Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1159832
CULTURE CHILDREN maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 AUGUST 2019 6 UK'S Daily Mail has recently report- ed that, at Finland's University of Jy- väskylä and LIKES Research Centre for Physical Activity and Health, research- ers have observed that children's activ- ity levels plummet at just seven years old, regardless of how active they were before this age. With the highest childhood obesity rate in Europe, we in Malta must be particularly concerned about how we challenge this trend in our children. The answer? Scientists insist that it is key that we encourage children to attend after-school activities that are focused on sport and physical activity. In Malta, one solution can be found in Sportskidz, which starts for another year in October. An after-school club for children aged between three and 16, it introduces them to a wide range of sports and keeps them active, while en- suring they have a huge amount of fun. "Sportskidz offers children what no other club does," says one parent. "A few hours of fun while they try their hands at various sporting activities. It allows them to find out what they like best, but at the same time it develops their team spirit, helps them create new friendships and foster a love for sports in a healthy way." Meanwhile, a young participant puts it simply: "During the week I wake up everyday hoping it's Saturday, so that I can go to Sportskidz. I love it!" 2018 was Sportskidz' first in Malta and its founder, Edward Mercieca, is thrilled with how the launch panned out. "2018 was a great success, both in terms of the number of students that attended, as well as their enjoy- ment level. I felt a great personal sat- isfaction in seeing our children grow in confidence, make new friends and, of course, learn and play so many differ- ent sports," he says. Now the young attendees will be able to try their hand at even more choices: 18 different sports are lined up, and hockey, tennis, pickle ball and golf have been added to the existing winter term line up. Children aged between three-to-five years enjoy one-and-a-half hours per week, with a focus on movement and activity as opposed to organised sport. For children ages six and over, sessions are for three hours and are structured into three sections, starting with an hour of traditional team sports such as handball, basketball or volleyball, then an hour of individual sports such as gymnastics, athletics or martial arts, be- fore the final hour of team-building ac- tivities. Children are divided into three groups according to age, and class size is capped in order to give each child plenty of individual attention. The Sportskidz school-year has been designed to run concurrently with the normal academic year, divided into three terms and complement- ing school hours. SportsKidz officially kicks off with its first term-date on Friday 4 October, with classes running from 4.30pm-7.30pm at Santa Theresa Secondary School in Mriehel. There will also be Saturday morning classes from 10am-1pm at the National Sports School in Pembroke, and on Satur- day afternoons from 2.30pm-5.30pm at Mosta Secondary School Zokrija in Mosta. Interested kids, parents and guard- ians are invited to call 7942 2054 or visit www.sportskidz.com.mt for more information about the Sportskidz pro- gramme and to register their participa- tion. Sportskidz returns to get Malta's children moving with even more sports on offer in 2019 Sportskidz is back for another fun- packed year, offering 18 sports in total... Sportskidz encourages three to 16 year olds to lead an active lifestyle and to build confidence while trying a range of different sporting activities