The Griffith Sikh Games continues to gain popularityAdvertising Feature
The Shaheedi Tournament Griffith, also known as the Griffith Sikh Games, are an important feature on the local calendar.
The 2023 event actually won the category of Outstanding Visitor Experience at the annual Griffith Business Chamber Awards.
Scheduled for Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9 (the King's Birthday long weekend), the 2024 event will be the 26th edition of these games.
The best thing for sports fans is they are free to attend. There's even free food and beverage on offer. Plus there will be about 40 trade stalls and kids' activities.
Across multiple sports, competitors come from not just other parts of Australia but other countries, especially New Zealand and India.
The major drawcard for the Sikh Games is the team sport of Kabaddi. Originating from India, there are a few versions of Kabaddi and the Sikh Games use the Punjabi style. In most tournaments the objective is for a single player on offence to raid (run into) the other team's half of the court, touch out as many players as they can in 30 seconds, and return to their own half of the court, ideally without being tackled.
Each player tagged by the raider scores them a point, but the other team gets a point for stopping the raider.
Players are taken out of the game if they are tackled, but return to the game after each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle. Games usually go for 40 minutes with 20 minute halves.
Other sports that the Sikh Games will include are also team oriented, such as soccer with divisions down to under 11s, two types of volleyball (shooting and smashing), and tug-o-war.
There will also be Kho Kho (another team sport) which is a form of tag that originated in ancient India, and Gatka which is a martial art contested with sticks (to simulate swords).
Most of these will be played at Ted Scobie Oval, while volleyball (smashing) will be done at Griffith Regional Centre.
Run by many volunteers, the organisers of the Griffith Sikh Games are members of The Gurdwara Singh Sabha Society Griffith (NSW) Incorporated (a registered charity), with support from Griffith City Council, the NSW Government's Office of Sport, and many great sponsors.
In terms of cultural significance, the Shaheedi Tournament Griffith "is held in the memory and honour of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for their elite faith and Sikh values," said organiser (and the society's general secretary) Harpreet Singh.
Harpreet said they anticipate the 2024 event will attract 35,000 to 40,000 people over the two days, and they expect that this will also bring additional economic activity measured in the millions.
See facebook.com/Griffith ShaheediTournament
