School Sports

Dear Blog,

Did I mention that I went to watch my granddaughter’s sports last week and my grandson’s this week? The former’s sports followed the same format as last year. If you recall when I wrote to you at the time, that the event was criticised in the local press because it did not follow the traditional routine practiced by schools for generations, no ‘proper’ races as such, but a variety of events which to the writer had no sense or purpose. The traditional races were no longer run. Needless to say I wrote a letter to the local newspaper pointing out that the pupils had a dozen events to complete throughout the afternoon, all involving strenuous activity and covert competition … and more importantly, the children enjoyed what they were doing. After all, ‘traditional events’ are those which were in vogue at some distant time in the past. It would have been just as valid to have adopted traditional events such a peanut pushing with the nose, handstand racing or four legged races rather than trying to get as high as possible using a bendy stick, or chucking a cannon ball about which is what we do now; and further to my argument, traditional Olympic events such as standing long jump, putting the weight for height or throwing the 56lb shot haven’t survived. The journalist who was so critical of the school’s policy towards sports day seems to have departed the local rag; I do hope that I had some small hand in his relocation. Anyways …. I was flattered on Monday to be invited into the school to present the sports day prizes, the categories were not only for team physical prowess but for various attitudes shown by the children during the afternoon, determination, enthusiasm, self-belief etc. When asked to attend, I was told that the school also hoped to have an Olympic Torch Bearer to be in attendance with a torch. Now asking two people to perform a similar task at events such as speech day, sports day presentation etc. is a recipe for disaster. Without prior cooperation, it is often an embarrassment for all concerned. Having witnessed some of the torchbearers, I went into school on Monday in my posh Olympic uniform, full of foreboding, not least because of the nagging question as to how the school had obtained the services of a torch bearer so soon after the event, the relay tasking place locally leaving Coventry that morning, having arrived the previous evening. I tried to prepare for the looming calamity by trying to think what I might speak to the pupils about if the other invited guest had bored them because they were not used to talking to young children as a group. Flexibility Colin, flexibility. Lateral thinking Colin, lateral thinking. Waiting in school reception, I could just make out the torchbearer signing in at the office; it was only when she came through the door that I saw that it was Sheila Carey, Olympian from 1968 and 1972, and club mate at Godiva Harriers!!! She had taught at a special school for many years. Needless to say we knew each other. So comment that the morning presentation went well is an understatement. She talked about Olympic sport, I talked about the children’s’ sports … then Sheila had each class line up and pass the torch to each other relay fashion, along the line. Brilliant. Each pupil having the memory of holding a real Olympic torch. Brilliant. Two Olympians in a small school at the same time. Unique in Coventry?? The only downside was that parents weren’t invited. They would have been impressed Blog; Impressed with a capital ‘I’. After assembly, we both went to talk to the reception class which was rather sweet … again it went very well indeed.

At my grandson’s sports day, despite being warned to be less competitive, the assistants pushing the wheelchairs showed more competitive spirit than was witnessed at last week’s European Championships. I swear thatsome of those wheelchairs were on a single wheel, screeching round the cones in the school yard. The skill in the beanbag relay was impressive, but the parents doing the welly wanging had not been doing any serious training judging by the distances thrown. An opening for me to do some coaching for future events methinks?

How’s my trudging going I hear you ask, Blog. Well I shall report next time how I got on in a couple of treadmill sessions. I suppose I have told you about my treadmill experiences Blog? Investigations for a chest problem, I was required to do a treadmill run for a period of time as fast as the machine would go at maximum incline at the local hospital. The specialist admitted that the results only went to show that as a trained athlete I was in the 99.5% percentile and no conclusions could be drawn as there was insufficient data available from that section of the population to determine whether a problem existed or not!!!!!!!!! GREAT!!!!!! My other story dates from the time when running machines were making their debut on the world market back in the 60s. There was a craze to adopt record achievements on them; world record 800 metres, fastest ever 440 yards etc. and the quest to become the first 4 minute miler. Derek Ibbotson, Olympic medallist and former world record holder for the mile, set at the White City I think, told me that the secret of tread mill running was to set the speed faster than you could run, or if you wanted to beak a record, set the machine at record breaking speed and then run fast, exaggerating and over striding but with the aim of keeping off the ground as long as possible on each stride …. In other words, literally letting the machine take the strain, letting the treadmill do the work! Now is that clever, or is that clever? Do you remember Blog that another all-consuming craze at that time was parlaff / parloff / parlauf running. Or are you too young? And the discussion as to which was the most effective in races, to do 220 reps with a jog across the middle of the track or to do 440s with a 440 recovery. Now that was hard training Blog. Hard with a capital ‘H’. …. Shall I say more in my next letter Blog??? Or am I boring????

Now I have got to pop down to the estate workshops to see how the final preparations for this village scarecrow competition are progressing.

                                       Colin