Bae Young Ha/A sports competition/Thursday 56

Have you ever seen flags of all nations hanging over a playground? In korea, elementary schools hold sports competitions every semester, which are also family events. Some parents and teachers participate in this event. All participants are divided into two teams, 'Blue team' and 'White team.' The team which gains higher scores wins the competition. On the day of this event, we usually prepare lunch and vendors open their stalls around the school. On the morning of the day sports competition is held, mothers are busy making gimbap. Gimbap is a popular Korean dish made from steamed rice and various other ingredients, rolled in laver seaweed. When I was in elementary school, sounds from the kitchen used to awake me up whenever there was a sports competition on that day. It was my mother who made sounds making gimbap in the kitchen. She would pack it so that I brought it to school for lunch. When I arrived at school, I could see vendors that came earlier and opened their stalls around the school. They sold cotton candies, ice cream and toys. It was the only day that they are allowed to sell in the school. A variety of stalls created the festive mood. Students went to buy food or toys from them during breaktime or lunchtime with their pocket money. The most important thing on that day is playing sports. The competition begins with singing Korea's national anthem. There are a lot of runnings and those who run fastest in their group are usually awarded notebooks. We also play tug-of-wars and cavalry-battle games. We run a relay too. Students of each team cheer for their players. The winning team of each game earns scores. At the end, The team whose aggregate score is higher than the other wins the competition. This sports competition gives us a chance to reunite. Students become one cheering for their own teams. This event also strengthen family relationships because parents watch and cheer for their children. Although we feel tired after the competition, we learn many lessons as we play the games. Like this, sports competitions serve as one of the most important events for students and parents.