Budding athletes are invited to apply to compete in the International Students Sports and Cultural Festival on Sept. 28.

Set up by the Korean International Students Support Association, the festival is in its third year, and will this time be held at the University of Seoul.

KISSA assistant director Sara Rai said that last year’s festival had a large turnout, but that this year’s events would be streamlined because of venue limitations and quality control.

“We were successful in quantity, so we thought that we would like to focus on quality and have a higher-quality program,” she said.

The number of events was cut to five ― men’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s cricket and women’s dodgeball ― although there are additional group events, such as tug-of-war. Rai said that the number of teams in the events had also been reduced to give those playing more time on the field.

“Last year we had 16 men’s football teams. This year we will have 12, which means that they have more games before they reach the final. It is the same with the other games too,” she said.

“But for example, with women’s dodgeball, we want as many students to come, participate, enjoy and create good memories, so we are trying to balance both sides.”

One sport that was kept was cricket, a new addition last year. Rai said that the number and enthusiasm of supporters was a reason for keeping it.

“It was better than what we expected. There was a good turnout from a lot of international students from South Asia,” said Rai. “Most of the time when I asked why they came to this event they told me it was because we introduced cricket.”

Dropped from the lineup were athletics, volleyball and women’s soccer. Rai said that women’s soccer was successful in last year’s festival, and the organizers were keen to include it this time, but the venue did not have enough facilities to run it this year.

The sports events are open to all foreign students in Korea who are not involved in professional sports. Teams also have quotas for Korean students depending on the event.

Teams applying should submit an introduction with their application, and organizers will choose which teams compete based on diversity, the team’s reason for competing and their supporters’ plans. There are bonus points for user-created content and for those who bring along cheerleaders. Cheerleading teams are mandatory for soccer, but not other events.

The fee for participation is 5,000 won, which will go toward helping needy children ― one of the conditions of event sponsors Grand Korea Leisure. Rai said that it had not yet been decided how the money would be used, but explained that last year’s donations had been used to donate soccer cleats to children in Africa.

Other events at the festival include a flea market, where students can apply to set up a small stall and sell secondhand goods or handicrafts, and cultural activities such as traditional Korean games.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)