Further Sports Day Prep

I thought today was sports day, but it is only a full dress rehearsal.  Students are in their sports day uniforms, a traditional American PE outfit.  They ran through the opening ceremonies including marching, bowing, presentation of the flag, national anthem, pledge, maybe the Hwasan Elementary song, plus group stretching (entire school in unison).  While classes compete others are given the task of cheering and waving flags.  This reminds me of the volleyball tournament where cheer teams were provided by the organizers.  When I was playing volleyball I couldn't figure out who all these people were cheering with flags, drums, and other noise makers... then I understood that the crowds were provided for us.

Aside from the typical races, there are a couple notable games.  Two classes line up shoulder to shoulder on parallel lines. The two classes bow that their backs are flat.  The first student runs across the backs of the classmates, and when the runner makes progress students run to the back of the line to increase the length the runner can cover.  This is done till the runner reaches the finish line.

The second game is a kind of tug of war played on something like a soccer field.  In the middle are tires with 8 ropes  attached (4 rope ends to each side).  There are 4-5 tires like this.  The students begin at the goal line and race for the tires at the whistle.  The goal is to get one of the tires to your side first.  The game is dynamic as students drop ropes to run to other tires to reach a power advantage over their classmates.  

The most interesting aspect is the full dress rehearsal which might as well be the real event.