School travel programs, particularly sports tours, are an outstanding model of exposing students to unparalleled global experiences. Not only do these tours enable students to compete with international teams, they also allow them to visit multiple countries across the world. There are plenty of available options for such tours, including school rugby tours, netball tours, or even hockey tours. Whatever the sport or destination, sports tours come in handy in enhancing the students’ mental, physical, and social capabilities. Here are some benefits that come with organising school sports tours.
An Opportunity to Explore Diverse Countries and Cultures
There is no doubt the world is rapidly growing into a global community. It is, therefore, essential for students to learn new cultures and have an understanding of how the world progresses as a community. School sports tours organised by schools are an open opportunity for students to explore other countries and learn about different cultures. Over the years, sports have been considered to be a unifying factor as far as cultures and regions are concerned. Students are particularly excited when they come across new cuisines, historical sites, or even a national sport for a particular country.
Enhancing Skills
Sports tours allow schools to compete with teams that have different backgrounds of experience and skills in a particular sport. For instance, some countries are more acquainted with football than others. Participating in Youth Football Tournaments 2020 would, therefore, be a great way to learn new coaching methods, playing tactics, and approaches to football.
Academic Excellence
Research shows that there is a positive relationship between active involvement in sports and academic performance. Participating in sports activities enhances a student’s cognitive health, which results in excellent academic performance. There is no doubt, therefore, that a sports tour would result in greater academic achievement. No experience and exposure in class can compare to the opportunity to explore educational and cultural experiences through a sports tour. Students are also enriched by getting first-hand information on certain aspects only learnt in books, including traditions, religion, politics, and societal diversities.
A Network of New Friends
What about adding to the student’s network of friends? Where sports tours are involved, building a network of friends is inevitable. This is particularly so because teams participating in a sport are brought together by a common interest. It is, therefore, easy to have new friendships spark out of a netball or football tour. Most of these friendships last for life, as some transition into business partnerships or love relationships.
Enhancing Existing Bonds
There is a limited timeframe in an academic set up to allow for investing in existing bonds. Whether it is a relationship with a teacher, student, or a peer, one has very few hours in school to build a bond. However, with a sports tour, teachers and students can get opportunities to interact outside the educational environment. Research shows that students who develop a personal connection with their teachers stand out to be among the most motivated and participatory in academic work.
In Summary
- Sports tours organised by schools are a great way to have students explore the world.
- Sports tours enhance skills and capabilities.
- A sports tour is an opportunity to explore diverse cultures.
- Through sports tours, students can develop a network of new friends.
- Sports tours facilitate growth in existing bonds between students and teachers.