A sizzling showdown
Our reader revels in the fanfare of the Annual Sports Day at her children’s school, and all that it symbolises.
THE annual School Sports Day is an event my family always looks forward to. As a parent, I have watched the children grow up, from cheeky little seven-year-olds to 12-year-olds with mind-blowing speed on the humble tracks. Some have such promising talent that it’s a delight to watch them sprint through like Olympic athletes in the making. And at the finishing line, the dramatic moment is celebrated with much joy.
This year, I had mixed feelings when I was at the lively field once again. Coincidentally, it was also the last day of the Commonwealth Games happening on a grand scale Down Under. Over here, little budding athletes were all gearing up for the biggest showdown of the year. As for my youngest daughter, this will be the last one for the Standard Six school leavers to compete for the medals, and the coveted Sportsboy and Sportsgirl of the Year awards.
For me, it also means the end of the primary school Sports Day where kids, in all their cuteness and with miniscule traces of baby fat, still want their parents to come and see them compete. I don’t know if my presence is welcome next year in secondary school, but there seems to be a glimmer of hope because she wants me to be there to capture her on camera. “Ambik gambar tau, video pun.”
(“Take photos, ok? Video, too.”) Ah, kids these days and their documented memories which could take a lifetime to scroll through.
So, for the much-anticipated day, I made a mental note to take in every moment. And silently thanked the teachers who had their hands full the past few weeks, training and preparing the children for the event.
Foot-tapping songs were blaring through giant speakers, and the soft morning sun grew more fierce by the hour.
The march-past was oh-socute, with some accessories and a gimmick thrown in as they paused in front of the VIP tent. Out came some bunga-bunga silat to the beat of M. Nasir’s Mentera Semerah Padi, and some self-composed fight songs that echoed through the field. Thrown in were some slick hip-hop dance moves, and the little cheerleaders completely thrilled the crowd with their performance.
The real show commenced next. From the 100m sprint to the sensational 4x100m relays, kids of all ages put up a grand show of grit and power. Despite being fatigued and dehydrated by the extreme heat, they pushed themselves a bit more, and were cheered on by everyone.
My daughter Amy was part of the quartet for the relay, and together with her teammates, did an excellent job of delivering a gold to Purple House! Kudos to the girls, and their last runner who never disappoints, year after year, with a heart-thumping speed to the finishing line in the sprint events, thus named the Sportsgirl of the Year!
What’s a Sports Day without some fun runs to exhibit the camaraderie between teachers and parents? My daughter had been pestering me to take part since early this year.
“This will be your last fun run here, mum,” she reasoned. OK, kid, I’ll just run with my shades on, so no one will recognise this aged C3PO duplicate in the field. It doesn’t help to know that I’d be running in a team that includes the headmaster himself. But what a run it was, because we all tried hard to put aside our veteran ages and bring back our 12-year-old selves, which placed us second on the podium! Phew! (My daughter later told me that the runner who handed the baton to me was the school’s athletics coach.)
Even the ex-students were not left out. I turned to my eldest, Ani, to which she just shook her head non-stop. “No way, mum!” Though never keen in sports, The Super Obedient One did run, albeit with much hesitation, groans and grumbles, but what was amazing was that her former teachers cheered her on, right to the finishing line.
What about the doting dads there? Well, they had a great time with a show of might, in the ever-popular tug of war. My other half hesitated, but Miss Persistent Pester, Amy, got him picking up the rope, once and for all. And who were the bunch of young-at-heart dads against? The ex-students who are now 14- to 16-year-olds!
We thought this was going to be easy, but it was a really close fight that brought the house down. Yes, there was a tie-breaker, and when the final whistle blew, the boys (the younger ones) leapt for joy. Then the secret was let out during the victory ceremony: “Eh, ayah dia tolong tarik belah sana!” (“His dad secretly joined the boys’ end of the rope and helped them!”) It was all part of the fun, and dads were more than willing to let their sons taste victory. Dads are the synonym for sacrifice, or so the boys concluded, as they pocketed the small token for their win.
It was way past 1 o’clock in the blistering afternoon, when Orange House was announced the overall champion. One of their golden boys, who’s also the winner of the 200m sprint at the district level, delivered numerous gold medals in sprints and jumps, and rightfully bagged the Sportsboy of the Year award.
As the speakers blasted out Queen’s We Are The Champions, the crowd gave a thunderous applause to the winning team.
When it came to a close, we walked towards the gate with a heavy heart, but with so much satisfaction to see our children’s and their friends’ love for sports, right from the gruelling heats weeks before, right until the grand Annual Sports Day. Ah, there is still so much to celebrate, as evident from the kids’ enthusiasm at every sports day.