National School Sports Week 2021

The last year has been really tough on kids – they’ve been in and out of school and missed out on a lot of fun with their friends. In a recent blog we talked about how important team sports were, giving children the opportunity to get outside and enjoy being able to play with their school friends again.

One of the highlights of the school year is sports day, and from 19th  to the 25th June it’s National School Sports Week, run by Youth Sport Trust. This year the theme is Together Again, and to celebrate the return of youth sport they’re encouraging schools, families and communities to hold a sports day during the week.

You can officially register to join in here, but if you just fancy doing something with your family, or a group of your kids’ friends, here’s some ideas for holding one in your back garden. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on it, you can get creative with whatever equipment you have lying around the house or garden!

Pick your teams

Depending on the age of your kids, and how many are involved, you can split certain games for different ages, or mix the teams up so there’s a balance. If there’s a big group you could have different coloured teams and get them to wear a piece of clothing of that colour, say a t-shirt, shorts or even a hair scrunchie. Adults can get involved too!

Choose your games

Pick a range of games, say five to 10, to test different skills, such as speed, agility, concentration and accuracy.

  • Egg and spoon race – a classic race to get from A to B holding an egg on a spoon (just remember to hard boil the eggs first!) It will challenge your kids to multitask, running as fast as they can while trying to concentrate on not dropping the egg.
  • Obstacle race – who didn’t love the obstacle race at school? Use whatever you can find in the garden to create things to jump over, through and round!
  • Hula hooping competition – see who can hula hoop for the longest, a great one to test motor skills (and possibly attention span). If you don’t have a hula hoop you could use a skipping rope instead to see who can skip for the longest without getting in a tangle.
  • Boule over – create your own boule-style contest using old tennis balls, or use bean bags as an alternative. Or you could place a garden cane into the grass and see who can throw the bean bag closest.
  • Beat the goalie - get mum or dad or another adult in the goal to see who can score the most goals. You could do best of three or go to sudden death. You don’t need a proper goal net, a couple of jumpers at each side will do!

Points mean prizes

Remember to keep track of the scores, it’s even more satisfying for kids when they beat an adult! If you want to make it really special, have a prize-giving ceremony like the Olympics and make your own podium and medals. Remember, it’s nice for everyone taking part to be recognised too, not just the winner so why not sit down at the end of the excitement and let the whole team enjoy a well-deserved lemonade and a piece of cake or ice cream?

Our age-old tradition of sports days with wacky races are great fun – there might be the odd tantrum along the way, but they’re a great way to get kids’ competitive spirits going and burn off some excess energy. It’s not just good for their physical wellbeing but mental health as well, and you might just have some fun bringing out your inner child too!

If you are looking for some summer sportswear then our AKOA sportswear range is just the ticket.