[Make Sports Day More Approachable!] Unique Event Names: Fun Competition Titles by Category

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Editor-in-Chief, RAG MUSICHane Keisuke
Editor-in-chief of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. After working in a music studio and handling wedding sound, joined the RAG MUSIC editorial team in 2016. Experienced with a variety of instruments: marching band in elementary school, clarinet in junior high school wind ensemble, and drums in a band from high school onward. Drawing on my own musical activities and the experience gained through my work, I produce daily articles, including various song introductions, features on music festivals around the country, and live reports. In music, I enjoy not only rock from Japan and abroad but, lately, a wide range of J-pop as well.

Sports festivals are one of the big events for students, aren’t they?

And even among working adults, there are people who join company or community sports days and enjoy them just like students do.

Did you know that lately some sports day events have been given amusing names?

In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of humor-filled, unique event names—from ones that make you chuckle to cleverly crafted titles that are truly impressive.

Teachers and organizing committee members who are deciding on sports day event names, please feel free to use these as inspiration.

We hope this helps make your sports day even more exciting.

Ball Toss & Ball Rolling (1–10)

Queen of Balls and Basket: Let It Be (Ball Toss)

Disney’s Frozen was hugely popular not only for its story but also for its songs.

Combining the movie’s title with its theme song “Let It Go,” and playfully tweaking the title, they came up with “Queen of Tama and the Basket ~Let It Go~.” It suggests a strong determination to become the queen—number one—in tamaire (a ball-tossing game), just as the original title implies a regal figure.

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SAKI

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I can pop right into any basket!

A fun and quirky name that adds color to the tamaire (ball-toss) event.

It’s expected to make both participants and spectators smile.

By adding a cute ring to the basic format—seeing how many balls can be thrown into the basket within the time limit—you can foreground fun over nerves.

Preparing various types of baskets will broaden the scope of the competition.

For the poster, using illustrations of faces, wheels, and dynamic motion that hint at the original inspiration will make it even more approachable.

It’s a perfect idea for creating a lively, cheerful atmosphere at a sports day.

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mutō

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Anpanman, here’s a new face for you!

Anpanman is strong and dependable, but since his face is made of bread, he loses his strength when it gets wet.

When he’s in a pinch, Batako-san rushes over with Uncle Jam, says this line, throws Anpanman’s head to hit and replace it.

How about using that well-known line as the name of an event? Even classic games like ball carrying or ball rolling would feel exciting with that name! It would also be fun if everyone transformed into Batako-san or Uncle Jam and competed together.

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sasashina

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Other events (1–10)

Finally, we’ve put together a roundup of recommended event titles that we couldn’t introduce until now.

It’s packed with titles perfect for all kinds of activities, from cavalry battles and folk dances to warm-up exercises.

There are plenty of unique titles inspired by comedians’ catchphrases and cleverly adapted from blockbuster anime titles! Just seeing these fun, creative names might help ease the nerves before the event begins.

They capture the features and story of each activity so well that both participants and spectators are sure to get drawn in.

Use the titles we introduced as a reference, and try creating your own by linking trendy titles or lines with the characteristics of each event!

Queen of Horseback Archery (Anata kiba no joou)

It’s the name of an event that forcibly mashes up Disney’s Frozen with a cavalry-chicken fight.

The name clearly conveys both the source material and what the event involves, but the fact that they’ve been jammed together so awkwardly is part of the fun.

It strays from the original story, but you can imagine a plot where you battle through horse-top skirmishes to survive and reign as queen.

In trying to preserve elements of the original, the wording ends up mixing katakana and hiragana, which adds a slapdash vibe that makes it even funnier.

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kappamaki

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Heisei Cheer Battle Ponpoko

It’s a competition name that feels like a combination of the film “Pom Poko” (Heisei Tanuki War) and a cheer battle.

Since they share the word “kassen” (battle), it doesn’t come off as forced—that’s an important point.

If you want to evoke the original reference, keeping “Heisei” might work, but you could also change it to a word that reflects the year or season when it’s held.

Keeping in mind the film’s theme of tanuki tricking humans, it might also inspire a desire to stage surprise-filled cheer performances that astonish the audience.

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kappamaki

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Wata Live!!

It’s a sport name that adds a light, spirited feel to “back crossing,” where participants dash across their teammates’ backs.

Inspired by the title of the anime Love Live!, it expresses the movement of crossing in a nimble way.

The fact that the sport is captured in a short phrase gives the wording a crisp ring that highlights a playful atmosphere—an aspect worth noting.

It’s a name that, by challenging the sport with a short, punchy phrase, also draws attention to the team unity that’s essential to the competition.

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kappamaki

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It’s Taiso-san! (warm-up exercises)

A title you can use in conversations when someone asks, “What event is it now?”: “It’s Taiso-san!” This is a play on the signature catchphrase “It’s Saito-san!” by Tsukasa Saito of the comedy duo Trendy Angel.

Since it uses “taiso” (calisthenics), feel free to use it as a title for warm-up exercises!

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SAKI

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