It’s a Draw
Here comes sports day!
by Becky May
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To reflect upon the values of good sportsmanship and healthy competition.
Preparation and materials
- Have available the video ‘Barshim and Tamberi: United by gold and friendship’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 3.18 minutes long and is available at: https://tinyurl.com/24nar9s2
- Optional: you may wish to use a display board and pens to note down ideas in the ‘Assembly’, Step 4.
Assembly
- Welcome the children to the assembly. Ask them whether they are feeling fit and healthy today. Follow up by asking whether they have been getting plenty of exercise.
- Explain that it will soon be sports day. Talk briefly about when this special day will occur and share some information about the events that the children will be invited to participate in.
Ask the children to share some of their memories of previous sports days and what they are looking forward to this year.
- Ask the children whether any of them compete at sports in other settings. For example, they may belong to a football team in a local league, or take part in gymnastic or dance competitions. Invite them to share some of their experiences, taking the opportunity to celebrate those accomplishments.
- Ask the children what they think we mean when we talk about showing good sportsmanship. Have they heard this word before? What values can we demonstrate on the sports field?
Invite the children to share their ideas, perhaps noting them down on a display board.
- Explain to the children that during the last Olympic Games, we saw a great example of sportsmanship.
Show the video ‘Barshim and Tamberi: United by gold and friendship’ (3.18 minutes long).
Invite the children to share their first impressions after watching this video.
- Explain that competitiveness can be a good thing; it often pushes us to perform better than we would otherwise. However, there may be times when we need to control that competitiveness to protect something more important: friendship.
These two athletes respected each other and knew that they had performed equally well; they both deserved the prize, so they shared the win.
- Explain to the children that with sports day coming up, we could take the opportunity to practise the values that we talked about earlier. We can enjoy the competition, and we should all work hard to give our best, but there are other important values that we can show on that day too.
Time for reflection
Invite the children to make themselves really quiet and think about some of the things that we have shared during this assembly. Encourage them to think about the two athletes they saw on the film, and what it might mean for us to show sportsmanship in a similar way.
Optional: explain to the children that the Bible tells us that because of Jesus, none of us take a higher place than anyone else. We are all equal because of what he has done for us all. As humans, we are prone to deciding who is greater or more important, but the Bible teaches us that it shouldn’t be this way. Just as the two athletes shared the prize, we should all share the gifts that God gives us, equally.
Encourage the children to think for a moment about people they may look up to, or sometimes look down on. What actions can they take this week to treat everyone with equal respect?
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for making our bodies to run and jump and dance and compete.
Thank you for stories of good athletes, like the one we have heard today, that teach us not only to compete, but to compete well.
Help us to remember that we are all equal in your eyes.
Please help us always to treat others with kindness and respect.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Well done’ (Songs for Every Assembly by Mark and Helen Johnson, Out of the Ark Music). An audio excerpt is available at: https://www.outoftheark.co.uk/songs-for-every-assembly.html
‘Be happy’ by Doug Horley, available at: https://youtu.be/rXXKJrxoChU (3.02 minutes long)
The theme from the film Chariots of Fire by Vangelis, available at: https://youtu.be/CSav51fVlKU (3.20 minutes long)
Extension activities
- Create a display of athletes who are good examples, with brief stories to share why they are included. Encourage the children to bring in their own examples to add to the display, or invite each class to research an athlete who is a good role model to feature on the display.
- Create a list of values that you will be looking out for on sports day. You may have school council members who can help to generate a list for this. When you award prizes for winning participants or teams, take the opportunity to award those who demonstrated these values during the course of the day.
