Oh my GOD!! Conkers or Bonkers?

[Dinger]

Originally Posted by Bren Tierney

Bollocks.

That says it all Chief

Dinger

[HelenM]

Originally Posted by Porg

I used to hate sports day. It was yet another opportunity for people to be cruel and for the same people to bask in the glory.

Really? I used to love them. Not because it was an opportunity to be cruel at all, but because I loved sports at school in pretty much all of their guises (with the exception of lacrosse, which is just a) stupid and b) licensed GBH ). It's a love that has carried on well into adulthood as well.

The ability to win and lose as gracefully as possible, the need to try my absolute hardest - and the knowledge that losing when not having done so was incredibly hard to deal with, an absolute hatred of injustice, personal responsibility and the importance of not letting your mates down - these were all lessons which I first learnt on sports fields of one kind or another. I could list any number of others too.

I have any number of incredibly happy memories associated with team (and individual) sports; a PB in a high jump competition, cleaning up at badminton and swimming tournaments, football and hockey matches won - and the aftermath of those; the smell of ralgex in bubbly and excitable changing rooms; the joys of a hot bath when you've been playing football or hockey for 90 mins in icy freezing rain! All these sit alongside harder moments - limping out of an 800m race feeling I should have won it, stuffing up a swimming race - knowing that if it had been 10m longer... ;going out of the UK university football tournament in the semis (what a killer!); wrecking my knee playing badminton and wondering if I'd be able to play this game that I loved ever again - and many others

Sports of all kinds have made me some wonderful friends and given me memories to treasure - I'm sure that they will continue to do so. I can't express what a shame I think it is that the elements of competition are now deemed to 'damage' children. Far more damaging - in my view - for them never to know the joy of doing your absolute best, the despair of defeat, and the need to pick yourself up and try again. It's such an essential preparation for life!

If you want a more articulate version of what I have just written, go and read Pat Conroy's autobiographical 'My Losing Season' - a very compelling account of what a sport (basketball) meant to him as both a young man and it's resonances in adulthood. It's a really honest account of his limitations as an athlete combined with his absolute passion for the game....it struck more than a few chords with me!

H

[Finless]

I am just pondering over this debate and recollecting injuries received whilst I was at school.

For example, whilst on a camping holiday with the Scouts I received a cricket bat in the teeth (playing French Cricket) resulting in 5 stiches in my lip (3 inside and 2 outside). Shortly after that the handle on a billy tin broke and I scalded my forearm badly. There was a third incident but I forget what it was now - apart from the fact that it was nowhere near as painful as the first two and may have involved scarring of the scalp?

I'm not aware my Mum even said anything to the school or Scout Leader about the injuries when I got back. I suppose she must have said something? Oh no - she didn't care .

Anyway, the reason I'm sharing this with you is, having just recalled it again after all these years is that I think the bloke with the bat did it on purpose! If anyone knows a David Culver (I think!) who used to go to Hastings Grammar School in the 70s - I want to "speak" to him.

Can I sue them this long after the event - my lip never returned to its correct size and, on the few occasions I have to smile about anything, I have a lopsided smile! Maybe thats why I never got enough sex er... I mean women who would go out with me.

Oh God - I wish I'd never read this thread!

I've just had a look in the mirror and I'm "gonna sue someones ass over this" - I mean, it can't be ALL my fault?

[Mr T.]

Originally Posted by Porg

I didnt say ban it altogether, but maybe have things that we can all excell at.

Sorry Helen, but that set of circumstances will never exist - regardless of how much the PC-inclusivist-wallahs might try and legislate it into existence.

You might as well wish for Swiss Admirals, Hen's Teeth, Dutch Alps, Chinamen with naturally Ginger Afros, Jeddah Jews, Decent Blended Whiskey/Whisky, Jordan marrying the Pope or French History Books reflecting an accurate account of Agincourt, Trefalgar and The Five Core Tenets of Collaboration.

[Fathoms Down]

Originally Posted by Porg

I didnt say ban it altogether, but maybe have things that we can all excell at.

The problem is that kids naturally excell at different things. The ones which are good at sports are rubbish at chemistry, sorry "science", as its now called (remember kids, chemicals are dangerous). If you take away something that one group of kids are good at so the others don't feel left out then they are the ones that get left out of something else.

Originally Posted by Porg

We have to remember that half of the things that have been changed in this country that people whine about are our own fault!

Thats true enough. We have some very odd values in the UK compared to other countries. An elderly relative of mine recently saw a push-chair with a Louis Vuitton clad chav-ette rolling backwards into the road while its 9 carrat gold encased mother yacked with her friends. When she put her hand out to stop the pushchair, the mother screamed at her and snatched the pushchair back from her and when she explain what was about to happen the mother replied "I thought you were trying to abduct her!". No "Thank you for saving my child". With that kind of loving parent I really pitty what kind of person that child is going to grow up in to.

In contrast, compare this with the Mediteranian countries and children are viewed as a national treasure. In Turkey, if a stranger strokes your baby's head then its is a compliment and something to be proud of. In the Uk its grouds to sue. Why? Are there less paedofiles and abductors in Turkey? Probably not so why are people so scared of something so unlikely in the Uk? Is it because we are stupid enough to believe in what we read in the papers blindly?

Ok, rant over

[Helen F H]

Sports day was always an opportunity for everyone else to say "well, at least you didnt come last", because I was always last. I was always the last person left standing when the teams were picked, was always the first out in high jump.
One of the nicest things someone said to me was my old PE teacher who said "you always try your hardest, regardless", which was nice since some of the girls blatently had ability, but were lazy. I was ok at things like hockey, but never good enough to make it onto a team.
Discus was my big one - i could beat all the skinny bitches hands down.

I did ok at competetive kayak slalom, i have a medal somewhere from winning the under 16's. I did ok at sailing too. Now maybe you can understand why diving is such a big thing for me - its one of the few sports that i am truly comfortable doing.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by Porg

I didnt say ban it altogether, but maybe have things that we can all excell at.

That is where rugby union comes in to it's own a place for little 'uns fast 'uns short round 'uns tall round 'uns and tall thin'uns

Safe diving,
Steve.

[Dinger]

Originally Posted by Porg

Sports day was always an opportunity for everyone else to say "well, at least you didnt come last", because I was always last. I was always the last person left standing when the teams were picked

Now though missus do you really give a monkey f*ck?

I wasnt the best at sports - did play a mean scrum half for years but other than that was piss. My brothers both did national sports and I did represent ulster at swimming but came last every time. Now i couldn't give a shite what I was good at at school. I do diving which I love and is 'different' than what most people do for fun, I do alot of martial arts which I love and am good at and run 10miles 3 times a week. So what if i was piss at football.

Dinger

[sch]

Originally Posted by Nick Bown

What really gets me is that people are stupid enough to think they could possibly win a compensation claim based on many of the things which happen to them. Proving legal liability is very difficult at the best of times so, with the amount of nebulous claims which are going around at the moment, the only people which win are the lawyers. Perhaps if the adverts showed the sucessful win rate then people wouldn't be so quick to claim?

The problem is that a lot of these cases never get to court - the insurance companies would rather just pay out than having to fight it! Of course the insurance companies just pass the cost of these onto us who end up paying ridiculous premiums

Simon

[Fathoms Down]

Originally Posted by Porg

Discus was my big one - i could beat all the skinny bitches hands down.

At which point the PE techer would say to them "you always try your hardest, regardless"?

Thats the thing with sports, everyone is different at different ones. Its a pitty that everyone has to have the sense of achievement for working hard taken away from them simply because someone may feel left out because they didn't win at a particular sport.