I believe that in life, sport is essential. Many benefits come from playing sports. It can help you to develop your coordination and teamwork skills, it is important for socialising, creating a community, and much more. 

At YCIS Shanghai, we can feel these benefits through the different sporting opportunities that we have access to. With many Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs), and CISSA and SISAC competitions, everyone is welcome to try out new sports. I participate in a few sports each semester, including swimming and volleyball. Through both of these sports, I became closer to some of my peers, which would not have necessarily happened had I not be involved in these teams.

There are different types of sports: some are individual, and some involve teams. Swimming encompasses both of these aspects. You swim and practice by yourself and set individual goals, but you are still part of a squad. Your teammates always encourage each other to keep going and to achieve targets, especially if it is a challenging session. People also make jokes along the way and, even though swimming training is quite tiring, I still think it creates a fun atmosphere.

Volleyball is a team sport that helped me to improve my cooperation skills because I had to coordinate who digs, sets, then spikes. It’s impossible to play the sport with only one person, hence why teamwork and working well together are so essential in volleyball.

Sport is a crucial part of my life. The skills that I am learning will help me succeed in sports and other aspects of my life, and for that I am very grateful.

By Bethany, Year 10, YCIS Pudong Secondary