Basia Halliop

"In most parts of the UK, if not all, I think when I was a school kid they taught sports as a mandatory lesson, which consisted mainly of ball games and some indoor exercise stuff. 'Rounders' is a good example, that's kind of like mini baseball over here in blighty!

Then once or twice a year at my school we did a cross country run, again completely mandatory, which most people hated because it created a kind of leader board of failure haha, terrible memories! Then when you got older in your final couple of years everyone didn't really want to do sports because exams were far more terrifying."

That sounds SO much like my elementary school experience. Then part way through high school it became an optional course for credit.

BTW, I really disagree very much with the idea that competitive sports are more suited to schools. It's precisely because so few schools do anything else that half or more of the kids despise gym and drop it like a hot potato the minute it stops being mandatory, and that kids from a young age have learned to strictly divide themselves into active 'sporty' kids and the rest of the world who is inactive. If they actually acknowledged different personality types and interests, they might actually attract more than the same group of kids who always does all these sports.