Should sports day be optional?

As someone who works in a school and previously organised sports day, no, I don't think it should be optional, where would we draw the line on what we cant and cant opt in and out of?! However, I think the activities that are run are important. Ours are a carousel of inclusive team activities in their houses so it's a group effort (which we also do as part of PE lessons). There are also races at the end but if I child desperately didn't want to take part, they would never be forced. Also, we have run SD without parents rhe last couple of years and have to say it was much smoother all round.
All children have their own strengths and should be given that chance to shine, whether that be sports, maths, spellings etc. We have a celebration assembly every week where these achievements are recognised across the school.

No it shouldn’t be optional, children need to learn that sometimes they aren’t the best at things and it’s ok the world isn’t going to end, we really need to stop pandering to them

I’m 50 and my parents always came. I loved going to my children’s sports days as well and wish I still could (secondary school doesn’t allow spectators). It’s not a big event as so many will not do it!

I don’t think you have to do the sprint race now? They tend to have a variety of events that are a bit less full on.

I was good at sprinting so loved it (despite the pressure to perform), but can see where you are coming from. I’m not sure being allowed to opt out is the right approach; so many girls seem to opt out of PE completely which is not good for them in the long run. We are getting less and less healthy as a nation and that starts in childhood. Even some sporty girls won’t take part anymore as it’s not seen as cool! Not sure what the answer is though.

Some children are not good In maths for example. They can't opt out of it, Can't out opt out of something just because you are not good at it.

I hated sports day when I was a kid.

I dislike it even more as a teaching assistant!
Basically, the parents /families attending make it a hell on earth.
I wish sports day was ‘behind closed doors’.
Parents are either competitive and moan about decisions/results. Or they interfere when we are trying to keep groups of children under control, or insist younger siblings be allowed to go and sit with them (!) or want to give them snacks/ juice/ hugs /cuddles and anything else which causes disruption. Basically, just being there upsets the kids. It’s more trouble than it’s worth in my opinion!🫤

At our school there are no spectators and at any given time 8 different events are being held so realistically the only people aware of the result are those in your group at the time when you are competing.

I can see both sides as a parent of two children, one who wins every race and one who is last in every race. I try to frame it as its only one day a year and there are many other things that they shine at such as year writing competitions, photography competitions, drama performances etc.

I don’t know. Gdcs enjoy it, but I do remember last time feeling so sorry for the little boy who was crying as he came in last - again. 😰

What a shitty pointless (and as it turns out incorrect) response.

I think it should be optional. I really enjoyed athletics, but I could see how many kids despised it and it was embarrassing for them.

You bet wrong then. He’s an adult at uni doing a highly competitive degree, works in the holidays, goes to the gym, plays on a football team and volunteers for a mental health charity. He throws himself into everything he goes.

imo sports days should not be optional but it should cater for all abilities and should be fun

and also shouldn't necessarily involve parents watching.

What a load of crap. I "opted out" a lot at school, playing truant, tricking parents into thinking I was ill, etc to avoid things like school sports and some other events. That was because I was being horrendously bullied. I could tolerate "normal" formal lessons, particularly with strong teachers, but would be bullied (not just name calling but physical abuse, theft of property etc) whenever things were informal or with weak teachers.

I've not opted out of anything as an adult, I've been involved in amateur dramatics, lots of clubs & societies (included being a committee member, treasurer, secretary, chairman, spokesperson etc)., ran a local "save the library" campaign, given presentations to large numbers of people, ran training courses, taught at our local college of FE, successfully launched my own business including marketing events, etc.

Funny how you're less likely to be spat at, have fag ends burned on your arms, had your books stolen or pissed on, etc., outside the school environment!

I don't think people like you know just what it can be like in schools when you're the target of the humiliation and abuse. I was suicidal at school, but absolutely bloomed once I managed to escape the hell hole and the bullies.

From working in schools I think children have a more fun and positive outlook so actually even a lot of the less sporty kids would opt in. It’s a minority that are so bothered by it they’d opt out I feel…Unless they were influenced by parents perhaps.

And btw I’m ND and loved sports day!

Except for many children, it isn’t fun. and silly races don’t make a difference.

I bet he opts out of things as ab adult rather than facing them.

No, it should not be optional. From the sounds on everyone on this thread, everyone would opt out! I presume most of you are ND too. It’s meant to be fun. I was crap at sport but that’s why there’s silly races like egg and spoon and the sack race.

People need to do much better at setting out what they actually mean, then. If what's actually being advocated is a changed sports day, some of the posts simply saying bullying shouldn't happen are doing a poor job of articulating that.

Just on point 7. More than having a good job or attending a good university I want my child to be a good person. The attitude that arbitrary thing X is compulsory so everyone must do it isn't one I would encourage him to have. And I wouldn't view compulsory sport, regardless of interest, skill or enjoyment to be at all a positive or advantageous thing.

Before I get jumped on I know that most people who have attended independent school are perfectly nice individuals. It's more that I don't feel compulsory sport is intrinsic to being a good person. I get that some people really like sport and that other people don't find it too bad, but I can also see that there are many people who gain no benefit from being made to participate in sport and risk physical and mental harm if forced to participate.

Yes, but the weaker mathematics students aren't then forced to publicly do sums on the stage it anything like that.

Because... funnily enough, if enough people talk about it, there's likely to be teachers involved who could influence/make decisions about how to run sports day differently, whilst including the whole school without shame or forced competition for then minority if children who would and are adversely affected.

Out of a school of 400, they could have 10% helper positions or something (laying out the hula hoops, counting laps, manning water stations, helping add up scores, fetching the bean bags after they've been thrown far, keeping a register of their team mates in the day, marking them in for events, coming up with a team chant before hand and having them all sing it to support their team mates) ... Loads of things really.

Why do people keep saying what they think should and shouldn't happen, as though that affects what actually does happen? All very well to say nobody should be embarrassed, have the piss taken out of them etc. But they still do. And some of those kids will also be the ones who struggle academically too.

Let them have their moment let the kids who don’t run go and cheer them on and support them let e dry one enjoy the day. They don’t need to be humiliated. It shouldn’t be a case of take part and be embarrassed or skive off kids should be able to enjoy being there supporting their friends.

I just said what we did in school. I didn't really present an opinion. However, I'm pretty sure regular PE classes were a lot more humiliating than having us be divided into teams and sliding on a soap tarp, waterballoon battleship or trying to build a tower from firewood. There was also some type of trying to get a bucket from top of a stick or something. Sure there are winners and losers. Like there are in academics as well. I have no memory if winners were announced. My guess is that evey grade was divide in colours and then those were counted together or something.

@Rewis With respect, that's a very adult and naive view.

For the kids, it doesn't matter what the activities are. There will be winners and losers, and children humiliated in front of an audience.

There is no justification for it.