Competition ‘an essential ingredient in school sport’
Tuesday 29th June 2010, 2:58PM BST.
Nelson Pitta winning the boys' Year 7 400m at Le Rocquier School's recent school sports day
MORE sport should be taught in schools and competition should be encouraged, says Senator Jim Perchard.
Following the news that Jersey is to host the 2015 NatWest Island Games, the Senator has spoken of his concerns about where future talent is going to come from. He believes that school sports days with prizes for the winners should be brought back and that ‘meaningless participation games’ should be banished.
Senator Perchard said: ‘I have concerns as to where our next generation of sporting greats are to come from. I believe the school curriculum simply does not provide enough physical education and competitive sporting opportunities for our children.
‘Every child should have access to the many opportunities that sport provides, and there should be a drive to reinvigorate competitive sports in schools, especially primary schools, through inter-school fixtures and an Olympics-type competition.’
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Much to my surprise am in agreement with Jim Perchard, twice in a month! A low cost solution just waiting to happen.
Bin the studies and just go down to the beach for some fun. Volleyball, cricket, football, anything.
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Electioneering again Jimmy!!!
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yes rock climbing, sailing at st aubins fort, canoeing, and orienteering, all available at schoool in my day, and i hope they are still available today
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I wholely agree with this.
The problem these days is we live in a world where we have taken the ‘everyone is equal’ idea way too far. Schools aren’t allowed to hold sports days or talent shows or other competitions for fear than it will make those who lose feel bad. Well. maybe it will, but kids at the end of the day need to realise there is always going to be someone out there who is better than them at something.
Plus, competition is healthy, it encourages people to work harder and strive to better. All we do by saying ‘everybody is a winner’ is raise our kids to be the kind of whingers who crop up on this site complaining how everyone always has more than them, purely because they have grown up thinking they should be equal to everyone in everyway and then have entered the real world and realised it doesn’t work like that.
Rev
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Wow.. Everybody has been saying this since the politically correct loony liberals banned competition in schools.
But hang on.. The UK government has just announced EXACTLY the same thing… Our states members do not have a single original thought between them…
Baaaaaaaaah
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I totally agree No.4 Rev, what I wanted to say almost word for word. This subject has been annoying me all the way through my grandchildren’s primary school.
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About time. Although will there be a good supply of councellors (I’ve probably spelt that wrong and no doubt will be heavily critized by the spelling police!) on hand to help those who are traumatized at never having suffered failure before!
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So we’ve had ;
a). Central European Time (a full referendum as a precursor to independence voting).
b). ‘My Island Home’ is not quite good enough.
c). Our children heroes are no good at catching the javelin and heading the shot.
Please ,please,please, Jimmy!! realise that to the majority of the electorate can see right through this.
Perhaps you have too much time on your hands now that the only responsibility you have is as an ordinary member of the public accounts committee ?
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Regardless of competition (which should always have been encouraged for the winners and for those who improved), this would be good for childhood obesity!
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in 8.Tony I forgot another no-brainer
d). The Odeon Cinema looks ugly .should it be a SSI?
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At least no competition gives the kids a good grounding to be come a union member.
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While there may be some strength in ‘Potty Mouth’ Perchard’s argument, I am rather concerned by the overemphasis on sport among the higher echelons of management in the ‘Sport, Physical Education and A Litle Bit of Culture Occasionally When We Feel Like It As Long As It’s Safe and Tradional’ department.
We have an Education Minister who is a farmer, while his deputies are a former Army chef and a doctor’s receptionist. MAny of the senior posts in ESC are held by PE teachers. Soem schools have had to lay off badly needed teaching assistants due to lack of funds, but somehow there is money to employ Development Officers for Squash, Netball and even Table Tennis!
I would have thought at attempting to ensure the island’s future workforce leave school with at least a basic level of literacy was of moer importance than whether they cane trounce their mates at table tennis, but that’s what you get for putting the PE teachers in charge of everything I suppose.
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Sorry about the spelling by the way! Rather took the wind out of my own sails there I think …
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