TMM KODAI KONDATTAM - TOURNAMENT DAY 2018
On June 23, 2018, Tamil Makkal Mandram, USA (“TMMâ€) celebrated “TMM Tournament Day 2018†as a part of the trifold Kodai Kondattam 2018 (Summer festival). Events. The 1st event “TMM Youth Olympics†was a resounding success with kids participating in an afternoon full of fun track and field events on June 3, 2018. The 3rd event will be the “TMM Family Cruise Day†on August 19, 2018.
Kodai Kondattam Tournament day 2018 held at Flerra meadows Boxborough, MA had 20 Volleyball and 6 Throwball teams, with over 200 players competing for the championship trophy – rain or shine!!! The teams came from all across New England area – New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. It took weeks of meticulous planning, scheduling and flawless implementation by the TMM team spearheaded by Venkat Krishnan.
The teams were broken out into 4 pools and there were about 40 matches of volleyball played during Pool Play. The teams were then divided into Gold (Top 8) and Silver (Bottom 8) Category for play offs.
Gold Category - The Semifinals were played between Madras Manja 2.0 (Captain Sasinkumar) v/s Neruppuda (Captain Venkat Krishnan) and Bedford Smashers (Captain Karthik Ramu) v/s Shrewsbury Spikers (Captain Venkat Manda). They were very competitive matches and Neruppuda and Shrewsbury Spikers advanced to the finals. The Championship trophy was finally clinched by Team Neruppuda. They received a shining Team Trophy, individual trophies and a cash prize of $200. The Runners up – Team Shrewsbury Spikers received individual player trophies and cash prize of $100.
Silver Category – The finals were played between Team Madras Manja ( Captain Gokulnath) and CT Eagles ( Captain Mailvannan), which was won by Team Madras Manja. Platinum Sponsor of the event “Bawarchi restaurant and Spice Hut†awarded gift vouchers to encourage and them as Upcoming teams who will potentially compete and win the next Kodai Kondattam volleyball championship trophy.
Throwball was a women only tournament. There were 6 matched played during pool play and then teams advanced to the playoffs. The Semifinals were played between Golden Eagles (Captain Lakshmi Venkatraman) v/s Vinmeengal (Captain Vindhya Poonja) and Chennai Super Queens (Captain Sanchana Subramanian) v/s Kaipulla (Captain Bhagya Dev). Both the semifinals were fought till the last point and Teams Vinmeengal and Chennai Super Queens clashed in the finals. Last year champions Vinmeengal won th championship this year as well!!! They were awarded the Championship Trophy, individual trophies and cash prize of $100. The runners up, Chennai Super Queens, received individual player trophies and a cash prize of $75 for the team.
Mouthwatering breakfast of Idli Vadai, Pongal was sold by Restaurant Bawarchi, who all sold yummy lunch consisting of Biryanis, Sambar rice and Curd rice with accompaniments to all the players and their families. Eco friendly refillable bottles were also provided by Bawarchi to all the participants.
TMM Volunteers, Youth volunteers and friends worked in the registration booth, set up of nets, coordinating the play in different courts, refereeing throwball matches, cheering players, ensuring families are comfortable and kids are having from, from early dawn to dusk. A special shout out to the volleyball teams as well who helped referee and work on the matches when they were not playing.
In spite of heavens opening up in rainfall, heavy at times, cold winds and slippery grass, the teams continued playing in the true spirit of sportsmanship. Every single person on the field was having fun and cheered on for others. It truly was heartwarming to see the camaraderie on and off the courts which helped run and complete this event within a day. It brought out the spirit of TMM – to bring the Tamil and the greater New England community together and have fun. Teams left for the day promising to be back to compete even more fiercely for the trophy in Kodai Kondattam 2019.
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