English track joins Chinese track to host annual Sports Day with exciting new changes
2019 marks the first year that the English and Chinese tracks are collaborating to organize the annual Sports Day. What changes might this bring about?
For the past several years, the annual Sports Day has been headed by the Chinese Track. The event consists of competitive sporting events and fun-filled, student-run booths that provide food, drinks, and games. For the first half of the day, students either roam around the booths or compete in events like the 400-meter dash, over-head throw, and high-jump. It is an event for students to take a break from academics to engage in physical exercise, and an opportunity for clubs to recruit new members while earning a profit for their club funds. A student favorite is definitely the relay run, in which boys and girls from each homeroom compete against each other for the award of a red banner to hang in their homerooms.
This year, the English Track is taking a substantive role in the planning of Sports Day. With this, there are going to be several new changes and additions. Alongside some of the usual sporting events, there will also be games such as tug-of-war, crab soccer, and dodgeball. When asked why the event will not include conventional team sports like basketball or soccer, PE department head Coach Derek Janssen said, “The whole premise is to not force students into doing anything that they aren’t comfortable doing…This is something different for students who might not be on a school sports team already so they can get some activity and a break from learning.”
Coach Derek added that Sports Day this year will attempt to “eliminate the loitering and waiting for events” and instead have homerooms go from one station to the next. In previous years, there would be a wait time for each event, resulting in some students waiting up to half an hour for their event to start.
As usual, there will still be club booths alongside the sport events. However, due to new school rules that prohibit the selling of homemade or unpackaged foods, these clubs will not be selling their usual snacks and drinks. Instead, clubs like Child Welfare Club, Think+, and STATCO will be hosting activities like Giant Cup Pong and the Pushup Challenge.
Sports Day has always had a fun, exciting atmosphere where students get to take a break from studying, relax with their friends, and engage in some healthy physical activity. This year, the English and Chinese track’s collaborative effort aims to accentuate that atmosphere by incorporating inclusive, fun-filled activities that students will remember for years to come.
Sports Day 2019 went off without a hitch! The day was an absolute success in seemingly every possible way. After an inspirational speech from Chancellor Flora Zhuang, the audience sat back to enjoy exhilarating student dance performances. Students cheered and whooped for their fellow classmates as they demonstrated their talent for expressing themselves through dancing.
It was a perfect day for outdoor activities, with almost no clouds amidst a blue sky to disrupt the sun’s rays. As the sound of the first airhorn ripped through the air, homerooms went off to their first team sports. Tug-of-war was definitely a crowd favorite. WenHei Wong (11A) affirmed, “Watching and cheering John [on] when he [played] tug-of-war was definitely really fun. When he won the one-on-one against GAP students, the English Track kids went crazy. It was like a mosh pit.” Homerooms each chose four boys and four girls to compete who gave it their all, trying to inch the rope over to their side. The airhorn blared across campus as homerooms shifted to their next activities.
After Tug-of-War, students played a slower paced game, Crab Soccer. Students spread out across the basketball courts, balancing on their palms and feet in a crab-like position, kicking and laughing as a couple of beach balls bounced around them. When the ball rolled into a goal, team members celebrated with playful cheers. This activity served as a fun break after the muscle-straining games of Tug-of-War.
Next, students were brought to the Shark Tank, where another popular activity was being held, Dodgeball. Colorful, spongey balls littered the gym floor. Boys and girls alike stood on both sides of the gym, crouched low in anticipation. The second the whistle blew, teams were racing to get the upperhand. Some balls flew way overhead, some bounced right off the floor, and some whammed into students with a satisfying smack. Fortunately, the plush, spongey dodgeballs weren’t as painful as they looked. The Shark Tank was filled with the sound of players yelling, “You’re out!” Those who were waiting on the sidelines to get brought back in yelled, “Catch a ball!” Teachers like Mr. Rob Luo, Mr. Will Zimmerer, and Dr. Peter Griffin joined in too, laughing as they pelted and got pelted by their pupils.
Meanwhile, club booths did a fantastic job of running activities and selling things to students taking a break from all the physical activity. Sharks lined up to get face paint at the HeforShe booth, Shark Tattoos at the CSC booth, and even hairspray at the FCC booth! Sharks were able to show off their Shark spirit in some pretty awesome ways!
Last, but certainly not least, there were the classic Sports Day track events. Students queued for sprints, dashes, overhead throws, long jumps, high jumps, and more. While participation seemed to be on the lower end, the students who signed up had a blast competing against their peers. Max Zhang (12B) cited the relentless support from the audience as his motivation to make his way across the finish line, saying that “I felt inspired and empowered when I heard my best friends calling out my name, so I pushed past my fatigue and left it all out on the track.” Ecstatic athletes posed for pictures on the pedestal with gold, silver, and bronze medals between their teeth. As always, Sharks sportsmanship really stood out as competitors congratulated each other on their victories.
There were a lot of changes this year in Sports Day as the English Track played a bigger role than before, and it wouldn’t have happened without a few especially hard-working, dedicated teachers. A special thank you to the PE department’s Derek Janssen, Paul Sun, Michael Zhao, and Revival Zhu for working tirelessly to bring such a joyful, active day to the SMIC-I community! Shark Scholar would also like to thank all the teachers, admin staff and everyone else that helped and participated to make it such a fun, successful day.
Featured Image—Freshmen give the Tug of War their all Courtesy of Benson Lin
by Brendan Wang