Sports day is a magical experience for students, where a day of class vanishes and is replaced by the Spartan spectacle of consuming sugar-loaded plastic vials of flavoured ice to fuel your team to victory in time-honoured competitions, such as tug-of-war and egg race.
This coming weekend, you can relive that hyperglycemic glory (or opt for stevia-based battle fodder) with the whole family, in the heart of North Vancouver.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday (Aug. 25), don your finest athletic wear (or old T-shirt) and head to Confederation Artificial Turf for the seventh-annual Get Out and Play family sports day.
The event is geared for parents with children between the ages for one and 14, with activities specifically for toddlers, children and young teens.
Games include soccer, bocce, frisbee, yoga, kids’ obstacle courses and three-legged races for families. Later in the event, the activity stations will close and a large team competition will kick off on the field.
Local physical activity vendors will set up booths at the event, with some of them offering draw prizes like free kickboxing classes, movie tickets, physiotherapy and a grand prize. Entry is by donation, with a suggested fee of $15.
What started out as 30 or 40 people playing some games in a field has grown into an organized event with sponsors that attracts around 200 participants, said Get Out and Play founder Reza Ghannadan.
Ghannadan, a physiotherapist living in North Vancouver, said he got the idea for the event in a self-development course when he was told to create something that he saw as missing in the world.
“Something that I realized was missing for me was family connection, and it was mostly coming from my own family, where maybe we didn’t spend as much time together as we should,” he said. “And I also saw that missing in other families, so I thought that it might be a good opportunity for other families to also be able to get together.”
Ghannadan added that he naturally gravitates toward activity and movement.
“So I took those two ideas of exercise and connection, and put them together, and I decided to create a family sports day,” he said.
But his true love for the greatest of all school days goes back even further.
“Some of my fondest memories of being in elementary school was having that sports day. I think I was maybe in Grade 2 or Grade 3, and we did a sports day, and it was one of the funnest times I’ve ever had in school,” Ghannadan said.
“And I realized that nothing like that really exists in the community … where not only you get physically active and play, you also get a chance to connect with other people,” he said.
Get Out and Play
When: Sunday, Aug. 25, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Where: Confederation Artificial Turf, 2145 Jones Ave.
For more information, visit the event website
