“Dare to Play Fair”
March 1st, 2011 has been designated as National Sportsmanship Day. The Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island established the program twenty years ago. The Institute selects a professional athlete as its annual honorary chairperson (Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Pierre Garcon have been recent spokesperson). The Institute sponsors a number of activities, like essay and poster contest as part of the event.
Sportsmanship Day provides teachers with a great opportunity to teach about fair play and good sportsmanship on both the playing field and in life. The Institute’s web site (http://internationalsport.com/nsd/) has a number of activities. In the middle school where I worked, in addition to a poster and essay contest (we were able to get local pro teams to donate prizes) we had a film festival. One year’s students viewed the film “Rudy”. This great movie came with lesson plans as well as pre and post viewing discussion questions. On another occasion students viewed the film “Remember the Titans.” On one occasion we also a sponsored a faculty- student basketball game, much to the delight of the students.
There are lots of opportunities to be creative here and to get the non athletes in your classroom involved in the festivities. Invite guest speakers, review great films or have your students search for books that demonstrate good sportsmanship and fair play.
At the risk of being accused of shameless self promotion, I would like to suggest one of my own publications. Violence in Sports- Victory at What Price (Enslow Publishers) is written specifically for school students. It takes a look at the history of sports and why fans are so passionate. It also sends the message as to the importance of fair play on the ball field or court.
National Sportsmanship Day is a great opportunity to get students involved and have them examine why good sportsmanship and fair play are integral part of their education.
In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more than that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?"
-Jesse Owens
-Jesse Owens
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