UNS – The Mahasiswa Kampus Mengajar (a community service program for university students) Team 7 from the Sportiva Student Association (HMP) of Physical Health and Recreation Education Study Program, the Faculty of Sports (FKOR), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, organized the Gebyar Olahraga Traditional (traditional sports festival, or GoTrans) Festival. This event, held on Tuesday (11/06/2024), showed the students’ commitment to preserving traditional sports.

GoTrans, spearheaded by UNS students of the Kampus Mengajar program and HMP Sportiva, took place at the FKOR UNS courtyard and gymnasium. The festival featured several traditional games, including gobak sodor, boboyan (or untrakol), bakiak, bentengan, and tug-of-war. These games were chosen for their simplicity and because they are becoming less common among children.

The event was attended by notable figures including Prof. Dr. Sapta Kunta Purnama, M.Pd., the Dean of FKOR UNS; Dr. Rony Syaifullah, M.Pd., Vice Dean of Academics, Research, and Student Affairs at FKOR UNS; Dr. Pomo Warih Adi, S.Pd., M.Or., Head of the PJKR Study Program at FKOR UNS; Dr. Sri Santoso Sabarini, S.Pd., M.Or., course lecturer; Abdul Aziz Purnomo Sidiq, M.Pd., Coordinator of the Kampus Mengajar program; Drs. Budi Paryono, S.H., M.H., Chair of the Indonesian Recreational Sports Committee (KORMI) Surakarta; Sri Hastuti, S.Pd., KORMI Treasurer; and accompanying teachers from each participating elementary school.

The GoTrans event was officially opened by Prof. Sapta Kunta, who emphasized the importance of such activities for students to enjoy and develop a love for traditional sports. He highlighted that Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage includes traditional games, which are at risk of being forgotten in the modern era.

“With the GoTrans program, students not only learn about traditional sports but also help to preserve and sustain them for the future,” Prof. Sapta Kunta said.

Eight elementary schools from Surakarta participated in GoTrans, namely SDN Gebang 224, SD Muhammadiyah 18 Surakarta, SDN 1 Baturan, SDN Kestalan Surakarta, SDN Nayu Barat 1 Surakarta, SDN Sawahan 2 Surakarta, SDN Pucangan 05, and SDN Kasatriyan.

Each school sent representative teams to compete in the traditional sports competitions. The participating schools appreciated and supported the event, recognizing that the GoTrans program effectively introduced traditional sports to students.

Humas UNS

Reporter: R. P. Adji

Editor: Dwi Hastuti