Thinking sports day is awful

[Toarrie]

First experience of sports day and honestly isn’t it just awful for the children who aren’t fast runners? They have to run in front of loads of parents but schools wouldn’t dare making slow learners read to loads of parents.
Trying to console a very upset 5 year old who can’t understand why they don’t do competitions for the things they are good at.

now I completely understand not everyone can win but our school didn’t even do races by ability so put in 1 very slow runner with 4 that represent the school competitively

Have you not had a Nativity play yet? Or any kind of concert? Or even a class assembly? I am sure your DC will get a chance to shine at something.

Can't understand this down on sports day really. My DD wasn't at all gifted at sporting events. Never won a race in her life. But she lived sports day because it was different and fun and Mum and Dad turned up to watch and, win or lose, she just enjoyed it.

My kids school used to do different events, but then they expanded the school and lost half the field. Now it's all running races and my DD isn't fast at all and always comes last and then bursts into tears (she's 8) it sucks

@SouthLondonMum22

Think we will agree to disagree

Why is that more humiliating than being the dyslexic child who always gets zero in spelling or being the child who never gets the pen licence?

Both of these also 'happen in front of everyone' when you are in a school which gives out academic awards frequently.

Exactly - let the non sporty kids carry the clipboards and stopwatches and do the scoring, or cheerleading, or giving out the drinks etc. I would’ve loved that and actually looked forward to sports day instead of dreading the humiliation the whole summer term.

There are lots of sports that aren't running. We did athletics on sports day such as the long jump and discus.

No concert. Parents not invited to assembly. Nativity parts given to approx 5 of the older class. Term is almost over so the only chance to shin in front of parents in their first year at school is sports day

A child can feel humiliated no matter how much a parent tells them that it's ok to lose, especially if it's every single time.

Some children are also not academic AND not sporty.

Sporty kids can excel with sports day, I just wouldn't have the competitive racing be compulsory.

Because spelling and writing and academia is what school is there for. It’s not a sports academy.

I was elated at the end of my last ever sports day attendance. It was always boring and fairly chaotic and a royal pain in the arse if you had multiple children competing a different ends of a field at the same time!
Hours of my life that I'll never get back.
Just have a fun day in school with games and fun. No parents required!

Ah so if a child is not academic they should never have the chance to shine?

Lovely.

That's entirely what is wrong with our schooling system in a nutshell.

Im so glad I was a child in the 80’s, thankfully parents then saw sports day as a bit of fun as did all the kids.

the worlds going mad!

my son wasn’t very sporty, would never have won a running race but won chess competitions and Maths quizzes, which were played/performed in front of parents. All children have different amazing qualities and should be encouraged that takin part is all part of the fun, not fussed over because they don’t like it or don’t win!

life isn’t fair at times, it’s a good lesson to learn.

Exactly. In my own school as well as my daughter's schools the sporty kids were also often academic.

My own daughter really likes sports day though 🤷‍♀️ she sees it as a fun day (she's 13)

No wonder we have such a problem with obesity when everyone is on a.downer about sport. It's just fun!

A child can feel humiliated no matter how much a parent tells them that it's ok to lose, especially if it's every single time.

Same if they get zero in a spelling test every week despite trying and trying to get at least one right.

Some children are also not academic AND not sporty.

Of course but it's not a race to the bottom is it? Surely if a child is good at something that's not academic they should be encouraged and allowed to actually excel at something?

It seems to be a race to the bottom.

No child should feel humiliated at school. The argument seems to be, well, because this child feels humiliated then this child should also feel humiliated.

I've said several times now that I don't think sports day should be scrapped, I understand how important it is to some children. I just don't believe the competitive racing should be compulsory. The sporty children can still shine.

At my children's school their is a real sense of community and everyone supporting and cheering on each other's kids - the children who come last are just as likely to be cheered and get a well done as the children who win

I've said several times now that I don't think sports day should be scrapped, I understand how important it is to some children. I just don't believe the competitive racing should be compulsory. The sporty children can still shine

I get what you are saying but if all the kids who won't win can opt out it's hardly a race is it? So you are not giving those kids a chance to shine at all.

It's not a win if you are running on your own with no one to race against!

😅

Usually at least several children are sporty. They can race, it would be more competitive and I'm assuming more fun than beating the child they were always going to beat.

Or they could have timed races behind closed doors and then the children with the fastest times could compete against each other in front of parents.

The purpose of sport in school should be to create a populace that desires to be active and fit. physical education classes and sports days as currently designed tend to do the exact opposite, cementing a hatred of exercise among a substantial portion of the students. The fact that some children are discouraged by sports days isn’t just disappointing, it is a public health issue. No one needs to win a race, but everyone does need to be active.

It sounds a badly designed sports day to me. At my kids’ school there is a huge array of races from the simple run to ridiculous ones that involve trying to fill a massive bin with water using a tiny cup. They also “seed” the running races so that one race has all the faster runners in and one has slower runners in. So no one wins (or loses) by too much.

Like you said they wouldn't do it for academic stuff so why is it okay to humiliate children who aren't fast runners

I'm sure many children feel humiliation and shame when they come bottom of their weekly spelling or timestable tests, repeatedly.

That seems like a lot of bother because your child doesn't like to lose a race?

Once they've got rid of pen licences, SATS, weekly prizes for best piece of work in assembly and all of the other things that non academic children struggle with then I'll support you on hidden times and opting out of sports day.

From reading all your posts the school sounds a bit shit. No end of term assemblies, no other means of recognition, and a crappy sports day. I’d be speaking to whoever is in charge of PE and making suggestions of how to improve it.

At our school they do about ten events in rotation and the kids can choose which ones they enter, I think they all have to pick between two and five events. There are some running races, a couple of bean bag throwing things, egg n spoon, sack race, and others including the silly walk competition. The kids love it, loads of parents attend, and they sell drinks and ice creams to raise funds for sports equipment.

Speak to school. If they’re not willing to make it more inclusive, contact the governors.