SPORTS
The Beauty of Camaraderie in Sports By Doddy Tullis | Photography by Kimberly Lai & Sanya Hui | Layout by Sanya Hui & Natalie So
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and friendship with somebody else. There is a great importance in trust; it’s what allows our society to function without hindrance. However, camaraderie creates a more personal trust - an intimate trust between people that in some cases can turn into brotherhood. So how do we attain camaraderie with someone else? There are many ways to do so, but one of the most successful methods, a method that has existed since the inception of the human race, is sports. Sports is one of the most successful methods of attaining camaraderie with someone else because it requires determination, teamwork, and effort. And when everyone is working towards the same goal, pouring in their own blood, sweat and tears for the good of others, the fruits of that labour are often the sweetest.
hearts were touched that day by Japan’s unlikely win do not really have any personal connection to any members of the Japanese rugby team. They’ve never met the members of the team, they don’t know much at all about their personal lives, they’ve never done anything for each other personally, so why did millions of people feel such great joy when Japan beat Ireland? The connection lies in the fact that not only are they of the same country, but because those 15 men who stepped onto that noble field, put their bodies on the line to bring glory to not only their country, but to their people. The connection between the normal men and women of Japan and the Japan rugby team is in essence, sport. There lies the true power of sport, being able to bring a nation together in triumph and joy, which is something that I and many others consider truly awe-inspiring.
One excellent example of sports camaraderie are team sports. The sport that I would most like to highlight is rugby. During this 2019 Rugby World Cup, Japan managed to beat Ireland 19-12, which was a huge upset. Ireland is one of the top rugby nations, and is currently ranked 8th in the world. Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, has had a very long history of playing rugby; it’s in their blood, yet somehow they were beaten by a small island nation that up until recently was not heavily involved in the sport. In a sense, Ireland is Goliath, and Japan is David. Japan’s win is one of the highlights of this year’s rugby world cup, and the joy that it brought to the members of the tiny nation was immense. There are videos that show the joyous cheering of Japan when their David beat Goliath. Images of grown men crying tears of sheer joy for their beloved nation and the beloved team that represents it. That’s the kind of camaraderie that playing sports will bring. I think that the most amazing thing about the camaraderie that sports brings is that almost all of the people whose
Aside from the bigger picture, the power of sport in creating camaraderie is seen primarily in the members of the team itself. One of the reasons I chose rugby as a sport to demonstrate camaraderie is because beautiful rugby comes from teamwork, trust, and coordination. The majority of people are most likely unfamiliar with how rugby works and may not be able to appreciate the sport to its full extent, but the gist of it is that the players practice coordinated plays that will help them break through, or to gain metres on the field. These moves take countless hours of effort and coordination training to be able to complete smoothly, and when a move is executed perfectly, it is a truly amazing sight to behold. A good move will fool the enemy and allow a player to break through, which is how tries are scored. However, not only do these moves require immense effort and coordination, they require something more personal between the players. Trust. Trust that the other players on your team will fulfill their roles, trust that the ball will be delivered to whoever at
oo have camaraderie means to have mutual trust
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ISSUE 21
XIAO HUA
