Sports Day at Springfield All Age School: Saturday, March 29, 1958

My Big Day
B. Waine Kong

The biggest day of the school year when I was a boy was always “sports day”. The entire community would come out to watch the students compete. Mass Claudie McDonald, Mass. Harry Chen See and Mass. Lyn Salmon, the local shop owners contributed the prizes. The vendors selling cakes, sweetie, (candy) coconut drops, grater cake, ice cream, cane and cane juice, jellies and aerated water, patties and jerk pork were ever present and created a festive atmosphere. I especially liked the cakes Miss Hibert made. Each “House” (team) actually built a house with bamboo and coconut leaves and we spared no expense decorating.

The student body was divided into four “Houses”. I belonged to "Punctuality House" and Mrs. Joyce Chang, the wife of the Head Master, Mr. Clifford Chang, was the teacher/advisor. She was a no-nonsense type of person who made liberal use of the strap. When she called on us, we would start rubbing the cow-witch that we carried in our pockets to deaden the sting of that strap. I was elected captain of my house and was responsible for assigning the competitors for each event.

In addition to the sign over the door to the school house that reads: "Aim High and Smile", the other houses were: Politeness, Perseverance and Honesty. How is that for values to build character? The teacher advisers were Mr. Tomlinson, Ms. Nation, and Ms. Mavis Smith, the sweetest, most attentive and most caring teacher we ever had. She was the only teacher who we all loved and obeyed completely without the use of a guava stick or leather strap. I don't recall that she ever even raised her voice.

In addition to the team sports, each house entered two students for the individual events. I recall that on one occasion we were playing volleyball and I got upset that my team members were not being as focused as I wanted them to be, so I yelled at them to “stop playing!” So they all walked off the field. Big joke.

While I did not experience it as such at the time, I must have been an active if not popular student. I read Bible passages at Springfield Moravian church, participated in the school and church plays and talent shows, represented the school reciting poetry at “Festival” and was an officer in the Boy’s Brigade. I was on the Boys Brigade cricket team and still remember the thrill of hitting the one accidental six I ever hit. It is simply amazing that every time I watch cricket, I remember hitting that six and can go through the motions and demonstrate for you how I did it.

1958 was a big year for me. When I showed Mrs. Chang a design I had drawn with crayons, she and the students in her sewing class made the flag just as I designed it. It was a proud moment to see my design flying on the flag pole on sports day as the official flag of the school. I was also the sergeant at arms for the ceremonial marching of the four houses. I would yell as loud as I could: “Punctuality House, March!” “Honesty House, halt!” “Perseverance House, right turn!” “We will now sing “God save our Gracious Queen” and said the prayer. Then it was fun and games.

The events were:
1. Jump rope
2. high jump
3. 100 yards
4. 220 yards
5. 440 years
6. 880 yards
7. potato race
8. egg and spoon race
9. sack race
10. volley ball
11. net ball
12. two legged race
13. relays
14. Tug of war

Winners of each event received a gift (pen, wallet, various balls, handkerchief, hat, pen knife and sometimes even money.) Not only did my house (Punctuality) win, I was crowned the boys champion.

You see, I was determined to beat my rivals (Lynval Coke, Hiram Woodstock, Lloyd Saldiba, Lloyd Biset, Frank Samuels, Blanford Roy Robinson and Sylvester Mair). I was competitive even then. Inspired by the poem I had memorized: “While their companions slept were toiling upward in the night”, a month before sports day, I marked out a track on our property at home with “White wash” and un-noticed by anyone, I practiced every morning and evening. I was ready. It probably helped as well that I ran wearing sneakers (puss) while almost everyone else went barefoot. I won four running events as well as the egg and spoon race as I had hard boiled my egg so it no break when it drop. The last event of the day was the jump rope contest and I was tied with Sylvester who won the high jump and some of the running events. I was the only boy who had enough nerve to enter this traditionally female event, so Eileen Robinson and I represented Punctuality House, won the event and won the day!

I found it strange that in my moment of glory as I was explaining to Granny how my strategy paid off, she though it was selfish of me and that if I was ever going to be a leader, I would have to be less concerned about my own success and focus more on promoting the interests of others. At that point in my life the point was lost on me. My enthusiasm was not to be deterred. It still felt good to win.

Soon after that, a magician came to the school and the charge to see the show was one shilling per person. Granny agreed to take us and my brother and I were all excited about seeing the magic tricks. We lined up behind a woman who was arguing with the door guy, trying to take four excited children with her but only had three shillings. Granny pretended that the woman had dropped two shillings and said: "Miss Beckie, I think you dropped some of your money. The children excitedly picked up the two shilling and were all able to go in. The problem was that having done that, we didn't have enough to see the show ourselves and walked back home disappointed. It was a long time later that I appreciated the experience and the lesson.

Anyway, what ever happened to that shield (plaque) with the names of the sports champions that was conspicuously displayed at Springfield School? If you find it, Erma Campbell and Basil Kong will be engraved on it for 1958.