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Themed Special (no 2)

Wacky Races
Race Day Drama

and

WINNERS - Bible Chat
The Race of Faith

For Leaders:
This themed special is aimed at providing material for a one-off event having a race / sporty theme. A fun and entertaining drama - ‘Race-Day’ introduces the theme. The Bible chat - ‘Winners’ outlines how we are all winners with Jesus, who wants to be our coach, friend and guide in our daily lives - ‘The Race of Faith’.
You may like to add your own games, song and some kind of craft to provide a complete programme around a sports / races theme.

Race Day Drama

The race between the hare and the tortoise.
The hare is fast but the tortoise is steady and determined, who will win the coveted trophy for this, the finale of ‘Wacky Races’ race day?

The Race Course:

The drama will require some kind of course for the two competitors. It might be a single lap around your hall or a number of smaller laps up front. Whatever is opted for the competitors the run of the race needs to be viewable for all of the children. The race course detailed here is 3 laps up front and includes using a stage, with steps on two sides but your course should be tailored to suit facilities available.

Characters:
Harry the Hare
Tommy the Tortoise
Puppet spectator(s)
Race Commentator (RC)
Race-day spectators
Race adjudicator / lap counter (RA)
News reporter

Props ideas:
Hare and tortoise cut-outs on some kind of tube or pole to enable characters to be held up and visible to all watching.
Bunting & decoration for fun race day atmosphere, fanfare music, horns, rattles… start and finish flags, lap counter / white board, adjudicator’s whistle, reporter’s microphone, a couple of seats along the course, which Harry will take advantage of during the race. 

Optional race day ‘fancy dress’ for all leaders, bonnets, hats, animal costume or competitor’s attire…

(To create a kind of carnival atmosphere if possible and practical.)

Scene set:

Two competitors line up at the start line ready to begin the race. The tortoise is bashful as they await the start, the hare looking confident punches the air as if they’ve already won. The spectators toot their horns and swing their rattles. (spectators could have homemade banners) The race adjudicator is poised with the start sign.

Both competitors will move slowly around the course, Harry the hare in a kind of energetic exaggerated jog style Tommy Tortoise in consistent plod style.

Intro FOR Kids:

At the beginning of the event and before the race day drama commences introduce the event to the kids. If you are linking this session to some topical sporting event or occasion you may like to mention this in your intro. In any event the intro should say that today’s event is all about races , we’ve called it ‘Wacky Races’ because shorty we are going to see a bit of a Wacky Race to introduce us to our theme.

The race commentary and drama begins

Race Commentator (RC)
Well isn’t it so exciting at this grand final race today. Our two competitors are all set to go. In lane 1 we have Harry the hare and in lane 2 Tommy Tortoise (Harry punches the air looking confident and Tommy smiles). Everyone here today is expecting this to be an easy win for Harry the hare and he does seem to be in fine form.

The time has come, we’re under starters orders.

Race Adjudicator (RA)
OK competitors are you ready, steady – (the RA then blows the whistle whilst holding the start sign up in the air).

Throughout the race the spectators cheer using their rattles and horns particularly when one contestant overtakes the other...   

RC: (LAP 1)
And they’re off on the first lap and straightway Harry hare goes into the lead, Harry seems very confident of a win here. Tommy tortoise is off to a slow but steady start. It’s Harry who gets to the steps first and he’s up on stage. Tommy follows on behind but wait Harry has stopped for a quick rest and yes Tommy who isn’t stopping is passing Harry. Harry doesn’t seem to be put out and after a short break, Harry is back on his feet after Tommy. Tommy has got to the next steps first, so Harry is having to wait but now they are both down the steps and Harry is looking to overtake Tommy and get into the lead once more. As they finish the first lap it’s still Harry out in front.

RC: (LAP 2)
So here we are into the second lap and again Harry is out in front. Harry is still having an energetic race as he starts up the steps. Oh and Harry’s stopped again this time to tie his shoelaces and Tommy has again passed him. Tommy is still slower than Harry but he’s having a steady race and once again Tommy is heading for the steps. Yes, Tommy has made it to the bottom of the steps and has just gone into the last lap. How exciting is this. Harry has now sorted his shoes out and is making his way across the stage and down the steps. Tommy is still out in front but here comes Harry trying to catch Tommy up.

RC: (LAP 3)
Tommy is just in front but Harry has passed him on the straight. Harry is half way across the stage now, surely he will win, yes looks like Harry will be the winner but no, wait Harry has stopped again, this time to buy a drink, surely not at this late stage, oh my, Tommy has once again passed Harry and is making his way down the steps, and Harry is frantically trying to catch Tommy up. It’s going to be a tight finish but unbelievably, yes it is Tommy who goes through the finishing flag first and Tommy just can’t believe it. (As Tommy goes through the finish line the supporters cheer.)
So Tommy the tortoise is the winner of today’s grand finale of this year’s ‘Whacky Races’. Over to the reporter now who is going to talk to our two contestants.

Reporter:
So Harry what happened?

Harry:
I just don’t know, I don’t get it. I thought I’d win this easy. Overconfidence I reckon. I still can’t believe I have lost.

Reporter:
Tommy, any comment?

Tommy:
Nothing much to say really. To be honest I didn’t come along today to win. I just wanted to get to the finish. Just complete the race, you know, Harry is much better at this than me and that’s OK but I just wanted to get to the end.

Reporter:
So there we have it folks. A shock result but Tommy tortoise takes the cup!

More cheers from the spectators

Summing Up

Well kids that was quite a race and Tommy winning was quite unexpected. In life it’s not so important to come first or be the at the top but just to plod along doing your best. Tommy didn’t set out to win, he just wanted to finish and he got quite a surprise. Later we’re going to hear about another race, a very special race where everyone gets to be a winner.

‘WINNERS’ - Bible Chat (The Race of Faith)                                      

The aim of the Bible chat is to demonstrate to the kids that we are all winners when we live our lives trusting Jesus. We’re all loved and treated exactly the same, there are no favourites, or should we say, we’re all favourites, every single one of us. None of us is better than the other, we are all special to Jesus and He wants us all to know Him and be guided, helped, loved and coached throughout our lives by Him.

There are PowerPoint slides for use with this chat. (Download PowerPoint and leaders’ notes from bottom of this page.)

Chat for Kids.

SLIDE 1 - The Olympic symbol
Hey kids do you know what this symbol means? Yes it’s for the Olympic Games.
Every four years the world enjoys the Olympic Games. Lots of nations around the world send their best athletes to compete. I’m sure all the competitors dream of winning a medal.
Today we’re actually going to talk about how we all can be ‘Winners’ as we put our trust in Jesus..
Firstly lets look at this.

SLIDE 2 - Olympic sports:
Here’s some of the Olympic symbols for various sports can you name them?
1. Sprint (running)
2. Rowing
3. Badminton
4.Baseball
5.Cycling
6.Fencing
7.Gymnastics
8.Weight lifting
9.Table tennis

(There is a longer version (2 slides) of this little quiz entitled ‘Olympic Sports’ (Quiz 11) in the Games & Quizzes section of this site. The symbols on the second slide include a few of the sports which are not so readily identifiable as slide 1)

SLIDE 3 - Grecian Athlete (You may like to have a hand written letter to hold up here.)
A long time ago, a guy called Paul, a follower of Jesus, wrote a letter to some of his friends, His letter is in the Bible. Paul said following Jesus was like being in a race. Not a physical race that we run with our legs but a different kind of race. Paul called this race the race of faith. When we run the race of faith we choose to trust Jesus by following the guidance He gives is the Bible. The race of faith following Jesus is not a fast sprint like on a running track but a slow and steady race that is all about the way we live our everyday lives. And, were not competing with anyone it’s our own personal race with Jesus right alongside us.
 
Paul knew all about races and being an athlete because sport has been around for thousands of years. Here’s a statute of an Olympian from ancient Greece, do you know what his sport is? (Throwing the discus)

Paul tells us to run the race of faith, following Jesus and to never give up. When we run the race of faith with Jesus we are all winners! That’s terrific isn’t it? When I was at school, I wasn’t very good at sport. Actually, I wasn’t very good at a lot of things and I have never won a medal. But when we run the race of faith with Jesus by our side Paul says we all get a prize, every single one of us. That prize is having Jesus in our lives now and forever and ever and ever…

SLIDE 4 - The Coach
Do you know what’s going on here? Who’s the guy in white on the left? Yes, he’s the coach. Do you know what coaches do? (Take some answers) Yes, coaches train the team. This coach is giving the player some advice here. I wonder what he’s saying.

Now all of the athletes going to the Olympic Games will have coaches to help them stay fit and train them in their chosen sport. We have Jesus, who wants to be our life coach. He knows all the things that we need to live life to the full. He knows all the obstacles and problems that can come our way - at home, at school, sometimes even with friends but He has promised to be with us, cheering us on in the side-lines and helping us in all we do. We may not be good at sports or other things but it doesn’t matter, with Jesus we are all winners!

SLIDE 5
Finally imagine this:
(You could ask a leader to act this out)
You are running in a race, hoping to win and suddenly you trip up and fall down, would you still go on or would you feel defeated and say to yourself there’s no way I can win now? Well this happened to a famous Scottish athlete called Eric Liddell.
Around 100 years ago Eric Liddell was running in an important race. Eric was fast, very fast. The race started and Eric was off like lightening, but only a few seconds later a disaster happened, the guy running next to Eric accidently bumped into him knocking Eric over. Eric lay on the floor thinking that the race was now over for him, but down the track he could see one of the race officials waving at him, encouraging Eric to get up. Suddenly, Eric sprang to his feet and started running again. The other runners were some way in front, it seemed impossible now to think that he could win the race. But as Eric ran, he just seemed to get faster and faster. Soon he caught up with some of the other runners. The crowd were shouting and very excited as they saw Eric catch the others up but could he get out front and win? Nearing the end of the race Eric zoomed out in front and with an incredible burst of speed he passed the finish line in first place. Eric’s race that day was said to have been one of the greatest races of all time.
Eric became an amazing athlete and soon after that race Eric won a gold medal in the 1924 Olympic games.

Eric Liddell was not only a great athlete but he was also a Christian who loved Jesus. He knew how to run the race of faith. Eric went to China to tell people there the Good News that Jesus loved them very much. Although things were sometimes difficult for Eric he never gave up the race of faith, living his life for Jesus..

SLIDE 6
Remember kids that as far as Jesus is concerned we are all winners in His eyes, we’re all loved and treated exactly the same by Him. None of us are better than the other, we are all unique and special. Jesus wants us to know Him personally and be guided and coached throughout our lives by Him.

So let’s run the race of faith with Jesus, best coach, best friend, best guide, we’re all winners with Him!

DOWNLOADS

Drama script and Bible Chat Leaders’ Notes
PowerPoint to Accompany Bible Chat
Wacky Races Event PP Slide