COBIS Games 2023; Interview with Ian Douglas

5 minutes with…
Ian Douglas, Director of Co-Curricular Activities
St George’s British International School
Host of the COBIS Secondary Games

Why host the COBIS Games?

St George’s activities, like many other schools, were hampered by COVID, so they saw the COBIS Games as a perfect opportunity to kick-start again after a difficult couple of years for Co-Curricular sport especially. Ian explains “Our activities were hampered by COVID, but things like the COBIS Games give us the perfect platform to reset after a tricky couple of years.”

Why is hosting the COBIS Games so important to St George’s?

“It’s super-exciting. The opportunity to showcase our facilities and to welcome lots of schools worldwide to our school is a huge thing for our community. The community is really supportive of what we do, but one of the things they have missed the most is the opportunity to see one another, to see their children and their peers playing sports and enjoying representing St George’s. The COBIS Games are an amazing opportunity to represent St George’s on a world scale, which we haven’t been able to do for a long time. We want to make St George’s an international school that is really proud of their (sporting) achievements. The COBIS Games is such an important event to us, and that’s why we are proud to be hosting it this year.”

How do St George’s rate their chances in the Games?

“We have seen huge numbers of Year 7 and 8 football enrollments this year, largely due the students desire to be involved in the COBIS Games. A dedicated COBIS Games swimming programme is also just about to start, and St George’s vibrant athletics programme restarted in January, focused on the Games. We are trying to look after our students as best we can, to make sure they are fully prepared. The difficult thing of course… will be to select the squads!”

How is the wider school community responding to hosting the COBIS Games?

“We will need an enormous amount of volunteers to host the Games, so even though there will only be 20 students from St George’s competing, there will be a much, much wider community of students, parents and staff who are part of the bigger picture of putting these games on.”

What will the lasting benefits of the COBIS Games be for St George’s and all the participants?

“One of the most exciting parts of the Games, that we hadn’t necessarily thought about previously, was the opening and closing ceremonies. Everyone comes onto site for the first afternoon, and students who have flown in from all over the world just to come to our school, make this pretty special. Also, we are looking forward to the closing ceremony which will be hosted in a really cool venue, with performances from students across the school, and everyone who has gotten to know each other over the course of the Games can come together. Hopefully some lifelong friendships will be made and they can leave having had a very positive experience.”