The closing of IPSF took place in the midst of great enthusiasm and excitement on August 1st at the Gymnasium of the Sun Moon, Asan campus. All those involved in the festivities of the last nine days were faced with the finality of the moment. From the next day many would be leaving to their respective homes and the excitement of the festival would only be a sweet memory. But the closing itself gave another precious moment to be added to our collage of cherished recollections.

As the program began the crowd joined together in harmony chanting the symbol of peace in Hinduism "OM" permeating the air with the spirit of peace. Dr. Lee, the President of Sun Moon, addressed the crowd reminding them that through IPSF we could show the world how to live together in peace and harmony.

A special award was given to the two dance teams from Sri Lanka one representing the Singhalese ethic group and one representing the Tamil ethic group. These two groups are now in confrontation in their country unable to come to a peaceful solution. As part of the closing program the two troupes did a beautiful peace dance together symbolizing their desire to create unity and peace in their war torn country.

As a central part of the program, Sportsmanship Awards were given to individuals as well as teams representing each religion that embodied the spirit of IPSF. The Individual Sportsmanship Awards went to: Shintoism Kenichi, Japan; Christianity Niranjan, Sri Lanka; Buddhism Niluka Githani, Sri Lanka; Hinduism, Saradha, India; Confucianism, Mr. Hwang, Taiwan; Unificationism, Ken Bourget, England; Sikhism, Manjeet Madan, India; Judaism, Hila Ben-Ezry, Israel; Islam, Zabbihulah Solani, Afghanistan. The Team Sportsmanship Awards went to: Women’s Team-Basketball, Judaism, Israel; Men’s Team-Basketball, Christianity, Sri Lanka.

As a new addition this year there was an award presented, the Founder’s Award, which is given to the IPSF participant who demonstrated an example of service and high moral standard in the past year. Gayan Sameera form Sri Lanka who participated in the shot put event also last year was given the honor for his involvement in service projects especially helping not only his own countrymen but also those in Thailand who suffered from last year’s tsunami disaster.

In the final address of the closing program IPSF International Director, John Gehring encouraged the athletes to bring the things they learned home with them to their community. He reminded us that the participants should model character, goodness and service in their daily life. John Gehring said," We must create a revolution of the Heart."

The evening was capped with music and dancing with a peace dance being presented by the Taiwanese group. The spirit was lifted to the highest level when Kelly from the educational committee led us in an appreciation exercise. She encouraged us to distribute roses to all those we felt to appreciate after our times together. Sharing the rose coupled with words of appreciation filled the hall with love and happiness as we passed the love around the room

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