There were literally thousands of individual performances taking place all over the stadium. Wherever you looked, the colourful scene was the same: all-inclusive energy, enthusiasm and fun. As always, the most important factor of competition is the personal performance, the chance to prove your absolute worth in an objective manner. Who knows, it may be the best you ever do, for the rest of your life! This is why we constantly push the importance of "personal best." Competition is stimulating and motivating. Very few get the chance to compete at the highest level. If we are very lucky we are observers to a world best performance: a memory which will last forever. So at a personal level to know as an absolute fact that what you have just achieved is a lifetime best is an opportunity not to be missed. This is what individual athletic competition provides. To take that opportunity surrounded by friends and family simply heightens the sense of satisfaction and enjoyment. Looking through all the results shows the finishing order and the new school records but it also includes all the personal best`s and the memories which are associated with them. Memories are individual and everyone takes a different perspective, equally valid of course. The great thing is that when those memories are recalled in the future they become interactive in the sense that they are multi-sensory: visual, auditory, kinesthetic and proprioceptive . The whole experience can be re-lived and enjoyed again. The stronger the stimulus the better for recall purposes. This was the biggest sporting event the British School-Muscat has ever produced, but I`m confident that it will not remain so for very long: bring on the next one!

Andy Taylor
Director of Physical Education