Getting to grips with sports for all

Sport and physical recreation are no longer considered a privilege but a God-given right and an expectation mainly because they contribute to a healthy lifestyle conducive to the harmonious development of body and mind. In pursuance of these aims, article one of the European Sports for All Charter, of which Malta is a signatory, affirms this fundamental right by stating that “Every individual shall have the right to participate in sport” and it strongly recommends a policy that incorporates full use of both new and existing facilities. It makes it compulsory on the government to develop its public open spaces for physical recreation for the benefit of all its citizens and to ensure accessibility is open at all times.

These policies for mass participation are reinforced by similar declarations in the United Nations and Unesco charters.

The slogan Sports For All addresses the whole spectrum of society not necessarily the high performer or the potential medal winner. Basically, it is a humanistic policy geared for mass participation including the young beginner, adolescents, the underprivileged and senior citizens, all intent on improving the quality of life.

Although sports champions in the international arena serve as role models, the main focus of a National Sports Council should primarily focus on mass participation in sports and physical recreation, particularly those that generate vigorous sweat, in all its forms, not necessarily the traditional sports. The highly-successful summer school organised this year by the Malta Sports Council, with an inclusive policy based on fun, hilarity and diversity, is definitely a step in the right direction.

Paradoxically, real sport belongs to the realm of the “games without a purpose” and that it why it is such a meaningful activity, one that makes life worth living, which the philosopher Ortega y Gasset sums up in these words: “Sport has meaning when it has no meaning.”

Particularly at a young age, children’s experience and disposition towards sport should be a positive one in order to help them develop sport and physical recreation as an ongoing activity later on in life. This will help them to face successfully the strain and stresses of modern life, which leads to a very high incidence of obesity, high blood pressure and mental strain.

Hopefully, when the urgent “action plan” to address the exceptionally high level of obesity and diabetes in Malta is implemented, the importance of sports and physical recreation will seriously be re-assessed and intensified.

In line with other European countries, Parliament should also issue a White Paper on the physical, educational and social benefits of sport and physical recreation. It should also ensure that public open spaces are accessible to all at all times for improvised games, for mirth and hilarity unfettered by competitive elements that may blunt children’s interest in sport. These open spaces should contain equipment and facilities that stimulate physical exertion and not just an extension of a sedentary life in the form of “swings and merry-go-rounds”.

It is the opinion of noted social scientists that rigid competitions at an early age should be avoided. In their formative years, children should have the widest possible experience to play various games and also the joyous experience of “outdoor living” in the form of rambling and camping. Highly organised competition should not be initiated before adolescence, otherwise, the intrinsic motivation for sport may be lost forever.

In spite of strict instructions to the contrary by the director of sport who strongly believed in the maxim of Sports For All in all schools, how many thousands of children and youngsters have we sacrificed in the past so that 11 players could represent the school at the expense of children who loved sport but who could never make the team? Perhaps they were not good enough to be “a winner they were too slow, too timid, too fat, too weak. Of course, a sense of competition is natural in children because it provides healthy emotional outlets and should not be suppressed but it should not be exaggerated either.

Furthermore, adults must not dominate the play of children. Practices such as recruiting, registering and transferring are, in my opinion, undesirable as the fun dimension is gradually replaced by the performance criteria.

At this point in time when technological advances have made serious inroads in children’s after-school activities, when the Playstation and the internet are seriously contributing to a sedentary life, when obesity is rampant, when the joyous sounds, mirth and laughter of children playing in our streets have completely disappeared, a concerted drive is urgently required from all the stakeholders, and that includes local councils, to ensure mass participation in physical recreation and sports with the sole aim of a better quality of life for all.