A funny athletes’ oath to liven up the start of the sports day

Impromptu Athletes’ Oath

@togetoge5ch

[Missed-episode streaming has started] “A night to update the sports day.” Kano’s idea: impromptu athletes’ oath implemented!! Kawakita and Fukuda take on the challenge!! Watch the rest on TVer!!https://tver.jp/lp/episodes/epd15mc04h…

♬ Original Song – Togetoge TV [TV Asahi Official] – Togetoge TV [TV Asahi Official]

Many people probably take their time thinking carefully about what to say before stepping up to make the athletes’ pledge.

Most will also practice in advance.

However, there’s no rule that you absolutely have to do so.

With that in mind, I’d like to propose doing the athletes’ pledge improvised.

You might come up with amusing lines or moving phrases that only improvisation can produce.

You could even throw a tricky, impromptu “pass” to your partner.

That said, it’s risky, so I hope you’ll proceed with caution while giving it a try.

Make it call-and-response

Opening Declaration of the 2018 High School Sports Festival

The athletes’ oath is an important moment to express gratitude for being able to hold the sports day and to declare our determination.

Precisely because of this situation, we want not only the person delivering the oath but all participants to get excited together.

By structuring it so the representative calls out to the participants and they respond, you can boost the energy of the event while pushing the sense of unity to the limit.

You could call for connections among students, or ask for responses from the teachers—either way, it’s likely to liven things up.

In any case, delivering the call with full energy is what really matters.

Put a catchphrase before the name

Episode 1: “I Tried Giving That YouTuber a Catchphrase Without Permission!!!”

Instead of packing jokes throughout the entire oath, a structure where you save a strong punchline just for the end could be fun too.

For example, at the part where you say the representatives’ names one by one at the end of the athletes’ oath, you could add a catchphrase for each person.

You can come up with your own and present them, or ask friends about your traits beforehand and craft them—that sounds fun as well.

Since self-deprecating humor is the norm in settings like this, it might be interesting to do the opposite and give yourself confident, personality-amplifying catchphrases that boldly play up your individuality.

Declaration to avoid competition risks

Kure National College of Technology Sports Festival Opening Ceremony

I think setting a central theme and crafting the content of the athletes’ oath around it is very important for clarity.

This oath is a declaration that we will put the safety of our fellow participants first and eliminate every possible danger.

It proclaims the removal of obstacles from the obstacle course, the prohibition of throwing balls in the ball-toss game, and the elimination of anything that could cause injury.

It’s an enjoyable oath in how boldly and straightforwardly it declares the dismantling of the competitions themselves.

The forceful, valiant tone paired with such negative, backward-looking statements is, I think, part of what makes it amusing.

A gag using paper

Opening Declaration of the 2018 High School Sports Festival

Even if you’re simply reciting predetermined words or reading from a prepared script, it still counts as an athlete’s oath.

This idea flips the act of reading a script on its head by using various papers disguised as a “script.” Accompanied by the line, “I’ve compiled what I want to say on paper,” you play around with different kinds of paper.

For example, you could pull out toilet paper to wipe away tears, or prepare a long scroll-like sheet and say just a single word—there are many possible variations.

It might be funny to build it up by pulling out all sorts of papers, only to reveal in the end that you never actually made a script.