Are sports going backwards in this country?

G-MAN2004

G-MAN2004

G-MAN2004

Caporegime
Joined
4 Jul 2004
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Just looking through pictures on an old SD card I found, and they're of my little brother's recent 'sports day' at school, and what I discovered is that all of them get a little something for participating and that is all. No prizes or even recognition for coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

Now back when I was at that same school many years ago, the first three people to finish a race or whatever else used to get little medals with their position shown on it. The people following after 3rd place got nothing.

Is this how events like sports days, etc. will be at schools from now on/in the future? Instead of rewarding winners and runner ups and promoting competitiveness, we abolish that and reward everyone for fear of upsetting the 'losers'? Surely taking the competitive side out of sports as early on as school will mean less chance of people trying hard at them (no point if you're getting a medal anyway) and therefore creating less up and coming sports stars for the UK?

Edit... Oh, wrong forum. :p
 
It's probably as you said; so the fatties who suck at sports don't feel discriminated against. I was a beast in the beanbag throwing event, and the sack race.

A BEAST.
 
Only the first 3 got something in each any of the individual events at my boys primary school. that was this summer.
 
Only students who excel should be given such merit, surely?

In my opinion society should strive towards a meritocracy. Egalitarianism isn't a problem as long as it doesn't get in the way of the sublime - and when you start rewarding people for existing instead of excelling I think that is a problem.
 
mushroomsoup said:
Only students who excel should be given such merit, surely?

In my opinion society should strive towards a meritocracy. Egalitarianism isn't a problem as long as it doesn't get in the way of the sublime - and when you start rewarding people for existing instead of excelling I think that is a problem.
Click to expand...

Same could be said for company bonuses.
 
It's the taking part that counts and all that rubbish these days when it is in fact...

1st the worst, 2nd the best, 3rd the one with the hairy chest.
 
Everyone's little darlings are 'special'.

There way a story recently about a college rewarding their students for passing their exams - £500? I guess it's been mentioned once or twice on this forum.
 
Azza said:
It's the taking part that counts and all that rubbish these days when it is in fact...

1st the worst, 2nd the best, 3rd the one with the hairy chest.
Click to expand...

4th the golden eagle, 5th the dirty dustman :D

And let's not avoid 1st the worst with your zero the hero malarky!
 
G-MAN2004 said:
Just looking through pictures on an old SD card I found, and they're of my little brother's recent 'sports day' at school...
...
Click to expand...

Hang on- I was getting all dewy eyed with the thought of you looking at lost images on an old SD card you found - but the photos are of a recent event?
 
lol my sports day photos are on negative, the digital cameras of the time used floppies, SD cards weren't even invented yet, so :p ..oh wait :o
 
Last sports day i went to was my brothers back in primary school, bout 5 years ago.

Now, primary school level sports days should be fun, i get that, but there is still competition right? wrong... the whole event was the kids taking part in team games so no one was a winner or loser.

I kid you not.

On the upside the parents of the school were outraged and the next year was back to proper races and the like.

But yeah, its not sport so much as kids being allowed to compete. It's utterly ridiculous to hide them from it, competing with each other is what humans do naturally, and where better to learn how to be good at it than school surrounded by lots of other kids??
 
The three-legged race was my speciality. Never quite mastered the technique required for the sack race though.

Too much competition at a young age is just as bad as too little. For example, in football we see stronger or taller kids selected ahead of more skilful but physically weaker players. This tends to have a calamitous effect later on when we're left with a team of lumbering donkeys.
 
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