Sports Day is a funny day – funny and fun. The trouble is that because we don’t have any sports facilities at the school we have to rent the running track at the Sports University nearby and often, the first time a student has run such a long distance or done any jumping or throwing sports is actually on this day.
So instead of spending the whole year building up to sports day like we to in the west, here they turn up in their uniforms and just run. Very few of them having PE kit but they give it their all and have a really good time.
The teachers are encouraged to join in but only a handful do and they are mostly the foreign teachers. Sports is definitely not a large part of education in China.
One of my male students wears frames with no glass in them for class and I have always found this to be rather strange. I was interested to see him lining up for the 100m with his ‘glasses’ on and offered to hold them for him. “No”, he said “I need them, they are my strength”. I think he rather over-estimated the amount of strength they would bring him as he finished towards the back of the pack.
The best part of the day was the end where there was more of a ‘It’s a knockout’ feel to the events with giant caterpillars and beach balls and the three-legged race.
Classes worked as a team in relay races and even I had a go at the three-legged race tied to one of the athletic sports teachers. Lucky I am fit then!
Not many prizes were on offer – just a handful of cheap medals and fake gold cups but the kids didn’t seem to mind, it’s all in the taking part I suppose (although I hate losing!).
So it’s back to school on a convoy of buses and another 12 months before any of them do any running again. Welcome to China!