So, for someone who isn't American... What?
this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2026
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It was an event held at schools. It was different with each school. Not all schools held field days. I am not sure if they still exist.
My school had pie eating contests, a visiting football team, water balloon fights, face painting, balloon animals, sack races and firefighters that brought a firetruck and sprayed water up in the air and the kids played in the spray as it fell. There were prizes and things to earn like extra school supplies and credits for the school bookfairs. My school held it in the summer.
For us if was usually held during the last week of elementary school before summer break. It was a nice way to close out the year by doing this outside.
It was the one time of year where we were allowed to play tether ball, potential for head injuries be damned
The rest of the year the poles sat tetherless, like a solemn monument to society’s less litigious past
I was thinking of Bundesjugendspiele which is a sports competition in Germany. Always confused me as a kid since we had basically no preparation.
They got rid of field day?
Nowadays education can't afford ribbons and children are required to download a digital sticker
The digital sticker gives the child a sense of pride and accomplishment
WOW that just unlocked a few memories!
My memory of this is solidly locked into two core memories.
Let me preface this by first saying I was a severely asthmatic child growing up. And I wasn't popular in grade school
At. All.
So my first core memory is when I was doing the running portion. I was gasping for air, could hardly breath but still trying my best. And i remember a bunch of kids shouting my name and encouraging me on.
And I fucking hated it.
It was the hypocrisy of it all. most of them wouldn't even say hello to me in the halls. I knew the teahcers were just egging them on to do it. Probably to make me feel accomplished or something. what ever.
And the second memory was how meaningless the ribbons actually were. I pretty much [laced last or second to last in all of them. so Like someone else here, I got alot of last place ribbons. But after the event everyone was just milling around, and there was the box that held the ribbons. No one was guarding or anything. So I just went up grabbed a handful of No. 1 ribbons and called it a day.
I'm 54 and that memory is still clear as a bell in my head. Among other not so great ones...
I remember a sports day at primary school (I'd have been about 8 years old for those who don't understand 'primary school'). There was a 1500m race. I was so last that the guy in 2nd last didn't even know I was there and he gave up and started walking to the finish. I was still, just about, doing what I called running. My zombie-shuffle-run was faster than his walk! I could see him ahead of me. I would catch him before the line! I would overtake him! I would not be last for once!
Then the assembled parents noticed me. The bastards started cheering me on. The guy in front of me was clearly confused. Looked around. Saw the parents weren't cheering him on. They were looking behind him. He glanced back. Saw me plodding after him. Urged his legs into a lumbering gallumph.
He beat me.
I was last again.
Fuck you for supporting me, you absolute shower of cunts!
Edit to reflect: I’m 59 and that memory is still clear as a bell in my head. Among other not so great ones…
This was known as “surprise day to goof off”.
Did yours have the little sticky bit at the top back so you could “pin” it to your shirt too?
Nah, ours had an actual safety pin
Reminds me of swim meets
I went to track and field camp one summer for my first time. It was supposed to be a weeklong event, but my mom sent me on the last day. Well, I had never done any of the events before and the last day was when the competitions were. So, they threw me directly into it and I competed, with the competition being the first time I had done any of these events. I came in dead last for all of them. I still remember getting many purple 8th place ribbons just like these. And, I never tried track and field again.
"A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon"
And you didn't just get one for sitting on the side line!