St. Joseph's School for the Deaf Sports Day Practice

Every year the several deaf schools in Sri Lanka meet in Colombo for a sports day. The students take the competition seriously and spend three or four afternoons a week preparing for different events with their teachers.  St. Joseph's School is known as one of the powerhouses for this annual sports competition. These pictures are from one of the 1.5-hour practices during the week.

	Here students and Sr. Jacintha, the principal, set up the high jump area in a corner of the school playing field.
	Of course part of any conditioning and preparation for a sport event is running laps.  Notice that girls 1, 2, and 4 are wearing long pants or leggings under skirts, a common outfit for female athletes in Sri Lanka.
	The boys in the long distance relays pick out some shoes for their events.  Individuals would not have sports shoes so the school keeps a supply for the runners.
	In the midst of the practice, all the athletes go into the school hall, out of the sun, for a half hour of stretching and calesthenics.
	While waiting for their events to practice, some of the students talk with Charlie Dittmeier.
	The long jump is part of any field day in Sri Lanka as in other countries around the world, but note that the jumping pit is filled not with sand, but with coir, the insides of coconut husks which make a soft platform to land on.
	Her form isn't bad but the skirt and long pigtails may be real obstacles for a high jumper!

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