Athletics Carnivals - a particularly cruel torture?

It has recently come to my attention that my old High School had its annual athletics carnival recently. And this got me thinking.

I have never been 'fit'. Ever. I don't run. It's just not a thing. I was always a cerebral child; reading, playing some instrument or the other, you get the picture. Sport was never something which interested me, and nor, when I participated in school sport classes, did I ever feel a love between sport and I grow.


Now, this idea of an athletics carnival I find particularly abhorrent. First of all, it ain't no carnival. A carnival has cool rides, and fairy floss, and bright flashing lights. An athletics carnival has only children being forced to compete against one another in a grossly unflattering school sports uniform, being bossed around by the teacher who is given the mic for the day. But perhaps it is named so deliberately, in order to trick children like me (except they'd be slightly less intelligent, and fall for it) into believing that this 'carnival' would be fun! and full of great things!
But what is the worst part of it, is the public humiliation. It was bad enough for me being forced to do the 1600m run in mere PE class, as I was inevitably the (or one of) last person to complete it in the so-called 'fitness training' (until I stopped running it, and walked the damn thing instead - my teacher actually stopped bothering to time me). But within my own class, the humiliation of being so utterly uncoordinated and unfit was restricted to only the 19 or so other girls who made up my class.
Athletics Carnivals do not consider the Alices of the school. Everybody is forced to participate in at least one event. And there are mostly events where students are forced to run. So it was many years of doing my pathetic run-trot in front of an entire school that was faced directly towards the athletics track, until I finally persuaded my mother to just let me stay home and be more productive through music practice, or schoolwork instead. What was particularly cruel twist of fate here, is that every time mother did cave in and said 'it's ok, you can stay home', the day was rainy and the 'carnival' was cancelled.