In Canada, it's very different! Field Day is short for Track and Field Day, as in a real deal track and field competition. The neighboring Christian schools are bused in and everyone competes in an area meet for a bid to the district competition. Each year the venue rotates between the participating schools. This year, we were lucky enough to have Field Day at Sarnia Christian Academy.
The day includes 6 individual events; the 100 Meter Race, the 200 Meter Race, the Standing Long Jump, the Running Long Jump, the High Jump, and the Shot Put Throw. Brenna has never taken part in Track and Field before. In Texas that was never an option. However, ahead of the Track and Field Day the PE teacher did go over all the techniques associated for each event with the kids and give them some practice time. On Track and Field Day, the kids are broken into grade level groups for the competition and then split by boys and girls. There was 18 kids in Brenna's competition group.
The entire day is outside, with lunch served outdoors. I volunteered to help in the kitchen. Because of that, unfortunately I missed the first event the 100 Meter Race. I made it to the track just in time to catch the 200 Meter Race. Because of the number of kids, the girls were broken into heats to complete the race. Brenna was in the third heat along with 2 other girls. The race was fantastic! Brenna and her classmate Leah broke away from the 3rd girl quickly leaving her in the dust. I knew they seemed to be making much better time than the previous heats, but it was hard for me to judge since we're so unfamiliar with this. Leah edged in front of Brenna just before the first turn creating some space between them. By the second turn Brenna had caught up to her heels and began to pull up on the straightway. Brenna ran hard and if we had only had another 10 meters she could have pulled ahead but we came in second at the finish line by only 1/2 a second. Once all the heats were completed, Leah and Brenna placed 1st and 2nd overall! I was so proud!
Waiting for the flag to drop! Ready, Set, GO!
She was determined!
The next event was the High Jump. I was excited to be able to watch because I'd never seen it before and I wanted to see how Brenna managed it. I had no expectations other than getting a photo or two of her in action and a video to be able to say she did it. Boy was I surprised and I think Brenna even surprised herself!
The kids get 3 opportunities to clear each height before moving on to the next jump. With each jump the bar was raised. Brenna cleared the 1st jump on her first attempt easily, most all the kids did. On the 2nd jump, some kids were eliminated, but Brenna cleared it on her first attempt. Again, on the 3rd jump, Brenna easily sailed over the pole on her first attempt, while other were eliminated after having three tries. At this point, I realized that she may have a knack for this and the excitement began to build. By the 4th jump only 4 kids remained. Brenna cleared it again on her first attempt, while another two girls were eliminated. Now only Brenna and her classmate Adaila remained for the 5th jump. By this time we had attracted a crowd and both the kids and the parents were cheering! I was as excited as the kids! Brenna went first on the 5th jump and knocked down the pole. I was afraid she would be upset, but she came back to the line telling herself "I can do it!" While I would never hope for a kid to fail, I have to confess that I really wanted that pole to fall on Adaila's first attempt. And it did!!!! So Brenna, steps up for her second attempt and again, could not clear the pole! She took the whole thing in stride and even cheered for Adaila as she made her second attempt. Adaila again knocked down the pole!!! But now, this was it! The last chance! Brenna stepped to the line, charged forward, and finally cleared the jump and her final attempt! The kids were cheering and she had a big grin on her face. She never even slowed down after she hit the mat. She popped up and ran back around to the kids who had lined up for high fives! After everyone settled down, it was back to Adaila. Her last attempt failed and Brenna clenched 1st place in the High Jump! I can't describe how exciting the whole thing was. Brenna has always competed in athletics, but only as a team, where you share both your victories and losses. This is the first individual sport she's ever taken part in and to she her excitement after the win was priceless!
Next up was the Shot Put Throw. I expected Brenna to do well here since we did have some experience throwing a baseball. The higher grades actually use shot puts, the much heavier balls, but our group used regular softballs for the throw. Each kid was given three throws and the average of the three was used. Brenna didn't really grasp the concept and on her first throw she stepped to the line, did a windup and then let it fly. It was still a very good throw, since the objective is to get the longest distance. After a brief conversation about momentum, Brenna used the skip, skip, throw technique that other kids were using and came away with a very nice throw. On her last throw, she skipped a little too far and her toe just crossed over the line, voiding the throw. Which was unfortunate because it was the longest throw of the group so far. After all the numbers were calculated, she walked away with 2nd place!
In between events there was lots of time to play!
Unfortunately, it was back to kitchen for me to help serve lunch and clean-up. During that time I missed the Running Long Jump but I was able to catch the final event of the day, the Standing Long Jump. Once again, the kids got three jumps and the average distance of the three were used. The coaches were using the pump, pump, jump technique. Brenna seemed to catch on and did well on all three jumps. After all the numbers were tabulated, she came out on top with 1st place in the Standing Long Jump!
I couldn't believe it! Who knew she would have such a natural talent for Track and Field. The night before, she was telling me she hoped she could win just one ribbon and now she's placed 1st and 2nd in 4 out of the 6 events! I could not have been more proud and Brenna couldn't have been happier! After the Standing Long Jump awards were announced, a teacher from one of the other schools joked that they wanted the kid from Texas tested for performance enhancing drugs! It was an exciting day of competition and Brenna had a great time! We're very thankful for this new and exciting experience that Canada has given us!
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