Minors from rural areas do not play sports outside of school

Children in the villages of our country exercise, but very little sports. More than three-quarters (81%) of children from rural areas do not participate in sports activities outside of physical education classes at school, and 41% of parents declare that they cannot financially support organized/professional sports activities, reveals a survey by World Vision Romania. The sociological research was carried out among parents and physical education and sports teachers from rural areas and aimed at children's access to organized sports, "highlighting major difficulties and urgent needs". The results of the survey emphasize the existence of problems related to the infrastructure, the need for adequate education regarding the importance of sport, the cited source also shows. According to the research, 81% of children do not participate in sports activities outside of physical education and sports classes, 41% of the responding parents declare that they cannot financially support their children in organized/professional sports activities, and 28% of them do not know where and how to guide their children when it comes to choosing an organized/professional sport. Also, 56% of teachers mention the lack of a dedicated training space as the main important infrastructure element. Regarding the existence of swimming pools, 88.5% of children declare that they would like to learn to swim, but approximately 30% of parents say that they do not know where the nearest pool is, and 41.5% claim that the most the nearest pool is more than 20 km away, the cited source also shows. On the other hand, six out of ten teachers declare that in the schools where they teach there are children who have sports inclinations. However, they fail to practice sports because the family cannot afford transport/equipment/coach costs (68%), do not have accessible training opportunities/spaces (56%) or do not have enough support from the community (26%) ). According to the research, there are financial and infrastructural problems in the rural environment, as well as a need for education to be able to make informed decisions regarding the sporting opportunities in which children could be involved. In the rural environment, "the school sports infrastructure is either missing or very outdated, which makes it difficult to practice sports activities", the source said. The existence of the necessary infrastructure for carrying out activities in the school, as well as its use, are relevant indicators for the quality of the education process, highlights World Vision Romania. Mihaela Nabăr, executive director of World Vision Romania stated: "In reality, we must recognize that practicing a sport and implicitly the sports performance in the rural environment are directly proportional to the material lacks. We, at World Vision Romania, run educational programs that include activities sports or campaigns about the importance of sports, but without the involvement of the responsible public authorities, our impact can be limited. One example is the "Summer of Firsts' campaign, through which, year after year, we aim to offer students sporting opportunities during the summer. Summer camps and excursions are an important step, but to support performance sports in rural areas, a coherent approach is needed and specialized human resources are needed. Only through a concerted effort and a serious investment can we overcome seasonal limitations and provide support in the long run".

The organization believes that it is imperative to invest in the development of the sports infrastructure and in the transformation of sports into an investment priority, to carry out campaigns to inform and educate communities about the importance and benefits of sports activities. World Vision Romania also advocates for investments in the training of human resources specialized in supporting sports activities and the equal and fair access of communities to these resources. Also, the organization considers it necessary to allocate resources for participation in sports competitions and the inclusion of children and young people who do sports activities as a specific category of the National Healthy Meal Program and the investment in the school infrastructure of high schools and sports schools to allow the implementation of this program.