The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Pandemic presents hurdles for school sports days
School athletic meets and sports fest ivals have changed drastically as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Some schools have held events behind closed gates, not allowing parents or visitors to attend, and others have reduced the number of events to limit contact among students.
Although the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has called for local governments to carry out the events to the fullest extent possible because they are part of the school curriculum, some municipalities have been forced to cancel events altogether.
An announcement echoed through the grounds of Kuroiso Junior High School in Nasu- Shiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, on Sept. 5, advising participants to “return to the tent after washing and disinfecting your hands.”
The annual sports festival was delayed for three months because of coronavirus-related school closures.
To avoid situations involving closed spaces, crowded places and close- contact settings, several events were altered.
The number of competitors in the tug-of-war contest was reduced and the gap between participants was 1.5 meters wider than usual.
Other team events such as “human centipede” races and “cavalry battles” were canceled, and only third-year junior high school students were allowed to invite visitors, with a limit of two per household.
Visitors were required to register in advance after confirming their health status.
“I didn’t think there would be any events this year, so I’m very happy,” said the third-year student head of the sports festival’s organizing committee.
“We wanted to allow the students to have the sports festival to make up for how much they’ve had to endure in their daily school lives,” said Hideaki Yamamoto, the school’s assistant principal.
According to a survey carried out by the education ministry in June, 97% of the boards of education that underwent school closures said that they would reexamine events such as sports festivals and school excursions.
As the infections have yet to subside and the middle of the school year is approaching, those involved are struggling with whether to put importance on “making school memories” or “infection risk aversion.”
Numakage Elementar y School in Saitama has plans to halve the scale of its sports festival to be held on Oct. 16.
Parents and guardians will not be allowed to attend, and children will not participate in events that involve lots of physical contact or yelling and chanting.
“There is still the educational benefit of exchange between students of different grades,” said Principal Takashi Uchida when asked why the event is still being held this year amid the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Matsudo municipal government in Chiba Prefecture has canceled all sporting events at elementary and junior high schools this school year to secure the school hours that have been lost as a result of temporary closures.
“It would not be acceptable to have some schools [hold the events] while others don’t,” a board official said.
Yutaka Naganuma, a Gakushuin University professor, said, “I think it’s a good opportunity to review the contents of these events, as they have become more cumbersome over the years.”