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.

 

Setting up the high jump area
Here students and Sr. Jacintha, the principal, set up the high jump area in a corner of the school playing field.
Running laps
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.
Shoes for the runners
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.
Indoor calesthenics
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.
A group on the sidelines
While waiting for their events to practice, some of the students talk with Charlie Dittmeier.
Practicing the long jump
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.
Practicing the high jump
Her form isn't bad but the skirt and long pigtails may be real obstacles for a high jumper!

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