Field Days

Last week we experienced our first field days at Bingham Academy (and definitely not our last!) They were unlike any sports days we've ever experienced. Firstly they went for 2 days not one! Because the school is R-12 and all compete it takes 2days to get everything done!
Lucy and Max were in the junior school competition which meant they finished at lunch each day. This meant I looked after them in the afternoon although there was plenty to look at and cheer about, and they didn't need too much amusing. Both of them had 4 events and a relay to do. They ran obstacle courses, sack raced or were in the 3 legged race! It was mainly for fun, although Lucy in Yr 2 was quite competitve and enjoyed getting ribbons in each race!! She takes after her Dad!

Relay racing in face paint!

Go green, go green!  Cheering their team on.

 Then Tom and Oli also had 4 events they could each choose plus a relay. Oli's favorite was high jump. He jumped 130cm and the record was 135cm. He still has one yr left in his age group so needless to say he's hunting that record down next year! He hurt his ankle on the last jump, but with strapping still did all his other events. There was no stopping him and he did exceptionally well. Again takes after Dad!

Winning the 200m in style!

Tom chose to do the 1500m because there were only 4 in the race and he figured it gave him good odds to get a placing. Afterwards (he came 3rd) he wondered if the ribbon was worth the pain of it all, and declared himself to be a short distance racer only!! It took him the rest of the day to recover, although soft drinks, ice blocks and a hot lunch helped in that!!

Tom did the hurdles and cleared them all with no bruises or scars!!

There was a staff relay purely for fun, and we put in an Aussie themed team. We all dressed up and came a commendable 3rd behind 2 very fast and serious mens teams....so we did Oz proud! There was also a Dads 400m race and Shane was cajolled into it but never again!! He held the lead the whole way with 20m to go, then the bear jumped on his back, and our Kiwi deputy pipped him at the post along with a Norweigen freak bike rider, who is super super fit! I thought considering Shane had 13 years more on our deputy he did himself proud, but after the race it was ugly!! He had to sit down for an extended amount of time due to cramping, almost vomiting and exhaustion. I got him his lunch and he felt too rubbish to even eat it!! A coke for sugar and some time laying down, and he was able to function again.................but the days of Shane Rubie, 400m extraordinnaire are over!!

Who is that dork in the Aussie singlet carrying an Aussie flag????

 What we really enjoyed was the comeraderie of the kids and their encouragement of one another. A yr 11 boy in the 100 m fell just before the finish line...and all the other competitors were there in an instant picking him up, checking was he ok. In the high jump 2 boys were going for 1st (yr10s) and as they cleared each height they clapped each other, cheered gave high 5s etc, even though they both wanted to win. When races finished there were hugs to all, hand shaking, and just a really great feeling of encouragement in everything. It didnt matter at the end of the days who won (although my competitive nature wants to tell you it was our green team by 17 points) but competing fairly and to the best of their ability and in good sportsmanship was what won out! We were really impressed and will be glad to do it all again next year!