Sorry, no pictures for this blog due to the school rules on sharing student's pictures online. I have some fun ones too.
On October 13th, classes were cancelled for the yearly sports day
at school. The closest thing I can compare it to is field day from middle
school, but in reality sports day here is a whole different beast. A staple of
Japanese education, sports day has many activities revolving around teamwork.
My school's was delayed until this month due to bad weather, but it normally
takes place at the end of summer. Honestly this time of year was better because
it was not 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity.
The day occurred entirely on the school field, which had been
converted into a large track. Here all the classes competed against each other
in various relays and events. Each class
had their own tent, jerseys, and team flags designed by the students themselves.
A lot is invested in this event, with many parents as well as principals from
other schools spectating throughout the day.
The day started with a warm up, which was synced to a rather
cheerful song played over the loud speakers. I thought this was really neat and
pretty practical. Both teachers and students followed along, and I remember our
principal being particularly spry during the warm up to my surprise.
Shortly thereafter, the games began. My sports day was
particularly relay heavy, with different kinds of relays throughout the day.
One amusing relay was the obstacle relay, which had students run the track and
at one point crawl under a net, roll in a cardboard box wheel, find candy in a
bowl of flour without their hands, and end with hopping a vault barrier. Another relay had students pick up a card and
find the person whose name was on it, and run a lap around the track with them.
Sometimes the cards were not names, but descriptions. One poor soul drew the
card reading "beautiful girl".
He just stood there distraught at having to make such an opinionated
choice in front of the whole school. I
had the pleasure of running 4 times due to being chosen both for my actual card
(ALT) as well as a couple of the descriptive cards.
The later relays provided more amusement, with the club relays
being less about winning the relay and apparently being more about showmanship.
The students were required to run with some item representing their club, and
many opted for impractical items. While the basketball players dribbled a ball
around the track, the cycling club just brought their road bike to the track,
which did not work out too well on loose dirt. The tennis team juggled a tennis
ball on their racket for all the laps, ending with the last lap being taken by
the ball boy pushing a whole cart of tennis balls as fast as he could. It did
not end well.
The non running around related activity was a class jump rope
contest. Apparently the school decided having 40 vs. 40 tug-o-war was a bit
dangerous. Instead each class had to jump a giant rope in unison and try to get
the most successful jumps in a row. Amazingly classes were breaking into the
teens and 20s.
While all of the events were the same for both boys and girls,
there was one game saved solely for the guys. Two teams of 10 students stood in
end zones, with a row of tires in the center of the field. The goal was for
students to take as many tires as they could to their side. When the gun fired,
they rushed each other, colliding head on and grappling as tight as they good
to the tire. The start was quick, with a couple groups getting their tires
early. This lead to a massive ruck over the last tire, with all 20 students vying
for a single tire, yanking each other and dragging themselves across the
ground. I give props to one student in particular who managed to win by himself
against 3 other students pulling the opposite way... although at one point he
kicked someone in the face, and I guess that's where they drew the line for
this activity.
Next was the centipede relay, where the entire class binds their
feet together and they all attempt to march in a row around the field. Some
teams were incredibly impressive,
reaching jogging paces, and other teams... not so much. The brave souls
who were in the front of the centipede would constantly be tripped, fall on
their face, and then get crushed by 10 other students. Yet they would get right
back up and keep trudging along.
Sports day ended with a more serious relay of the highest scoring
classes running against one another (how the scores were tallied remains a
mystery to me).
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