Sports Day! Sports Day! Sports Day!

Today might possibly have been my favorite day since arriving in Thailand. Today was Sports Day at Mae La Noi Daroonsik! As many of you know from my previous blog post, the build up to Sports Day has lasted several weeks and today it culminated in an all-day festival showcasing students’ sport and artistic talents.

Instead of meeting in front of Building 3 for morning announcements, students and teachers congregated in town for a parade ending at the school’s track field. Students were divided into four teams: Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue. Each team was responsible for creating cheers, choreographing dances, showcasing their finest costumes, and decorating their team bleachers – all in addition to competing in various sports! As the parade made its way through town the students showed off their cheers and energy levels skyrocketed in anticipation for the day’s games.

Before any sports competitions occurred, the teams gathered for the opening ceremony in the middle of the track. Flags were raised. Songs were sung. Speeches were made. And there was even a torchbearer who ran a lap around the track and lit a ceremonial flame to signal the official start of the 13th Annual Mae La Noi Daroonsik Sports Day.

First, each team was judged on a dance performance in front of their decorated stands. Next came a series of running races featuring the fastest students at MLND. By this time the sun was on full blast and it really took a toll on some of the students, as many of the runners were not able to complete some of the longer races. After a break for lunch teams were judged in another dance competition and the final volleyball match was played. The last sport event of the day was a soccer match between the Red and Yellow team, which I would have to say was my favorite event.

And of course no Sports Day is without a long awards ceremony. Trophies and certificates were awarded to individual students and teams based on their performances and I had the honor of presenting some of the awards to the winners of the track races. After the Director gave a final speech and fireworks ignited over the field, students and teachers all joined hands in possibly the largest human circle I have ever seen and sang a closing song. It gave me serious chills. Sports somehow always have a way of bringing people together and it was such a special day to experience with all my students and fellow teachers.

I realize this post isn’t as lengthy as many of its predecessors, but I found it difficult to summarize what the day was like in words alone. So, to really get a sense of what a special day it was, please enjoy the following parade of photos: