BAPS Charities organised a national netball tournament for children, the Premvati Cup, on Saturday 24 June 2017 at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London and The Swaminarayan School, London (for participants from London and the southern regions of the UK) and again on Saturday 1 July 2017 at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Leicester (for participants from the northern regions of the UK).
The tournaments brought together hundreds of young girls who arrived at their respective venues early in the morning, showing tremendous team spirit and enthusiasm. Banners and flags to support local teams were held aloft by every participant to celebrate the values of unity that the tournament promotes each year.
The day began with a short opening ceremony, where speakers reinforced the messages of working together as a team.
The girls were organised into three age groups as per their school year – Years 1 to 3, 4 to 6 and 7 to 9. The first round matches commenced with excitement and the support of parents and volunteers from the sidelines.
After lunch, the games progressed to the semi-finals and finals. The competitive matches were highly entertaining for all those involved as the teams sought to win the esteemed Premvati Cup trophy for their respective year grouping.
The day concluded with a prize-giving ceremony where awards for sportsmanship were especially promoted, following a new initiative introduced in previous tournaments. It was encouraging to see young children demonstrating teamwork and admiration for fellow players.
A summary of the team and individual awards is detailed below:
London and Southern Regions of UK
|
Age |
Winners |
Runners-Up |
Top Goal-Scorer |
Sportsmanship Award |
|
6-8 |
Finchley & Southend-on-Sea & East London |
Swaminarayan Sunday School Team 1 |
Ayushi Patel (East London) |
Shreeya Pandya (Swaminarayan Sunday School) |
|
9-11 |
Swaminarayan Sunday School Team 4 |
East London |
Shreya Patel (Swaminarayan Sunday School) |
Riya Brahmbhatt (London East) |
|
12-14 |
Neasden |
Finchley |
Khushi Patel (Neasden) |
Saloni Yadav (South East London) |
Northern Regions of the UK
|
Age |
Winners |
Runners-Up |
Top Goal-Scorer |
Sportsmanship Award |
|
6-8 |
Wellingborough – Ghanshyam Team |
Birmingham |
Grisha Patel (Wellingborough – Ghanshyam Team) |
Heer Patel (Wellingborough – Ghanshyam Team) |
|
9-11 |
Wellingborough – Nilkanth Team |
Leicester Team 4 |
Meera Khatwa (Wellingborough – Nilkanth Team) |
Mansavi Patel (Wellingborough – Nilkanth Team) |
|
12-14 |
Leicester 3 |
Birmingham & Manchester |
Nikita Shah (Leicester Team 3) |
Vishali Shingadia (Birmingham & Manchester) |
The tournament proved extremely enjoyable for parents, children and volunteers and were a great exhibition of community spirit, sportsmanship and skill.
A special thanks to all the players, supporters and sponsors for their contributions in making the events hugely successful and memorable.
