The Subject of Sport
Are there any stories, yours or someone else's around the topic of competitive sport? Is there a story there you could write?
Swingball. Photo: Tanya Clarke 2021
It’s Only a Game
I've enjoyed watching the Olympics and Paralympics this year with my family.
We’ve marveled at the precise synchronicity of the high divers, the fearlessness of the gymnasts, the graceful swoops and circles of the wheelchair tennis players, the power of the seated volleyball players, the strength and speed of the sport climbers.
I played all the sports at school. Not because my potential career lay in running up and down a hockey field but because at a small all-girls boarding school on the North Norfolk coast in the 1980s there wasn't much else to do aside from lessons. Unless you count drinking vodka (which I didn't) and smoking (which I did) or nicking snacks from the kitchen or stealing clean bedsheets on a Sunday to make clothes.
All tame behaviour.
Apart from the vodka. Those girls were suspended for two weeks and the dailies who bought them the alcohol in the first place lost their jobs. That's how privilege works.
The girls came back to school eventually. We never knew what happened to the women who lost their jobs.
Superhuman Strength
We're told it's good for our health; exercise gets the heart pumping, keeps our bones and muscles strong, and maintains stable mental health. Sometimes though I can't help but think this is yet another reason to sell us more stuff.
For a wonderful book examining the relationship between the human and fitness, have a look at the graphic novel The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel. Bechdel investigates her own relationship with various exercise fads or the latest fitness craze, admitting to having "a rowing machine, treadmill, stationary bike and straps for weightlifting at home.
"It's nuts," she says."
Things I’ve Tried
As an adult, I've tried snowboarding, surfing, skiing, running and tennis.
I hated snowboarding. I've never felt so humiliated falling arse over tit time and time again. I made it once down the mountain without falling in five days. Every time I fell, I thought, I'm paying for this.
I’ve tried surfing. It's frankly exhausting. I don’t have the physical strength to paddle out far enough to then turn the board, swim like fury to position myself plus board onto a wave AND then attempt to stand up. Inevitably I end up beached on the sand, my board tethered to my ankle, my muscles aching with all the exertion.
Then there’s skiing. My particular nemesis. I can ski now with a reasonable amount of confidence but I'm often on my own while the rest of my family race down the steepest pistes to wait for fifteen minutes at the bottom while I wind my way slowly down.
I used to run two or three times a week which I did enjoy. Often I ran with a friend. We'd chat, solving the world's problems as we ran in all types of weather. Now I play tennis, probably more for social interaction. I don’t really make any serious attempts to improve my game although I pretend to myself I might.
And there’s more.
The body alignment videos I watch to improve my flexibility and posture, the hanging bar currently languishing in the garage, the resistance bands curled up in a bag, a gift from my family, barely used. At least I walk the dog most days up and down the trails near my house. And I do think I'd like to try climbing one day.
What Will You Write?
Are there any stories, yours or someone else's resonating for you around the topic of competitive sport or exercise?
What comes up for you when you look at the picture above?
Do you remember the smell of the changing room at school?
The fit of your PE kit?
The demeanour of your teacher/instructor?
How do you feel about exercising? Alive? Wishing you were dead? Wishing you were somewhere else? Or someone else?
Does exercising make you feel competitive? Afraid?
Is there a character popping into your head, one who plays a competitive sport, you’ve always wanted to write about but you weren’t sure how? Maybe this is it.
Write a short story. Don't forget your senses. Write with intention.
Have fun! Until next time.
