Sports Day

Every year, towards the end of the 4th term, all the kids are bussed to the local sports arena, where games are held. Not long ago, we attended the competition and as usual, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

In the past, when both boys were younger, the games took place only in the morning and were done by noon. Now that Amiri is year 4, his games extended a bit longer. So we brought along lunches and made a day of it. 

Some of Arram's events were on our side of the field, but Amiri's for the most part were at such a distance that taking pictures didn't show much detail, like which kid was him. That's always a drawback!

Still, maybe you can get a feel for the event from the shots I do have. It's meant to be a fun day, where  trying hard is more important than winning, although certificates are given for the top finishers of each event and in each age group. 

Arram had a special thrill. For the first time, he won 1st place in the 6 year old boys' vortex throw. The vortex is made of dense foam and looks like a cross between a javelin and a rocket ship. 

Enjoy the pictures. 

This is the Trusts Arena. The stands and track are behind it and to the right. 

We give blood regularly on the second floor. 

This is the end view of the building. We're on our way over to the covered stands.

We got to the stands fairly early. Not many kids here yet. We're only about two miles from Summerland so when the busses start arriving, it fills up quickly.

We spotted Amiri and he spotted us, shortly after his class arrived.  

Amiri looks confident and relaxed here, as he waits for his group to be called for another event. 

Arram is finishing his 60 yard sprint. This shot makes it look like he came in first, but there were others just ahead. He was disappointed not to have won this race but his vortex win brightened his day again.

There are approximately 680 kids in Summerland Primary so it's not easy to be number one, even just among the 6 year old boys. 

As I said, many of the events were at quite a distance from the stands. Here, I walked down to the the end of the stands to take this shot of Amiri and zoomed in. That's a shot put he has just hoisted. 

As usual, I was impressed with how organized each event was. They had enough volunteers to insure that the age groups stayed together and moved efficiently from event to event. There was time given of course for morning tea and for lunch. There was even time for the youngest competitors to take a 1/2 hour off and play on the very complete playground that is available on the far side of the running track. 

For the benefit of both the kids and the parents watching from the stands, an announcer boomed out instructions, information and results as the day progressed. 

All the kids made it back to school with about 10 minutes to spare before the bell rang, ending another day at Summerland.            -djf