AIBU to want to never have Sports Day in my school?

[MushroomSoup]

I hate it! Everyone argues over whether it should be competitive, non-competitive, individual, team-based, multiskills, athletics - ARRRGH!
As a parent I hate it too. Sat for THREE hours this year while DC4 ran in ONE 30 second race and then sat opposite me, bored and occasionally waving, for 2 hours and 59 and a half minutes!

YANBU sports day sucks and if DDs dont want to go i keep them off.

Do you keep them off if they don't want to do maths?

And OP - it seems to me that your sports day is just badly organised.

What's organised to you, Nanny?

I'm not a huge fan of sports day, but my dc aren't sporty. It's done well at our school, with team based fun events and everyone does a sprint race. It's nice to have an event where children from all the different year groups are onthe same team and are supporting each other.

And I'm not saying there shouldn't be sport. I'd rather have tournaments and matches all year round rather than one sports day a year that's impossible to get right for everyone.

Is it really that hard to get right? As long as its well planned it should be a fun day for everyone!

Mushroomsoup - our SD is like Outraged's. There are different events, the children go round in groups, there is lots to watch and it isn't only for the athletes.
Our PTA supply a cream tea too, which is also very popular.

Ah but Nanny, I've done it like that and I've had complaints from parents who want it more competitive. Grrrr

"sports day " got rained off, but children ran some novelty races on the playground in the rain with no parents watching...
They also went to a mini Olympics event at secondary school ( on a different but equally wet) day and did lots of "have a go" sessions in different sports. Again- no parents watching.

One of my DC's school have two. They have a traditional one where races are run and they also have a fun sports day. For the fun sports each class go round the field doing silly games like running in wellies or having to fill a bucket with the most water using a cup and a tennis racquet.

IME not many parents come and watch when it is non competitive - it's like watching a PE lesson.

We had far more come this year when we did a Y1 competitive sport's day. But it only lasted an hour or so, all children took part in at least 3 or 4 races, there were stickers for everyone as well as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd place stickers, there was a picnic at the end and parents could chose to stay or not, it was well organised and ran smoothly so each race was one after the other, and we had a mix of different types of races. Noone was forced to take part but they were encouraged to take part. Everyone cheered for each other and there were no tears from any of the 90 fine and six years olds involved.

We have mixed age House team races first, so a child from each of Reception,Yr 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 in the same team running a relay against 3 other teams of the same. Some are quite funny |( Reception to yr 6 children sharing the same sack or skipping rope!) and the littlies are helped along by the older ones!
After around 5/6 of these ( so each child is in at least 2 of them), we move onto the "flat" races which are out and out competitive, each year group has a boys and girls race ( sometimes we have a fast heat and a slow heat if there are too many!). Then the parents/teachers/toddlers/newbies races, all followed by cream teas and ice pops!

Attendance is HUGE!

I am a TA and it's a nightmare. The kids love it but the problem is parents shouting at staff that they have the winning places wrong. Its horrible and no one wants to be on the finish line next year cos of the hassle. Shame for the kids really that the parents can't just sit and enjoy.

YANBU. Sports days are just sooooooo damn boring. 3 hours of bilge just to see you own child run a 30 sec race. I also hate the fact that everything is crammed into the last two weeks of term. Yr 6 production (x 2 nights), sports days (x2), new school parents' eve, head's leaving assembly, achievement assembly, leavers' church service, Yr 6 evening bowling trip 12 miles away.......... Thank God for the summer hols.

Mushroom Soup - it is still competitive.
Children are awarded points for their result for each event, (between 1 - 5) which is recorded on a spreadsheet.
They are all in houses, so there is a winning house, and a first, second and third girl and boy winner for each year group (24 children).
And they compete in twos for each event, so it's not humiliating for a child trailing hours behind the others; if it's a timed event (racing, obstacle course etc) they're competing against the clock.

Works really well.

It rained, both the Primary and Secondary fields were waterlogged.

I cheered, DD1 cheered, DD2 was total unfussed and her DF was delighted.
DF is a very very good runner, but hates everyone looking at her.

My dc's school sounds similar to NannyOgg's - they all move round different activities, and points are scored throughout (including fair play points apparently) and at the end someone does some magical calculation, and in the next Friday Assembly they announce which 'house' has won.

I really don't get this dislike of competitive sports tbh.

I've experienced sports day in several different primary schools. When my eldest was little they had non competitive sports day. What is the point?

I've just been to DC5's first sports day and it was very well organised. They don't have Houses but had split the school into 7 Country teams and asked each team to wear a different colour t shirt (USA was white, China red etc). They had 6 activities set out and each team had a certain amount of time on each then they moved round.

Activities were a 400 m run, an obstacle course, a shot put (with bean toys), egg and spoon, long jump, throwing balls in a bucket, and points were awarded for 1st and 2nd for each heat. It meant the children were all doing something all the time with nobody standing around bored.

They finished with a 100m sprint run in several heats for each year group. They'd cleverly split each year group into fast runners and slow runners so the fast ones got to properly compete while the slower ones weren't all left trailing along at the back.

The children were very competitive but I was very impressed with some of the older girls. On the 400m the spectators were yelling at one girl to run and she said no, her friend had a stitch and was crying, so she was walking with her with her arm around her. In the final sprint a disabled girl was being supported by her friend and they came last together amid much cheering.

All the children seemed to really enjoy the day, even those like my DD without an athletic bone in her body. Yet I'd have been the first to call for sports day to be banned.