School athletic meets and sports festivals have changed drastically as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. While some schools refuse entry to parents and visitors, holding the events behind closed gates, others reduce the number of events to avoid close contact between students.
Although the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has called for local governments to carry out the events to the fullest extent possible because of their part in the curriculum, some municipalities have been forced to cancel them altogether.
"Please return to the tent after washing and disinfecting your hands," an announcement echoed through the grounds of Kuroiso Junior High School in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture on Sept. 5.
The annual athletic festival had been delayed for three months because of coronavirus-related school closures. Teachers carrying bottles of hand sanitizer approached the students to disinfect their hands after a relay.
To avoid the so-called Three Cs -- closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings -- several of the usual events were altered. For example, the number of participants in the tug-of-war was reduced and the gap between them was 1.5 meters wider than usual. Other team events such as "human centipede" races and "cavalry battles" have been canceled, and only third-year junior high school students are allowed visitors with a limit of two per household. Under this new system, visitors are required to register in advance after confirming their health status, such as undergoing a temperature check.
"I didn't think there would be any events this year, so I'm very happy," said the third-year student head of the athletic festival's organizing committee.
"We wanted to allow the students to have the sports festival to make up for how much they've had to endure in their daily school lives," said Hideaki Yamamoto, the school's assistant principal.
-- Cancellations across board
According to a survey carried out by the education ministry in June, 97% of the boards of education that underwent school closures said that they would re-examine events such as athletic festivals and school excursions. As the infections have yet to subside and the middle of the school year is approaching, those involved are struggling with whether to put importance on "making school memories" or "infection risk aversion."
Numakage Elementary School in Saitama has plans to halve the scale of its athletic festival to be held on the weekday of Oct. 16, avoiding the weekend this year. Parents and guardians will not be allowed to attend, nor will the children participate in the physical-contact-heavy events or the usual events that require yelling and chanting.
"There is still the educational benefit of exchange between students of different grades," said Principal Takashi Uchida when asked why the athletic festival is still being held this year amid the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Matsudo municipal government in Chiba Prefecture has uniformly canceled all sporting events at elementary and junior high schools this school year to secure the school hours that have been lost as a result of temporary closures.
"It would not be acceptable to have some schools [hold the events] while others don't," a board official said.
The municipal governments of Adachi Ward, Tokyo, and Kitakyushu have also decided not to hold athletic festivals. Adachi Ward is proposing that each school replace its current system with one that would allow students to compete with only members of their grades, while Kitakyushu has proposed competitions between classes of various grades.
-- Opportunity to review contents
The Courses of Study, the ministry's curriculum guidelines, classify athletic festivals as being in the special activity category of "health, safety and sporting events." In addition to improving physical strength, the ministry aims to foster a sense of discipline, responsibility and solidarity through the athletic festivals.
Education Minister Koichi Hagiuda said on Sept. 4, "We'd like things to be done in a different way than usual." Yutaka Naganuma, a Gakushuin University professor, said, "I feel it's good opportunity to review the contents of these events, as they have become more cumbersome over the years."
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