In September, on the second day of the new semester, Yukio's class received a notice that the first lesson in the morning would be a class meeting, temporarily postponing the originally scheduled lessons, causing everyone to become nervous.
Yukio had already met with Ryuen yesterday to discuss matters concerning the sports festival and had also announced it in the class chat room.
As a result, the class members felt even more serious, pondering how to help Yukio overcome the grade barrier and beat the second-year student named Nagumo up.
Upon Yukio's arrival, he was greeted by the earnestness of the class, which surprised him. After inquiring with Ishizaki, he learned that the class members were also thinking of helping him, which made him feel that the class was becoming more unified.
After Ishizaki finished explaining, he became curious about the question from the day before: "Yukio-san, did you ask the student council president why Class D still had points to give us?"
Yukio casually took out his phone and showed the message from Horikita Manabu, which was very precise and in Horikita Manabu's style. It essentially said that the school authorities judged Class D to have the ability to repay in the near future, so they temporarily covered for Class D.
The basis for the school's conclusion was probably the upcoming sports festival.
Sakagami, always punctual, entered the classroom before the bell for the start of class rang. Seeing everyone's expressions, he guessed it was Yukio's doing: "It seems you're all prepared, aren't you?"
"Then I'll feel relieved to say this. First of all, this." After speaking, Sakagami posted a new agenda on the blackboard and advised the students to take a picture to avoid forgetting it.
The students were delighted upon seeing it. It was a new calendar! According to the new schedule, for the next month, there would only be academic classes in the morning, with the afternoons dedicated to physical education.
The popularity of PE in high school was significant. In an era where PE teachers were often controlled by teachers of other subjects, having so many PE classes was considered a blessing for the students.
However, some students, already aware of the competition at the sports festival, thought that these additional PE classes were likely meant as practice time for them.
"Alright, alright." Sakagami gently pressed his hand down to quiet everyone before carefully explaining the school's arrangements for the sports festival: "The sports festival is set for next month, with each class competing individually as groups."
"Here is the list of all the events." Sakagami posted the event list next to the new timetable. It included various traditional athletic activities like running, long jump, and three-legged races.
There were also team events like relay races, tug-of-war, and cavalry battles. Among the individual events, Yukio noticed the bread-eating contest he had specifically mentioned in the student council, which was ultimately added by the school authorities.
Sakagami, having posted everything clearly, then eloquently explained: "As you can see, the rules are actually quite simple."
"Each individual event (including the two-person three-legged race) will have participants from twelve groups, meaning all twelve classes across the three grades will compete together."
"And for each individual event, there will be five rounds. Each participant is limited to one round but can join multiple events. How you participate is up to you."
"The first place scores 50 points, and the twelfth place deducts 50 points. The second place gets 40 points, and the eleventh place deducts 40 points, decreasing sequentially. The sixth and seventh places are exceptions; they neither gain nor lose points."
"As for the team events, the scoring and deduction are tripled. Easier to understand, right? Of course, these are just points for the sports festival ranking, not class points, so don't look so worried."
While speaking, Sakagami even managed to crack a joke, easing the class members' tensions, who had misunderstood. They thought losing in an individual event would cost them many class points, but it was only about sports points!
Whether it was Sakagami's dark humor or not, seeing the class relax, he began to emphasize the importance of the points again: "Don't take this lightly."
"When the sports festival concludes, the classes will be ranked based on points. The first-place class gets 300 class points as a reward, then deducts 50 points going down!"
"The deduction starts from the seventh place, deducting 50 class points! The further back the ranking, the more class points are reduced!"
"Especially for the class that finishes in the last place, twelfth, they will lose a total of 300 class points!"
This immediately tensed up the students again, making them serious. Even students like Shiina and Kaneda, who were academically strong but physically weak, prepared to give their all, feeling that this sports festival was a battle worth fighting.
Sakagami's explanation wasn't over yet: "Don't rush; the school has encouraged your active participation in the competition, promising not just class rewards but individual rewards as well."
"For instance, in individual events, the student who comes first can receive a reward of 30,000 private points, second place gets 20,000, and third place gets 10,000. There are no rewards beyond that."
"In team events, the first-place participants each get 5,000 private points, second place gets 3,000, and third place 1,000. The rewards are quite generous."
"Additionally, there's a 'Best Individual' award for the student who earns the most points for their class in each grade, offering a direct reward of 10,000 private points from the school."
"There's also a 'Best Class' award for the student who contributes the most points to their class among the three grades, who will receive 100,000 private points."
"However," Sakagami cautioned, "don't just focus on the rewards. The school has always been clear about rewarding and punishing equally: With great rewards come significant penalties."
Sakagami emphasized the importance of attendance, stating that if someone is absent due to injury from a previous event, their class will lose 50 points. If a substitute needs to be used, it will cost 100,000 private points as a substitution fee.
"So, don't just focus on the rewards. You must also consider your abilities. If you get injured due to overexertion and end up absent, the consequences could be severe."
"Finally," Sakagami seemed to be wrapping up, he leisurely walked down from the podium, carrying a document bag, and placed it on Yukio's desk, which was located at the back row by the window.
Yukio, curious, asked, "Sakagami-sensei, what's this?"
"The entry form," Sakagami's tone became more serious. "This is the most important thing for each class in the sports festival."
"The schedule is very tight due to the short preparation time, with events happening back-to-back, except for a lunch break. There's no other free time, and it's almost a day of intense competition."
"Therefore, the entry form must be prepared by you, the students, and submitted to me by the end of September. Once submitted, it cannot be changed. Everyone, including substitutes, must strictly follow the schedule outlined in the entry form to participate in the events."
Understanding the gravity of the situation, Yukio looked intrigued. It's no wonder Sakagami was so formal; this document was crucial.
If everything had to strictly follow the entry form, and changes were not allowed post-submission, it meant that each class's participants, timings, and rounds were fixed.
If one were to obtain another class's entry form, it would be possible to make targeted plans against them.
For example, using Nagumo as an example in a simple race, knowing his participation schedule would allow Yukio to assign someone specifically to disrupt Nagumo's performance, aiming to lower his results.
Of course, this was just a hypothetical scenario.
Given the individual sports festival's complexity, with twelve classes competing separately in a chaotic mix, even if one had another class's entry form, predicting outcomes in a twelve-person competition was challenging.
The entry form's significance lies primarily in team events. Due to the tight schedule, team events will have each class select a specific venue at the same time. Once a choice is submitted, it cannot be changed. If you have another class's entry form and see their venue choice, you can make targeted moves accordingly.
In summary, the entry form is indeed the core of all classes' strategies for the sports festival.
"I understand, Sakagami-sensei. Leave it to me," Yukio said, not in a hurry to fill out the form but clearly grasping its importance.
Sakagami smiled and nodded, showing his trust in Yukio's capabilities and feeling reassured by his response.
***
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