Sports Day Medals: A Lovely Way to Award Children!

Are you planning a Sports Day for your service as part of the end of year activities? Looking for a nice way to award children on the day? We have recently added Sports Day Medals to our www.graduations.ie website.

The Sports Day Medal is available in gold, silver or bronze, measures 50mm in diameter and has a trophy and the words Sports Day embossed on it. The medal comes with a ribbon in the Olympic Games colours (blue, yellow, black, green and red) that clips onto the medal. The ribbon measures 22mm wide and 395mm in length.

These medals can be awarded to the children at the end of your Sports Day or you can wait to award them at your Graduation Ceremony. As the children in your service are still young you may only wish to award each child for participation on the day, rather than competing. Therefore, you may just prefer to order all medals in gold.

Sport is a great way to encourage children to participate as both an individual and as part of a team. It encourages children's social skills as they learn to communicate, show leadership and team work while they are playing together. Participation in sport also has a positive effect on children's self esteem and confidence.

Children are getting the opportunity to try something new and with positive feedback from classmates and teachers they will trust in their own abilities and push themselves. There are a number of different types of races and games that you can do on your Sports Day. Below is a list of some of the more popular games and races that you might like to include on the day.

Sports Day Games and Race Ideas

• Flat Race: Mark out an area where the children have to run from one cone to another or do one loop of the garden or outdoor space.
• Egg and Spoon Race: The Egg and Spoon Race is an old favourite on Sports Day! This is a great race for coordination and balance as the children have to run and balance the egg (or small potato) on a spoon at the same time!
• Relay Race: This is a great team race, as you put the children in different groups. They work hard for their team as they race to get back first. For the baton use a small plastic object that is easy for young children to hold and pass between them.
• Sack race: Children will love to get into a big sack and jump along. Another great game for balance and coordination as the children try to jump and keep inside the sack at the same time!
• Hopping Race: Line the children up and ask them to hop on their right foot one cone to a second cone. Extend the race by having a third cone and ask them to hop on their left foot for the second part of the race. Great for practicing balance and coordination.
• Obstacle course: If your outdoor area is large enough you could make an obstacle course for the children using cones, footballs, nets, hula hoops, balance boards or any other suitable prop that you have.
• Balancing Race: Use bean bags or small props that you may have and ask the children to put one on their head and race between 2 cones.

You can use a variation of these games to suit different children's ages and abilities. The main thing is to ensure that the children give it a try and most importantly - have fun!!