James Banathy (then in Year 12) took on the role of tournament organiser, and this blog wishes to share his thoughts on the planning and execution of the event:
This guest blogpost is about the football tournament that I arranged for Rob’s Festival. This festival is a yearly event organised by the sixth formers at Beaumont School that has taken place since 2010 in honour of a past student Rob, who tragically died a few years ago in a skiing accident. He was a successful businessman and a great entrepreneur, so the school raises money for The Princes Trust in his memory. This year’s festival, which took place on the 28th of June, raised £5,000.
I began arranging the football tournament by promoting it at a number of assemblies and classrooms, and I was thrilled with how many teams entered the tournament. In total we had 25 teams across all ages including a girls’ team, with over 140 students taking part.
Although I was delighted with so many teams entering, it was a daunting task to organise it all. A lot of planning and hard work was needed, including tasks like: speaking to other local schools to borrow their goals, working out how we would mark up all the pitches, organising all the fixtures and timings of the tournament, arranging for referees, buying medals for the winning team and gathering volunteers to help out on the day.
Because of the large number of teams that entered the tournament, we ran 3 separate tournaments. There was a competition between Years 7 and 8s, between 9s and 10s, and the sixth formers. There was a winner for each age group and these teams were Reus Crispies for the Years 7 and 8s, Lactose for the Year 9 and 10s and AFC Rios for the Sixth Form. I was very impressed with everyone’s attitude towards the tournament. The matches were played in a great spirit and were very competitive. Despite the rain which became really heavy half way through the tournament, all the teams stayed towards the end and they didn’t let it affect them.
The tournament raised over £700, which included the money teams paid to enter the tournament, and their ticket into the festival. The tournament was a great success, it ran very smoothly and it was well worth all the hard work and effort. I really enjoyed the whole experience.
I would like to say a big thank you to all the people who helped make the tournament successful, including all the people who volunteered to help me set up the goals and mark out the pitches beforehand, and take them down again. Also thanks to the referees, the PE department, the other local schools for lending the equipment needed, and finally to all the students for getting involved and playing with such a great spirit.
I would also like to thank Ms Dundjerovic for making the whole festival possible and giving us students the fantastic opportunity to be involved in organising such a great and worthwhile event.
Here are some words from Ms Dundjerovic who oversaw the organisation of the whole festival:
"Supporting the Prince’s Trust and Beaumont School, Rob’s Festival was born after a group of friends from Beaumont tragically lost one of their friends and were determined to build a legacy to his memory. This year, we held our fifth festival with almost complete management of the event being handed over to the Year 12 students and the BSA (parent association).
There has always traditionally been a sporting element to the festival in memory of Rob's fantastic sporting achievements whilst at school and this year was no different except, this year, James Banathy organised the most successful football tournament since we started the festival in 2010.
James was handed the organisation late in the planning process but took it on with commitment and determination. Not only did he liaise with four different primary schools of his own accord to secure goals for the tournament, he also organised referees including teachers and his peers. The football tournament involved over 200 students from the school ranging from Year 7 to Year 12. James' communication skills were outstanding as all teams were prepped for arrival time and match times through regular updates in the days leading up to the tournament and also through a tournament briefing on the day. Matches, results and scores were clearly displayed throughout the tournament which kept teams up to date and prepared. As a result of this, the tournament ran like clockwork.
Working with James was an absolute pleasure. For me, it was like working alongside a colleague, such was his professionalism and diligence."
Elena Dundjerovic, Beaumont member of staff and friend of Rob's
More photos of this year’ festival:
