Last week we had Olympiadas at an outdoor public field a few blocks from Colegio Anakena. In the first heat of runners, there were five kids all around the age of five-years-old. Uno, dos, tres and they were off toward the finish line. Until the boy in Lane Three looked down to realize that the ground he was running on was made up of sand. As with most kids, a sand box is at least a few hours worth of fun. So he plopped down and started playing in the sand. And then a few others stopped to stare at him with jealous eyes. We all cheered, encouraging them to keep running. One tia had to come and help him up, and remind him that he was racing. Eventually he found the finish line.
There were two running events, one long and one short, and three other events consisting of biking, long jump, and throwing a tennis ball. After all the events were over, there was an award ceremony with certificates, medals, and trophies. The age categories were “mini,” “super mini,” “hyper mini,” and “infantile mini.” It was absolutely adorable.
I had the glamorous job of crowd control, and attempted to keep all of the kids that weren’t competing from running out onto the field. It was difficult to say the least, and the key word here is “attempted.” At the end of the day, all of this competing is in preparation for a bigger Olypiadas when Anakena will compete against about ten other schools in October. I wish I was going to be here for it!
The sun was shining and everyone was smiling — we got lucky. Olympiadas at Anakena were a success! Hopefully, come October, they compete on a grass field.
Lindsey Chapman is a volunteer with VE Global, at Colegio Anakena. Check out posts by Andrew Garberson for more on working with the disabled.
Latest posts by Lindsey
- Planning a Fund Raiser - January 6th, 2011
- Book Review: The Road Less Traveled - December 14th, 2010
- Weekday Veg - December 6th, 2010
- A Perfect Circle - November 23rd, 2010
- Life is Good - November 16th, 2010
- Misión Cumplida Chile (Mission Accomplished Chile!) - November 3rd, 2010
- Life and Death - October 19th, 2010
- "Follow Your Bliss" - September 14th, 2010
- Recognizing Difference - August 27th, 2010
- Life in the Classroom - August 16th, 2010
