National Sportsmanship Day

National Sportsmanship Day is annually celebrated in the first Tuesday of March since 1991.

History of National Sportsmanship Day

National Sportsmanship Day started in 1991 when the International Institute of Sport proposed it to promote Good Sport in various sports. The main goal of the International Institute of Sport is to promote working ethically, honestly and fairly through sport and education as it was created for us to enjoy, unite and reduce other barriers between different countries. A special day is also established for athletes or people who participate in different sports to celebrate that day and participate in different activities to encourage them all to have good sportsmanship.

One of the exciting National Sportsmanship Day activities is the Essay Writing Competition (sponsored by USA Today) where all students from different grade levels (Elementary, Secondary and College) participate and present your essay for sports day or sports theme.

The Sports Ethics Fellows Program has partnered with the National Sportsmanship Day and includes people with exceptional talent as Leaders in promoting Good Sportsmanship helping to extend National Sportsmanship Day. The show also discusses the issues that need to be addressed in competitive sport to further improve it for all of us and leave us with a smile after the game. Because of NSD, different sports activities around the World are imbued with work ethic and have helped countries in different continents unite with each other and develop their relationships that benefit all. Sports is a platform that is used and loved by many people, because sports thousands to millions of people share the same goal which is to enjoy sports and compete with different people.

Goals of National Sportsmanship Day

One of programs to improve sport behavior is National Sportsmanship Day, held annually on the first Tuesday of spring or March. It is sponsored by the International Institute of Sports. National Sportsmanship Day brings together youth associations and schools from Primary to College or University level Students participate in fun activities or Festivals. Activities range from role-playing to sports games, all of which aim to promote excellent sporting conduct. The main purpose of National Sportsmanship Day is to raise awareness or promote Good sports behavior.

By considering all the things I have learned and discovered about Good Sports Behavior or excellent sportsmanship, although parents have a strong influence on a child's life and behavior, nevertheless in Sports it is a different matter when they are surrounded by different people such as coaches and mentors, so in some cases they can also help children develop attitudes towards others, decisions and good sportsmanship when they are taking advice from their coach and value their opinion because of their experience. Competency coaches emphasize effort and mastery of athletic tasks rather than Natural Ability and competitive results. This will be able to teach athletes and sports enthusiasts to increase their efforts as this will be one of the key points in improving one's ability in various sports. As many people say “Hard work without talent is better than talent without working hard” All people who start their sport for the first time, whether they are talented or not, are starting from scratch, no level is skipped, it's just, it depends on their level of effort in their respective sport or expertise. The Coach's main job is to support the athletes or players whether it is a team sport or not, he stabilizes the balance of the Athletes and teaches the true meaning of team effort.

Why is Sports Beneficial?

Here are 20 reasons:

1. Sports help children build character, work ethic or attitude and mental toughness, helping them manage varying levels of stress as they grow older.

2. Sports provide a different repetitive setting where they exercise their own abilities, it also improves their self-control and discipline.

3. It improves the physicality of one's body.

4. Participation in sports reduces shyness into a person's attitude, it enhances their self-esteem or confidence.

5. Sport teaches players a fair game, which they can absorb and use in their lives.

6. Sports help to introduce Independent Attitude and Self-Esteem

7. It teaches teamwork.

8. It acts as a platform or place for them to observe and develop their leadership skills.

9. Sports teaches children to listen and follow goals.

10. It gives players the opportunity to experience diversity, live with it and how to overcome it.

11. Sport teaches that all participants can win gracefully and lose with dignity.

12. Letting all of us have a competitive attitude will help us to develop maturity and move us in a positive direction

13. It brings joy to the participants and allows them to get out of their comfort zone.

14. It gives them the opportunity to become more flexible as they go through uncertain things or situations.

15. It improves our physical health and mood, leading to a lower likelihood of depression.

16. A sport activity gives us the opportunity to get to know other people and express different emotions.

17. Sport is one of the main headquarters for children to learn and develop themselves as it consists of professionals as coaches who seek to help the players and guide them through the experience.

18. Sports aid in one's preparatory training.

19. Sports introduce the importance of goal and perseverance in our life as not everything is achieved in a short time of preparation and lack of motivation and effort.

20. Sports practice children to deal with different types of pressure, and how to handle that pressure helps children gain more confidence in themselves.