The Data Games

It's been a while since I've posted. It's the middle of Typhoon Season here, and we've already had 3 days cancelled due to the bad weather! It was exciting at first, kind of like when you find out there is a snow day, but I quickly discovered there isn't much fun you can have outside in a torrential downpour with wind blowing the tin roofs off of houses.

Thankfully though, when it came time for our school's scheduled intramural games, the sun shone down like a blessing of good luck for our athletes. The kids chose their sport and were ushered off to different areas to play. The best will represent our school in the District Athletic Meet, with the best of those moving on to the Provincial Meet. I was disappointed I didn't get to watch a single minute of the Olympics this year, but the spirit of our little school on the mountain made up for that.

WHO NEEDS SHOES TO RUN A RACE? In a land of steep rugged cliffs, deep gorges and slippery slopes, the Sawdust is the only place in Mt. Data  that the kids can run freely. Secluded by the hills and mountains, the screams and echos of laughter will guide anyone who wants to join in.

The Games began with the Search for Mt. and Miss Fit. This was a continuation of our Nutrition Month celebrations that got postponed. Each school club had a representative in the pageant which lasted all afternoon. 






Constants had to model different apparel, show a talent, and answer a question from the judges. 

There were ELEVEN different awards, from "Best Smile" to "Miss Coca-Cola" (body shape).

Friday morning began with a simple opening ceremony. They athletes took an oath and said a prayer to guide them through the games. After the formalities, the fun officially started with the cheer-dance competition. Each grade had to present a dance with full participation of every student. I quickly got over my  nervous feeling watching 11 year olds make three-tier pyramids on concrete, and sat back and enjoyed with the rest of the onlookers.

2nd Year

4th Year

3rd Year

"Grade 7"

Once the dancing was over (7th Grade won), the athletes all drained away to their various venues. Table-Tenis went to the 2nd year room, Chess players when to the 3rd year room. Badminton players headed up to the recreation hall, while the track participants climbed up the steep path to the Sawdust. Sepaktakraw players headed to the lower building and tennis players ran up to the elementary school. That left the rest of the students eagerly waiting for the most popular event and main attraction: Volleyball.

The favorite national sport of the Philippines, basketball, was removed from the district as a lost cause by teachers years ago. Despite the students passion for the sport, money just wasn't willing to be spent on a sport that the students couldn't advance in. As sad as that is, our students quickly found another sport to love. Attention turned to volleyball, with boys volleyball in particular raising the most spirit at our school.





Everyone waits for the upperclassmen to play. 3rd and 4th year boys attract the most spectators.

Of course, the fans stick around to see which of the girls will be most likely to represent our school at the Provincial Meet.

The younger classmen also take their turn to play. Although few of them advance, they hope one day to become a provincial athlete.

One of my favorite sports to watch is Sepaktakraw. It was hard for me to get good pictures so I encourage you to google it. The object is to get a small ball over a net that is a little smaller than the one used in badminton. There are three players to a team and once the ball is in play, a player may not use his hands or arms. While the game can be a little slow moving at times, it's incredible how they can use their feet to "spike" the ball over the net.

I enjoyed the days taking pictures and watching all of the athletes. I became DJ when students requested I bring out my laptop and play music over the loud speakers. They began requesting songs, and I soon had a huge pile of song requests and dedications written on every shred of scrap piece of paper that could be found. I assumed that only athletes would come on Saturday to play, but as it turned out, most of the students came to cheer on their classmates.