St Patrick's Sports Day

February 15, 2016 was St Patrick's Sports Day at the Ursuline Convent field. Students and parents were invited to take part in the annual sports day event. We arrived on time, among the first. I did not attend the whole competition because of work. I had planned meetings and important office hours I was unable to change. So I spent almost three hours at the site and watched all the first races. These kinds of activities can be joyful or frustrating. Joyful if you win and frustrating if you lose. It was really painful for me to see 3-4 children cry because they did not win. Others did not understand the rules and ran in the opposite direction. A boy was disappointed that instead of hearing a gunshot, he heard a whistle; hence he missed the starting seconds. Another one was beaten by his mother who became ashamed that her son lost the race and arrived last. Instead of admitting that there is always a winner and a loser in a competition, those children had to learn the hard way. Some others just accepted what happened and courageously promised to do better next time. It was interesting to see how passionate and excited parents and children were: they shouted to encourage the kids, applauded, laughed and had fun. Chrystelle participated in four competitions and won three trophies. She was very happy. I was told that her brother Claver on the other hand, did none and did not obtain any trophy. He pretended that his name did not appear on the list and he was therefore not called to join the lines. But even when his mother complained, he refused to join the lines; maybe because his sister had already won trophies and he feared to lose. Maybe... maybe... It was shortly before 10.20 when I left the sports field. What a great day for Chrystelle!