PE - did it promote a life long love of sport or was it ritual torture?

[LuckyMum96]

Just that really, for me it was mixed - too much PE was focussed on the school teams though and not enough on general exercise and activity

[CoffeeBeansGalore]

Torture. Until the last 2 years when we had a choice. One of which was Keep fit/aerobics with an instructor who was fun & let us pick the music for some of the routines.

[nancy75]

@Knittedfairies

Torture. I wish I could go back 50 years and tell my P.E. teachers that I will never have the need to climb a rope, so please stop shouting at me.

I too am still waiting for that moment when I will need to shimmy up a rope to the ceiling

[KatherineJaneway]

Torture. Out in the freezing cold doing sports I had no interest in. When I was interested it was the trampoline which you got to have a go for 1 minute then had to watch everyone else.

Also we were never taught tactics or how to actually play. Badminton for example, I'd play but teacher would never watch and help improve my game so I always lost to the sporty kids.

The worst was being made to shower naked in front of each other though.

[june2007]

It depended on the subject and the teacher. I hatetd it when teams were chosen as I was either last or second to last. I liked gymnastics and I like basket ball. But as a dyspraxic it wasn,t much fun. I liked hockey too but was rubbish.

[Doje]

I enjoyed PE at the time, especially netball which meant that I then went on to play it at uni and then again when I left uni. I found a club local to me and played there, and then again when I moved.

I mostly joined a club to make friends though, rather than to keep fit, so thankful for it for other reasons.

[CraftyGin]

We had PE in felt knickers, aertex shirt and bare feet all through school. It was a real bummer when we had a bomb scare in the snow.

Games, we had a pleated skirt and socks.

[rookiemere]

I hated PE so much. My worst memory was when the gym teacher put a load of effort into trying to get me to do shot putting- Even at that young age I could tell it was because I was fat/sturdy so she thought I might be good at it.

Weirdly I do a load of exercise now. I run 3-4 a week, do metafit classes and walk the dog daily - still a bit fat though . I'd have loved it at school if we had been able to to non competitive running or exercise classes.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Not 'torture', but certainly off putting, making me think 'sports' weren't for me at all.

[PuppyMonkey]

Torture, hideous memories and a lifelong hatred for all sport. Win.

[Terrace58]

Absolute torture and pointless.

Way too much emphasis on team sports and activities that require coordination. If the goal is a fit society, then there should be much more variety in activities with more emphasis on exercise that doesn’t require teamwork. That doesn’t mean they can’t include team sports, it just shouldn’t be 95% team sports.

[LuckyMum96]

@CraftyGin

We had PE in felt knickers, aertex shirt and bare feet all through school. It was a real bummer when we had a bomb scare in the snow.

Games, we had a pleated skirt and socks.

No shoes? Surely not for outdoors???

[Fizbosshoes]

I disliked pe and am awful at most ball games - so was never chosen for teams. I was however reasonable at netball and running but the teacher had written me off as a no hoper, so I never really got a chance to have a go at the things I was ok at, as she chose from the pool of sickenly annoying athletic type children who were good at everything and therefore known to her. The fact that we had to wear hideous pants for pe and the girls changing room was as far as possible from the outdoor pool so had to traipse across the school grounds in swimsuits and towels, was also humiliating and off putting. I didnt do any sport for about 6 years after leaving school but joined a gym and took up running in my early 20s.

[Snozzlemaid]

Torture. Gave me a life long hatred of sport and exercise.

[CaptainMyCaptain]

@CraftyGin

We had PE in felt knickers, aertex shirt and bare feet all through school. It was a real bummer when we had a bomb scare in the snow.

Games, we had a pleated skirt and socks.

Sounds like my era. Also the naked communal shower.

I hated it all but wpuld gave enjoyed aerobics (not invented then), pilates or yoga. I took up yoga myself in the 6th form and discovered I was actually very flexible when my pe teacher had told me I wasn't because I was rubbish at gymnastics.

[NannyR]

Hated it, I'm not naturally athletic and wasn't one of the more popular kids so I was practically last every week when it came to choosing teams, which was humiliating and demoralising. I quite liked doing aerobics and gymnastics type things but we rarely did those, instead it was team sports, week in, week out.

[janetmendoza]

Terrible and I play a lot of sports now. It didn't even occur to me that it had anything to do with fitness or health. I was given no idea whatsoever of how to join sports out of school. It had zero use for me and I certainly never did enough to have any bearing on my fitness. Honestly I would have been better served with discussions around local sports teams/ gyms/ athletic clubs/ bowling alleys even, than the ridiculous nonsense we used to partake in. We had 1.5 hours. We spent about 15 mins changing, then 20 mins on the bus getting to the field. We spent about 20 mins playing the sport (but mainly getting cold and bickering about teams) then the same in reverse.

[EasyLifer]

Torture. I never had any interest in sports or exercise and still don't now. Having to lug a heavy PE kit round school along with the usual school bag was a pain. Having to get changed into PE kit then get changed back into school uniform was a pain. Once I was dressed for the day I didn't like having to keep getting undressed and dressed again for something that seemed pointless!

[Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel]

Ritual torture and humiliation

The PE teacher was a bitch and loved bullying.

[Ohalrightthen]

I'm always astounded by how polarising PE seems to be. I didn't really enjoy it, but that's because I'm lazy. I didn't really enjoy maths either.

There was no humiliation or torture, we weren't forced to parade around in our knickers or watched in the showers (what the actual fuck), we had weather-appropriate clothing options and were never forced outside if it was grim. Everyone participated at their ability level and no one was pushed past their comfort zone.

Who the fuck was teaching you guys PE that it's had this psychological impact?

[BikeRunSki]

I was always active, and PE didn’t change that.
I am not fond of team sports though, I am far more about swimming (pool and wild), solo/social cycling, hillwalking, mountain biking etc. About to do an Archery course.

[UseOfWeapons]

Mixed feelings, tbh. Loved swimming, gymnastics, hockey...was pretty rubbish at everything else. Once I discovered the gym, and weight training at 18, I was in love!
Nearly 40 years later, I still love doing it, and the gym is one of my happy places. Love running and walking, but I think my lifelong love of exercise is due to my parents, and nothing to do with painful PE in the itchy underknickers, or freezing on a netball court.

[pinkbalconyrailing]

it was great.
I was able to try out a number of sports that I otherwise wouldn't have (parents don't exercise at all).
apart from the cooper test, which was torture for me, it was a chance to not be the worst in class for once.

[FreiasBathtub]

Torture. Wasn't until my twenties that I rediscovered ballet and my thirties that I discovered Pilates. Turns out I love using and strengthening my body. I just hated running around in the cold and rain hitting balls for no observable purpose against other girls who thought it was just about the most important thing in the world.

[1990shopefulftm]

I m Dyspraxic, it was mostly torture except the long distance running and badminton (only so much harm you can do with a shuttlecock).

[derxa]

Loved all of it