School Sports
Education should mean the training of all the powers of a person-not only of his mind, but also of his moral nature and his body. So in a good school, there is not only the course of studies to draw out students’ intelligence and to give them necessary knowledge, but also discipline and give moral teaching, and physical training. Physical training takes the form of drills, and athletic sports and games. The games played are football, hockey, cricket, and tennis: physical drill consists of gymnastics and other exercises; the athletic sports are racing, jumping, putting the weight, throwing the cricket ball, and others.
Most schools hold annual sports tournaments or competitions; and these are very useful, for they encourage a spirit of healthy rivalry among the students and teach them the spirit of true sportsmanship. The competition is all the healthier when it is not between individual students but between the school hostels, or classes, or tutorial groups.
Besides football, hockey, and cricket matches, the school sports tournaments consist of various kinds of races, different kinds of jumps (the long jump, the high jump, and the pole jump), putting the weight, throwing the hammer or the cricket ball, the tug of war, and gymnastic exercises. Besides these, comic items the sack-race, egg-and-spoon, and potato races are also introduced
The annual school sports tournament is a great day in the school year and helps to foster true school esprit de corps.
Manly games not only make students strong and active, but they are also a fine training of moral character. For one thing, they teach is discipline, because every game has its rules which must be obeyed or the game goes to pieces. So in playing cricket and football, students learn to obey rules and to submit to the referee’s ruling without question. They also give students a sense of honour; for unfair play is severely punished by the students themselves. They also teach one to honour a good foe, to praise when one does well, and to keep a temper when beaten.
