A report on Kids Sport in Canada has just been published which shows that from 1992 to 2007 kids involvement in team games for children went down from 57% to 51%. This corresponds to similar declines noticed in the United Kingdom. The decline is greater for boys at 10% whilst girls sports involvement has only declined by 4%.
One of the main reasons in the United Kingdom was the massive sale of sports grounds by schools which started under the Thatcher government in the 1980s. In Canada one of the reasons for the decline particularly in the urban areas was that sport is mainly organized for adults. This means that with limited resources the children seem to lose out.
In the Canadian report the most popular team sport was soccer. This was both for girls and boys and it has replaced the most popular sport in 1992 which was swimming.
The worry for parents in this decline in games for children is what kids activities can they encourage their children to do to keep them fit and healthy.
We hear a lot about child obesity these days so three years ago a bike charity was set up in Utah to provide bicycles for 1,000 underprivileged kids. The charity was set up by Debbie Reid with the aim of providing both a positive education and a cycling experience for disadvantaged children.The first event took place on the 30th September 2006. The format was simple there were 3 different rides, one a family ride of 5 kilometers, the second a 100 kilometer ride and finally a 50 kilometer ride with Dave Zabriskie the third American to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France.
From 10:30 a.m. on the day of the event and every half hour after that bikes were delivered by local and political leaders to a new group of children. In addition to the bikes the youngsters were given helmets and t-shirts and a lock for each bicycle. They also got to attend a bike fair and were given instruction in cycle safety and how important it is to obey traffic signals and wear helmets. The youngsters were chosen from Boys & Girls Club of Murray, the Guadalupe School and Rose Park Elementary.
What is so good about this initiative is that firstly it gives these kids a fun way of getting to school which costs little or nothing. In addition they are getting regular exercise and a sense of responsibility in owning and looking after their own bicycle. The provision of any equipment like this which encourages physical and mental activity should be applauded.
The bike charity has been so successful has that they are now organizing their third annual event.
