Organised school sport for children and adolescents COVID 19 and beyond

 

How do you get back to school sport in a safe way? What does school sport look like after the Corona Virus? What criteria do you need to follow to run school sport in a safe way? What does the future of school sport look like? Professor's Candice Christie (University of Rhodes), policy brief lead, and Professor Rowena Naidoo (University of KZN) led a team of professors, scientists and sporting personalities from most of the universities in South Africa together with other a couple of universities from other countries in Africa and sporting research agencies came up with a brief to assist schools with the best practice guidelines to return sport to schools. “Sport has the power to change the world” – Nelson Mandela. Regular participation in exercise, sport and physical activity offers many proven benefits for children and adolescents. Beyond just the obvious physical advantages, physical activity plays an important role in promoting mental health and well-being and social development in children. Schools provide many opportunities for physical activity, in the form of structured and unstructured play, as physical education within the formal academic curriculum or through informal and formal organised sport, including competitive intra- or inter-school activity. This policy brief focuses on formal organised sport in schools and provides guidelines on how to manage school sport during a pandemic. It is premised on the fact that sports participation is important for both the physical and mental well-being of children, as a platform for safe and enjoyable physical activity, and a foundation for acquiring life skills and promoting social interaction. This brief draws on the principles and benefits of physical activity articulated by complimentary policy briefs in this series and from other literature. It is the outcome of a collective effort of experts concerned about the current and future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents who engage in organised sports in school. As many types of organised sport involves close physical contact, it is designed to provide guidance to all those engaged in organised sport in schools; participating learners, educators, coaches, parents/caregivers, spectators and the communities, on how to practice the best possible safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. This policy brief is best used alongside safety guidelines developed by Health Departments of national, regional and local governments and international health guidelines, as set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) pandemic response team. Further, this document augments existing school organised sport policies, but can also serve as a stand-alone guide.