Chapter 165: preparation for sports fest

Chapter 165: Chapter 165: preparation for sports fest

At precisely eleven-thirty, Christopher arrived at the Student Council room.

The room was still empty.

He checked his watch.

A little early.

Not by much.

He placed his folder on the table and took his usual seat.

There wasn’t much to do before the others arrived, so he looked through the documents Anthony had sent out the previous evening.

The main item on today’s agenda was the upcoming Sports Fest.

Three weeks away.

The first week of October.

And, as had been the tradition, it was scheduled immediately after the midterm examinations.

During the event, the students will receive an entire week without regular classes.

No lectures. No examinations. Just the Sports Fest.

Christopher had overseen the same arrangement the previous year.

The schedule itself had changed very little.

The Sports Fest would run for an entire week, with competitions taking place across the university’s various athletic facilities.

Basketball.

Volleyball.

Swimming.

Track and field.

Tennis.

Fencing.

Badminton.

Archery.

Equestrian events.

And, of course—

Polo.

Christopher already knew how the week would unfold.

The first five days would contain the preliminary and elimination rounds.

Different sports would run simultaneously, each using its designated facilities.

Students weren’t expected to attend everything.

They could follow whichever competitions interested them.

Families would come to watch their children.

Student organizations would gather around their representatives.

And, as always, polo would attract one of the largest crowds.

Christopher turned to the final pages of the schedule.

The polo tournament would follow the same basic arrangement as the previous year.

Elimination rounds throughout the first five days.

Two semifinal matches on Saturday.

The final on Sunday morning.

Then, Sunday afternoon would be reserved for the grand awarding ceremony, where the university would recognize the winners of all the Sports Fest events.

Nothing particularly surprising.

It had worked well enough the year before.

The real question was whether they could manage this year’s number of entries.

Polo was always popular.

St. Albion attracted students from families where riding was practically a tradition, and there were always more students interested in competing than the university could reasonably accommodate.

Before he can think further, the door opened.

Christopher looked up.

One of the council members entered.

"Morning."

"Morning."

Another arrived shortly afterward.

Then another.

Within several minutes, the room gradually filled.

Finally, the door opened once more.

Anthony walked in.

"Sorry."

He checked his watch.

"Pur prof dismissed late."

Christopher smiled.

"Professor Lee?"

"Of course."

A few members laughed.

Anthony took his seat at the head of the table.

"All right."

"We don’t have much time."

"Let’s get started."

Everyone settled.

The secretary opened the meeting notes.

"First item."

"Sports Fest."

Anthony nodded.

"Three weeks."

"First week of October."

"Right after midterms."

The secretary distributed copies of the preliminary schedule.

"The dates have been confirmed."

"The general schedule remains the same as last year."

"Monday through Friday will cover the qualifying and elimination rounds."

"Most events will run simultaneously."

"Basketball at the main court."

"Volleyball at the indoor gym."

"Swimming at the aquatic center."

"Track and field at the stadium."

"Tennis and fencing will have their own courts."

"Archery and equestrian events will operate separately."

Christopher glanced through the document.

Everything was familiar.

The same basic arrangement they’d used the previous year.

Anthony continued.

"Polo?"

The secretary turned to the relevant page.

"Elimination rounds will also run Monday through Friday."

"Semifinals Saturday."

"Final Sunday morning."

"Then the awarding ceremony Sunday afternoon."

Christopher nodded.

"Same as last year."

"Yes."

"Good."

There was no reason to change something that worked.

The secretary continued.

"The main matter is registration."

Christopher looked up.

"How many teams?"

"We’re proposing a maximum of sixteen."

That earned his attention.

"Sixteen?"

"Yes."

The secretary passed another document around.

"We’ve reviewed the available grounds and the number of matches required."

"Sixteen keeps the schedule manageable."

Christopher studied the figures.

Number of matches.

Available hours.

Ground availability.

Officials.

Medical personnel.

Transportation between the polo grounds and the other facilities.

It all had to fit.

He nodded slowly.

"Sixteen should work."

Anthony looked at him.

"That’s what we thought."

"We could technically take more."

Christopher shook his head.

"But we’d start pushing the elimination rounds too far into the evenings."

"And that creates problems with lighting, staffing, and transport."

"Exactly."

Anthony nodded.

"Then sixteen."

The secretary made a note.

"Sixteen teams maximum."

Christopher continued reading.

Registration was the real issue.

Unlike academic competitions, Sports Fest teams weren’t divided strictly according to academic departments.

Recognized student organizations could enter teams.

Student Council.

Student Union.

Polo Club.

Equestrian Club.

Business Strategy Club.

Athletic organizations.

And various other recognized societies.

Students would compete under the organization they represented.

Christopher looked at the registration rules.

"And one organization per student for each tournament?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Otherwise we’d have students registering for three different teams."

Someone laughed.

"Some probably would."

Christopher smiled.

"Exactly."

Anthony glanced around the table.

"Then we need to start contacting organizations."

A council member immediately spoke.

"Basketball?"

"We’ll enter."

"Volleyball?"

"Definitely."

"Swimming?"

"Probably."

The discussion moved through the various events.

Different council members volunteered to contact students and organizations with strong competitors.

Christopher listened, occasionally making suggestions based on what he’d seen during the previous year’s Sports Fest.

He already knew which events tended to struggle with registration.

Which facilities became overcrowded.

Which competitions needed additional officials.

Which matches tended to run late.

The Sports Fest looked effortless from the outside.

It wasn’t.

Hundreds of students.

Dozens of organizations.

Multiple venues.

Families arriving throughout the week.

Transportation.

Security.

Medical staff.

Schedules that had to remain synchronized.

A single delay in one venue could easily affect another.

That was why the registration limit mattered.

And why the Student Council had to settle it before anything was announced.

Eventually, the conversation returned to polo.

One of the council members leaned back.

"That’s going to be the difficult one."

Anthony smiled.

"Because?"

"Everyone wants to enter."

Another member laughed.

"And we’re only allowing sixteen teams."

Christopher nodded.

"That won’t take long to fill."

It was the truth.

Polo was easily the most prestigious event of the Sports Fest.

The other competitions could draw enormous crowds.

But polo had a different atmosphere.

The players were often from some of the university’s most prominent families.

Many had been riding since childhood.

And because the tournament was limited to sixteen teams, simply making it into the competition carried a certain prestige.

Anthony looked toward Christopher.

"You’re playing, aren’t you?"

Christopher raised an eyebrow.

"Me?"

"You’ve been playing longer than most of us."

"So?"

"So which team are you joining?"

Christopher considered it.

"I haven’t decided."

A few groans immediately followed.

"You’re no help."

"I didn’t say I wouldn’t play."

"Just that I haven’t decided who for."

Christopher smiled.

Anthony shook his head.

"Fine."

"Think about it."

Another member turned toward Anthony.

"What about you?"

Anthony hesitated.

"That’s the question."

"You have two options."

"The Polo Club."

"Or the Student Council."

A few people immediately started talking over one another.

"Student Council."

"Obviously."

"The Polo Club needs you."

"They can find another rider."

"You’re the president."

"And you’re one of their better players."

Anthony laughed.

"You’re not making this easier."

Christopher watched the exchange with amusement.

It was a legitimate problem.

The Polo Club needed its strongest riders.

The Student Council wanted a competitive team.

And the other organizations would undoubtedly want their best players too.

Someone across the table spoke again.

"What about Damian?"

Christopher glanced over.

"He’s the Business Strategy Club president."

"And he plays."

Anthony nodded.

"He’ll probably represent them."

"Probably."

Christopher smiled.

There was still plenty of time.

Registration hadn’t even opened.

No one needed to decide today.

Anthony finally raised a hand.

"All right."

"Let’s not settle the teams yet."

"We’ll open registration first."

He looked toward the secretary.

"Prepare the announcement."

"Include the sixteen-team limit."

"The registration deadline."

"And the rule that students can only represent one organization in each tournament."

"Understood."

Anthony checked his watch.

"Anything else?"

Silence.

He closed the folder.

"Good."

"Then we’re done."

Chairs shifted back.

Papers were gathered.

The council members began talking among themselves as they stood.

Christopher slipped his documents into his folder.

Three weeks.

Midterms first.

Then an entire week of Sports Fest.

Five days of polo eliminations.

Two semifinals on Saturday.

One final on Sunday morning.

And the awards that afternoon.

The schedule itself was nothing new.

He’d helped run nearly the same event the year before.

But the logistics...

Those were always worth getting right.

Christopher glanced once more at the registration proposal before putting the papers away.

Sixteen teams.

That should do it.

--

Tbc