CHARLESTOWN Nevis, March 1st 2011 - Despite a delay to the start of the day’s activities due mainly to the fact that the Nevis Electricity company (NEVLEC) was in the progress of changing power lines in the immediate vicinity of the school, the Maude Smith Pre school’s annual sports day created quite a lot of excitement for all of the spectators.
A fair sized crowd which included the over enthusiastic Moms, Dads and other family members of the energetic athletes, were on hand to witness the event.
Mr. Alex Claxton did a terrific job as Announcer, especially as he started without the benefit of amplified sound. Former student of the school and Patron for the event, Ms Jovel Bartlette was resplendent in her attire and with her endearing smile.
This was the first official sports meet for the 2011 local athletic season and the children did not disappoint. They competed in the accustomed events known to Preschoolers: The dress up race; fill the bottle; hamper race; thread the roll; spoon and block; tyre race and flat races. These left the parents screaming their encouragement much to the bemusement of the athletes.
However, the event of the day which certainly took the spectators by storm was the innovative addition of the Drag race. Three vehicles were utilized: Two powerful battery operated jeeps and a sleek looking topless speed car.
It was obvious that the children would have observed their seniors in action. They broke all of the basic rules: no protective helmets; no seat belts in some instances; not maintaining their stipulated lanes and accidents in galore! It was obvious that their competitors, the spectators and even the officials were in danger of being constantly run over. Shockingly, Headmistress Myers had forgotten one critical element—there were no fire trucks, ambulances nor emergency personnel on hand.
What fun it was! As the children manoeuvred and zigzagged the course, it created much hilarity as pilot and co-pilot dashed down the track. In one incident, one official who did not get out of the way in time, was almost knocked clean out of her chair.
At one point the two houses were locked on the same points—237. However, when the dust settled, Green house was the clear winner for 2011 with 415 points and Orange house had to settle for second with 387 points.
