As many as 25 Wageningen providers of sports and culture participated in the Sam School Olympiad by providing clinics. The SpelenmaaR Nüdel Kart was one of the clinics. Almost 1000 children (9-12 years old) from all 13 Wageningen elementary schools participated in the Olympiad. In four rounds, the children were introduced to various sports and cultural activities.
Sports Service De Vallei
With the SAM School Olympiad, Sportservice De Vallei gives children the opportunity to become acquainted with the wide range of sports and cultural activities available in Wageningen. So they can experience what they really like. The basis for a lifetime of fun in sports, exercise and culture. SAM School
Odd duck :-)
Among all the sports providers, SpelenmaaR was an odd duck. In all sports and activities, children have to follow the rules of the particular game or activity. In soccer you are not allowed to touch the ball with your hands, in karate you are not allowed to judo, in sculpture you use stone, in volleyball you are not allowed to ude your feet etc. At SpelenmaaR children are told “Here you can do what you want. See what you feel like doing and go do it or make it.” For some children this was so new that they didn’t really know what to do with it. It took a while before they dared to grab something and even then they kept asking if it was aloud. Other children needed no encouragement and went straight to work. For the occasion, we had supplemented the Nüdel Kart with items from our SpelenmaaR cart such as a helmet, ropes, cardboard boxes and cloths.
Creativity on the athletics track
In the four rounds, we saw lots of different forms of play. Building (a cart with a drawbridge) , driving (all kinds of carts with big, small, round and square wheels) balancing (a wobble thing you can stand on) , throwing (a kind of bocce but with rings), stick fighting (with swishing swords), hoisting (a box with ropes and a lift), dressing up (drivers in a sports cart), jumping (going over and under a rope), fantasy (this is a thing for little animals, so they can be also big for a change) and a lot of play with no purpose just focused on trying out and just fiddling.
Fascinating to see. We and also the teachers and sports coaches were surprised by the tremendous creativity that just happened there on the athletic track.
This Nüdel SpelenmaaR action also tasted of more, much more!
