Stop taking the fun out of junior sport

When I first attended the annual sports day at my daughters' primary school, I was surprised that they gave no weight to performances and results. They focused entirely on participation.

- Wesley Botton

At first, I didn't like the approach of eliminating the competitive nature of track and field events. I've since changed my mind.

As an athletics fan, I am obsessed with times and distances, but at grassroots level, these things shouldn't matter at all.

There are valuable lessons that can be learned through competitive sport which children can carry with them into their adult lives. Being a team player is one. Learning to win or lose graciously is another.

But having watched a fair bit of sub-youth athletics in the last couple of years, I don't think these values need to be taught to primary school kids.