Written by: Soheon
Edited by: Jagat
Visual by: Gladys
The recent transition to face-to-face resumed activities that were temporarily suspended, such as the first IASAS sport event that ISM is hosting since the start of the pandemic: IASAS Basketball. Students, teachers, and parents alike are excited about the upcoming event.
A freshman playing as an IASAS representative said she is “looking forward to playing at ISM”, especially since “all of [her] friends are going to be there and [she’s] surrounded by a home crowd”. She also mentioned that she is grateful to the organizers. “It must have been challenging to set it all up because I know everyone’s busy, so I’m glad they are willing to exert effort to make it happen,” she added.
Mr. Pekin, the Athletic Director, expressed his anticipation for the event; but he also noted the challenges he faced during the planning process. He said, “as it has been three years since the last event, communities changed, high school people who used to know what IASAS was about all moved on… I was really worried about the housing for the students from other schools.” However, he stated that “everyone has stepped up thus far,” which helped in organizing the housing. In addition, Mr. Pekin mentioned that he was “nervous of how people would feel about having other people in their houses due to COVID,” but the parents had been nothing but supportive and extended their hospitality to others.
Another challenge he faced was that because it has been a while, there was “a lot of relearning of what IASAS is, what it stands for, the rules, and orienting new students and parents”. He also mentioned sending “information that we didn’t need to put out before”, because “now it seemed necessary to respond to inquiries; basically we had to discuss what it’s about again.” As most IASAS sports events had been closed down during the pandemic, Mr. Pekin added that there were numerous things that required clarification.
He added that there were plenty of hurdles he had to go through to make the event a success, including electronic visa acquisition and an increase in flight costs. Overall, the logistics to make the event possible was not easy. In addition, the various changes during the pandemic did not make it any easier for the organizers.
On the bright side, Mr. Pekin mentioned that he is looking forward to the energy, and that it is ‘challenging and exciting to host’ and is looking forward to see the tournament with ‘good quality high school sport’. He is thankful to the parents behind the event and their support, ‘providing such nice hospitality’.
This event could not have happened without the high school administrators, faculty, parents and students. As the days come closer, everyone in the ISM community is looking forward to it. Everyone should be grateful for the hard work and dedication put into this event, and we should all show our enthusiasm and support to our fellow Bearcats!