Sports Day 2021
On Thursday 21st October, Dulwich International High School Suzhou held its annual sports day!
Sport at Dulwich is a vitally important part of the House System and this year, Sports day was an integral part of the House Spirit Week. Sporting participation and our house system with active competition encourages leadership and showcases the importance of sportsmanship. Sporting Competition, in the context of the house system, allows our students to experience and celebrate success and achievement, while also learning how to lose with dignity. On sports day all of these elements come together when the whole school joins in and takes part.
In the morning the school split into two groups. The serious athletes all headed over to the nearby Suzhou High School Athletics track for the qualifying rounds of the Track and Field events. The remaining students all competed in a range of fun competitive activities in the gym. However, before the competitive fun activities started, our teams were fired up with a strong dose of house spirit and were taught motivational call and response chants!
After this, the fun activities were as follows:
1 Group Hoop Race
In the group Hoop race, competitors from each house formed a line together by holding hands, while trying to pass a hula hoop down the line and back in the quickest possible time. The important thing is that the line must not be broken at any stage. This resulted in some of our nimbler students turning into contortionists as they tried to get through the hoop as quickly as possible!
2 Over and Under
This is an activity that requires both coordination and speed. Each team forms a line. The person at the front of each team passes a ball over their head to the person directly behind them. The person receiving the ball then passes it between their legs to the person behind them, who then passes the ball over their head to the person behind them. This process then repeats until the ball reaches the last person in the line, who then sprints with the ball to the front of the line, starting the whole process again. The race continues until the person who was originally at the front of the line is back standing at the front of the line.
3 The Hamster
The Hamster was a new game introduced for the very first time this year. Students work together to move in a colorful cloth “Hamster wheel” from one end of the gym to the other in the fastest possible time. It sounds simple but coordinating all those arms and legs together is a real challenge!
4 Dodgeball
Dodgeball is a firm favorite with staff and students alike and needs no further explanation. Suffice it to say, balls were thrown with grit and determination on all sides and the dodging competition was fierce!
Meanwhile over at the Athletics Track…
While all these fun activities were taking place at our school, Athletes from each of our four houses were competing in earnest in the heats over at the Suzhou High School Athletics track.
In the afternoon, all staff and students made their way over to the Suzhou High School Athletics track, for the finals of all the track events as well as the tug of war. The tug of war is one of the highlights of sports day, as it is an event that staff as well as students participate in. Everyone takes it very seriously indeed…
This was followed by the Staff 4 x 100-meter race. There is an incredibly fierce level of competition between members of staff in the 4 x 100 meter race.
Throughout the afternoon, medals were awarded to our victorious athletes in both track and field events. The scores were added up and totaled, double checked and recounted. The winning house ribbons were tied on to the trophy cup…
Finally, it was determined that the winner of the Dulwich International High School Suzhou Sports Day 2021 was… Mandela House!
This was a well-deserved victory for Mandela, however, all our houses competed with great spirit and an overriding sense of sportsmanship throughout the day. The students that participated in the fun activities in the morning provided the backbone of house spirit for their respective houses in the afternoon. All our staff and students had a wonderful day that they won’t forget!
