Multisport Activity

General Sport Instructor
Medium (1 month)
Regular after-school program, Workshops
Local Authorities, NGO / Association, Others, Sport Clubs

A multisport program developed with support from a certified Sports Instructor, ideally during spring-summer time, with children/teenagers/youngsters from educational centers or special schools/structures for disadvantaged children and teenagers. The program can be an additional outdoor activity for the target group concerned.

The program can be developed within the premises of the educational centers/special schools or structures for an average period of 2 weeks, with a 4 hour total of activities each day. Breaks should be considered in the schedule of the program and a group formed out of minimum 10 and a maximum of 30 children/youngsters for a proper implementation of the planned activities.

Types of sports that can be organized: Relay races, Aerobics, Gymnastics (including elements of artistic gymnastics), Running, Basketball, activities from the sphere of Athletics (full jumps, long jumps, jumps over fences etc.).

Success or innovation factors

Successful factors could be:

The preparation and the plan of activities developed together with the educators or the persons in charge from the educational centers/special schools/structures (who know the participants beforehand, worked with them and can provide valuable information on the approach of work with them);
The methodological approach (as presented above);
The organization of activities in groups/teams that automatically help the participants to feel more integrated, given their background;
The selection of various locations for the activities; changing the environment can be both entertaining and a source of external motivation for the participants.
The insurance (beforehand) of proper materials, products, objects, equipment necessary for the development of the activities, eventually also an initial training on how to use them before the actual activities take place;
The selection of a qualified Sports Instructor, which can handle the target group and can also adapt to their specific needs;
Periodic feedback sessions organized with the educators from the centers/schools/structures, incorporating suggestions and ideas for the benefit of the kids.

Methodological approach

The methodological approach should consider: sports, games and activities with a non-formal character for a proper engagement of the target group concerned.

PBE (Preparing the body for effort) and SIMS (Selective influence of the musculoskeletal system) working sessions are highly encouraged as a preparation and warming-up form of activities, so that the participants can handle the physical effort, especially if they are not used with similar activities or do not undertaken sportive activities regularly and have a general poor physical shape.

Potential risks

The weak aspects of the program could be:

The spaces available for the development of the activities properly, involving a large number of participants;
A general poor physical shape which will make it more difficult to develop certain activities; a need for a change in the types of activities might arise.
Lack of certain resources, materials including sports equipment (such as sportswear among the participants, given their background) which will make it difficult for them to develop certain activities.

Replicability / Opportunity for future use

This pilot activity can be a special tool for educational centers/special schools or structures working with disadvantaged children/teenagers or youngsters with fewer opportunities to both diversify their activities and engage in non-formal educational activities based on sports. Also, it can represent a form of therapy for the youngsters since the activities can boost their self-confidence and develop new abilities that might be useful for them in the future, to overcome the current challenges they are facing.

For the youngsters with fewer opportunities and their families such a pilot activity represents an extra educational context, which they might not afford otherwise, since most Sports Clubs request a regular or a one-time fee for participating in their sportive activities. Given their low financial possibilities, such children are excluded from such contexts.

Activities

For the development of the Multisport program, several actions need to be considered:

Identification of a Sports Instructor, with experience in the area and available for facilitating the activities (preferably with previous experience also in working with the target group concerned);
Identification of a proper location for hosting the sportive activities;
Creation of a plan per days/hours for the activities, including the necessary resources;
Organization of a preparatory meeting with the educators and responsible persons from the educational centers/special schools or structures selected for the program;
Settling of the programme (working days, hours etc.);
Development of the actual activities.

Human resources (qualification/skills)

This multisport model can be conducted by teachers with a degree (or a specialized training) in physical education and sport. The skills required are:

knowledge related to physical education and sport;
specific-related skills for motor development;
flexibility, capacity to work with a group and adapt to the target group concerned.

Logistic

Educational centers/special schools or structures working with disadvantaged children/teenagers or youngsters or with children/teenagers or youngsters with fewer opportunities.

Materials and equipment

The materials and resources needed for the development of the activities are the following:

Balls;
Fences;
Ropes;
Basket balls;
Different objects: stones etc.;
Ladder.

Recruiting of participants

The participants can be selected based on personal interest and motivation, by the Sports Instructor/Teacher together with the educators and the other representatives and responsible persons from the educational centers/special schools or structures.

Administrative / Bureaucracy

Data from the participants can be collected under the form of a presence list listing their names, surnames, country and other general data that may be relevant. Additionally, a parental consent can be requested directly from the parents under the form of a signed declaration, for minors.

Other medical documents can be requested from the medical doctors/family doctors of the kids in order to understand the medical health conditions of the kids and their availability for sports activities.

Permission to take photo-video materials should also be requested from parents and the representatives of the educational centers/special schools or structures so as to not bring them or their families any harm whatsoever.

Communication with participants

The communication with the participants can be done through:

Face to face activities during the days of activities;
The educators/people in charge from the centers/schools/structures – every day, at the end of the activities or whenever it is needed;
Feedback received from the educators and representatives of the educational centers/special schools or structures, at the end of every week of activities;
An evaluation form, completed at the end of the activities by the kids themselves, in writing.

Communication with stakeholders and media

In this program several types of stakeholders can be engaged:

Educational Centers;
Special Schools/Other Structures;
Local Public Authorities in charge or concerned by the target group envisioned;
Local NGOs active in the social and/or sportive fields.

Evaluation

The evaluation of the Multisport program can be conducted through:

Daily non-formal and feedback sessions, organized with the children at the end of the activities;
Daily non-formal and feedback sessions, organized with the educators and the other representatives from the educational centers/special schools/structures;
Final evaluation questionnaires (with both open and closed questions) completed by the children themselves, at the end of Multisport program.