Sports brings together people just like enthu does. And enthu for sports brings Tapti together like nothing else. With 4 Schroeter Cups this decade, Tapti seems to have found the formula for success. Vishal looks deeper and decodes.
Tapti has been one of the most consistent performers in the annual inter-hostel sports competition, bagging the Schroeter Cup four times this decade, including a hat-trick of wins in the years 2012-14. It is reasonable to believe their active and steadfast sporting culture is the reason for their impeccable performances over the years.
One unique aspect with regards to Tapti is that they have their very own sports blog, The Sportscope. The blog was started with the aim of spreading awareness about Tapti’s heroics in the sports field and also some inspirational events in international sports through which it aimed to instill sports culture and encourage people to play sports, which it has been successfully carrying out throughout the years. The blog follows Tapti’s matches arduously documenting the wins, the losses, and the emotions that surround every single match of Tapti. The interest of Taptians in Schroeter is constantly invigorated because of this blog which also does interviews of the top sportsmen from the hostel, under the vertical ‘Humans of tapti’, sharing their battle against all odds in winning competitions for Tapti as well as the Insti team. Getting on to the pages of the blog serves as a huge acknowledgement to the players’ efforts and hard work. In turn, this passion for sports helps them run the blog enthusiastically despite other responsibilities and commitments.
Planning, tracking, and hunting for players becomes a bit easier with the blog recording all the sports achievements of the hostelers of Tapti. Regular team meets, all-captain meets, mentoring by the 4th years, practice sessions, and practice matches with other hostels, and of course the follow up of all these events by the Sportscope help Tapti keep up their game. Apart from having several Insti players in their fold and having a top level volleyball court, maximising the usage of their human resources-right from spectators who cheer Tapti on to the team players has been another prime reason for their phenomenal performance over the years. It is a common sight to see over eighty Taptians cheering on their volleyball team in each of their matches.
Tapti wasn’t in the best of positions half way through Schroeter last year, however the motivation to battle it out for their hostels, and the constant advice of the former sports secretaries/captains, they were able to craft out teams even in niche sports, sports where Tapti didn’t have any specialized sportsmen. They did not have players who had any experience in hammer-throw, so they decided to enlist their weight lifting team to participate in hammer-throw instead. And against all odds they managed to thulp it and secure a gold medal. This has given rise to people who play multiple sports at a good level helping them to constantly improvise-adapt-overcome. It also helps the players get out of their comfort zone and improve themselves.
Aditya Singh, the current sports secretary also talks of conducting beginner camps for popular sports to enthuse the newcomers to the hostel to keep up Tapti’s game. This was conducted successfully last year and it helped a lot in scouting for talent among the new-comers to the hostel. Intra hostel tournaments also help it to sustain the enthusiasm for sports here. Last year, Tapti’s team captains were mostly sophomores. Sophomores, being “freshies” to the hostel, were keen on emulating their seniors. Enthu, as contagious as it is, quickly infects the “freshies”.
Taptians’ unity and the “hostel feels” increase with the participation in these team events. Participation in inter-hostel events and a sense of belonging are complementary. At the end of the day this is what should be the aim of Schroeter, to create bonding among the students via sports. Participation has been Tapti’s mantra for winning over the years, one wins only when one participates, with interest; one has to play for the shirt and put fight to get into the team. Especially in athletics events which are quite broad, participation in all of them fetches a lot of points rather than just winning one or two and skipping the others. Former Hostel Sports Secretary and current Head of Tapti blog, Kevin Daniel believes this is one thing that the other hostels can take away from Tapti’s successes. Kevin says, “Schoreter is more about hard work, than talent.”
Check out their sports blog at https://taptisports.wordpress.com/ and let us know what you think of it.
