In many Westernschools, sports day is a bigevent. Children take part in competitive （竞争性的）sportsand try to break school records and take the first place.
Sports days, orsports meetings, are usually held in the warmer seasons, either at thebeginning or the end of the school year. They are also called field days. Primary school sports days are fun. They usuallyhave activities such as the egg and the spoon race and the sack race（套袋赛跑）. Other events include the skipping race and the three-legged race. In middle and high schools, sports days include many of the common track andfield events（田径项目）. They are more serious and competitive thanprimary school ones.
Students' parentsand other relatives also come to the school on sports days. They watch children play. Many schools in the West have "mothers andfathers" races for parentsto take part in!
Although sports daysare exciting, they also have some problems. According to some reports in theUSA, sports days have become too competitive to be good for students. Someparents put too much pressure on their children. Some schools don'thave "mothers and fathers" races any more as there is much fighting and cheating.
