Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — Charge d’Affaires Hemant Kotalwar declared the XXV Cluster Meet (Phase II) open after delivering the oath of sportsmanship to the participating contingents at the International Indian School, Jeddah (IISJ) on Monday.
Kotalwar also hoisted the CBSE flag to set the competitive tone. A disciplined march past by the IISJ Boys Scouts and Girls Guides provided the rhythm of the meet.
The charge d’affaires was earlier welcomed to the meet with an honor guard from students. He was then handed a floral bouquet by the school’s head boy.
The Head of Chancery and School observer Mohammad Raghib Qureshi, and representatives of the Saudi scouts and the King Abdullah Sports City were also feted with floral bouquets.
IISJ Principal Syed Masood Ahmed then welcomed the guests by declaring that the 25th Principals Conference and the Cluster Meet were indeed ‘historic’.
“The event is really historic. About 25 years back only four or five schools joined forces to hold a competition that has become what is today the Cluster Meet.
“There were only about 100 participants then and even the competition was in limited events. Today it is a success story with 40 teams, boasting an overall strength of 80,000 participating students.
“In this phase, after the first phase ended in June, there are over 900 competitors from the 40 schools vying for honors.”
Kotalwar, after declaring the meet open, lit the torch that would symbolize the light and energy that the students would display on the competitive field, while chasing fairly for honors.
