jammin have all returned as associate sponsors.