Day 2+3: The Excitement of SIFE World Cup

Oct 12, 2010 // by nehal // News, Opportunities, Press Releases // 1 Comment

First off, so sorry we couldn’t put up an article for Day 2

The competition officially kicked off on Sunday, October 10.

Here’s what happened on Day 2:

1) Cultural Fair: The cultural fair was one of the most colourful experiences in my life. There were SIFE members from Puerto Rico to Nigeria to United Kingdom to India. What made the whole experience special was that we instantly went from competitors to accepting each other as a SIFE family. Thirty nine countries became one big family with smiles, laughter and jokes.

2) Opening Ceremony. We all got pumped with the cultural fair but the opening ceremony left us completely speechless! There were more than 2000 people all in one room cheering as loud as we could and dancing like we’ve never danced before. Flags waving with K’naan playing in the background made us feel like we were on “Cloud 9″. In that moment, we felt close, not as SIFE Ryerson, not as SIFE Canada, but as SIFE as a family.

Announced at the opening ceremony were the presentation time for SIFE Canada. With the success of Memorial University being placed in the top 4 in the 2009 SIFE World Cup, SIFE Canada and the other 3 teams were fortunate to choose leagues in advance of the rest of the teams.

We were in League 8. Our competitors were Australia, Kenya, Sweden, Tunisia and Canada. Once leagues were announced, we went off to practice some more with the team, hug them and tell them how AWESOME they are!

*sigh* This was just the opening day of the SIFE World Cup!

Here’s how Day 3 in Anaheim, the second day of the competition unraveled:

1) Watching the success of other SIFE teams. We knew that we presenting at the last spot of the day. We began sitting in presentations from countries from around the world. The cool takeaway for me was that we are all doing similar programs to strive for one goal. Whether that goal is education, creating awareness, motivation, etc.

2) Then, it was our turn. Team Canada presented in front of a packed room that left the judges overwhelmed. There was a lot of support from Canada as well as other teams we like and trust. The question and answer is a difficult component of the competition. Team Canada was able to beautifully carve answers that not only satisfied judges but also went beyond the question.

3) Time for the results for Semis. We were nervous and excited. A wise man once said, “Always believe that you can win but as soon as you think you won, you lost.” With a few shocking upsets, we anxiously waited for the results. Woohooo!! We advanced to the Semis! Here is the order for the presentation: Canada, Japan, USA and France.

Final Day of Competition

Today is the final day of competition. We are excited to present. Out of 1500 teams, Team Canada is in the top 16; no matter we win or lose, we are proud of our success.

Wish us luck!

PS: Watch the live stream at http://sife.org/worldcup/live

PPS: Here are links to articles for Day 0, Day 1.

Article by Nehal Kazim