physical education games and sports

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

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46 Unique Phys Ed Games Your Students Will Love

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There’s nothing kids need more to break up a day spent sitting still and listening than a fun PE class to let off some steam. In the old days, going to gym class probably included playing kickball or dodgeball after running a few laps. Since then, there have been countless reinventions of and variations on old classics as well as completely new games. Although there is no shortage of options, we love that the supplies required remain relatively minimal. You can transport to another galaxy using just a pool noodle or two or create a life-size game of Connect 4 using just Hula-Hoops. You’ll want to make sure to have some staples on hand like balls, beanbags, and parachutes. There are even PE games for kindergartners based on beloved children’s TV shows and party games. Regardless of your students’ athletic abilities, there is something for everyone on our list of elementary PE games!

1. Tic-Tac-Toe Relay

Elementary PE games that not only get students moving but also get them thinking are our favorites. Grab some Hula-Hoops and a few scarves or beanbags and get ready to watch the fun!

Learn more: Tic-Tac-Toe Relay at S&S Blog

2. Blob Tag

Pick two students to start as the Blob, then as they tag other kids, they will become part of the Blob. Be sure to demonstrate safe tagging, stressing the importance of soft touches.

Learn more: Blob Tag at Playworks

3. Cross the River

This fun game has multiple levels that students have to work through, including “get to the island,” “cross the river,” and “you lost a rock.”

Learn more: Cross the River at The PE Specialist

4. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Cones

Line up cones, then have students pair up and stand on either side of a cone. Finally, call out head, shoulders, knees, or cones. If cones is called, students have to race to be the first to pick up their cone before their opponent.

Learn more: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Cones at S&S Blog

5. Spider Ball

Elementary PE games are often variations of dodgeball like this one. One or two players start with the ball and attempt to hit all of the runners as they run across the gym or field. If a player is hit, they can then join in and become a spider themselves.

Learn more: Spider Ball Game at Kid Activities

6. Crab Soccer

We love elementary PE games that require students to act like animals (and we think they will too). Similar to regular soccer, but students will need to play on all fours while maintaining a crab-like position.

Learn more: Crab Soccer at Playworks

7. Halloween Tag

This is the perfect PE game to play in October. It’s similar to tag, but there are witches, wizards, and blobs with no bones!

Learn more: Halloween Tag at The Physical Educator

8. Crazy Caterpillars

We love that this game is not only fun but also works on students’ hand-eye coordination. Students will have fun pushing their balls around the gym with pool noodles while building their caterpillars.

9. Monster Ball

You’ll need a large exercise ball or something similar to act as the monster ball in the middle. Make a square around the monster ball, divide the class into teams on either side of the square, then task the teams with throwing small balls at the monster ball to move it into the other team’s area.

Learn more: Monster Ball at The PE Specialist

10. Striker Ball

Striker ball is an enjoyable game that will keep your students entertained while working on reaction time and strategic planning. We love that there is limited setup required before playing.

Learn more: Striker Ball at S&S Blog

11. Parachute Tug-of-War

What list of elementary PE games would be complete without some parachute fun? So simple yet so fun, all you will need is a large parachute and enough students to create two teams. Have students stand on opposite sides of the parachute, then let them compete to see which side comes out on top.

Learn more: Parachute Tug-of-War at Mom Junction

12. Fleas Off the Parachute

Another fun parachute game where one team needs to try to keep the balls (fleas) on the parachute and the other tries to get them off.

Learn more: Fleas Off the Parachute at Mom Junction

13. Crazy Ball

The setup for this fun game is similar to kickball, with three bases and a home base. Crazy ball really is so crazy as it combines elements of football, Frisbee, and kickball!

Learn more: Crazy Ball at Health Beet

14. Bridge Tag

This game starts as simple tag but evolves into something more fun once the tagging begins. Once tagged, kids must form a bridge with their body and they can’t be freed until someone crawls through.

Learn more: Bridge Tag at Great Camp Games

15. Star Wars Tag

Elementary PE games that allow you to be your favorite movie character are just way too much fun! You will need two different-colored pool noodles to stand in for lightsabers. The tagger will have one color pool noodle that they use to tag students while the healer will have the other color that they will use to free their friends.

Learn more: Star Wars Tag at Great Camp Games

16. Rob the Nest

Create an obstacle course that leads to a nest of eggs (balls) and then divide the students into teams. They will have to race relay-style through the obstacles to retrieve eggs and bring them back to their team.

17. Four Corners

We love this classic game since it engages students physically while also working on color recognition for younger students. Have your students stand on a corner, then close their eyes and call out a color. Students standing on that color earn a point.

Learn more: Four Corners at The Many Little Joys

18. Movement Dice

This is a perfect warm-up that requires only a die and a sheet with corresponding exercises.

Learn more: Roll the Dice Movement Break at Teaching Littles

19. Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag

A fun spin on tag, children will tag one another and then play a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who has to sit and who gets to continue playing.

Learn more: Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag at Grade Onederful

20. Cornhole Cardio

This one is so fun but can be a little bit confusing, so be sure to leave plenty of time for instruction. Kids will be divided into teams before proceeding through a fun house that includes cornhole, running laps, and stacking cups.

Learn more: Cardio Cornhole at S&S Blog

21. Connect 4 Relay

This relay takes the game Connect 4 to a whole new level. Players must connect four dots either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

22. Zookeepers

Students will love imitating their favorite animals while playing this fun variation of Four Corners where the taggers are the zookeepers.

23. Racket Whack-It

Students stand with rackets in hand while balls are thrown at them—they must either dodge the balls or swat them away.

Learn more: Racket Whack-It via PEgames.org

24. Crazy Moves

Set mats out around the gym, then yell out a number. Students must race to the mat before it is already filled with the correct number of bodies.

Learn more: Crazy Moves at PEgames.org

25. Wheelbarrow Race

Sometimes the best elementary PE games are the simplest. An oldie but a goodie, wheelbarrow races require no equipment and are guaranteed to be a hit with your students.

Learn more: Wheelbarrow Race at wikiHow

26. Live-Action Pac-Man

Fans of retro video games like Pac-Man will get a kick out of this live-action version where students get to act out the characters.

27. Spaceship Tag

Give each of your students a Hula-Hoop (spaceship), then have them run around trying not to bump into anyone else’s spaceship or get tagged by the teacher (alien). Once your students get really good at it, you can add different levels of complexity.

28. Rock, Paper, Scissors Beanbag Balance

We love this spin on Rock, Paper, Scissors because it works on balance and coordination. Students walk around the gym until they find an opponent, then the winner collects a beanbag, which they must balance on their head!

Learn more: Rock, Paper, Scissors Beanbag Balance at PE Universe

29. Throwing, Catching, and Rolling

This is a fun activity but it will require a lot of preparation, including asking the school maintenance staff to collect industrial-sized paper towel rolls. We love this activity because it reminds us of the old-school arcade game Skee-Ball!

Learn more: Winter Activity at S&S Blog

30. Jenga Fitness

Although Jenga is fun enough on its own, combining it with fun physical challenges is sure to be a winner with young students.

Learn more: Jenga Fitness at S&S Blog

31. Volcanoes and Ice Cream Cones

Divide the class into two teams, then assign one team as volcanoes and the other as ice cream cones. Next, spread cones around the gym, half upside down and half right side up. Finally, have the teams race to flip as many cones as possible to either volcanoes or ice cream cones.

Learn more: Warm-Up Games at Prime Coaching Sport

This fun variation on dodgeball will have your students getting exercise while having a ton of fun! Begin with three balls on a basketball court. If you are hit by a ball, you are out. If you take a step while holding a ball, you are out. There are other rules surrounding getting out and also how to get back in, which can be found in this video.

33. Musical Hula-Hoops

PE games for kindergartners that are similar to party games are some of our favorites! Think musical chairs but with Hula-Hoops! Lay enough Hula-Hoops around the edge of the gym minus five students since they will be in the muscle pot. Once the music starts, students walk around the gym. When the music stops, whoever doesn’t find a Hula-Hoop becomes the new muscle pot!

34. 10-Second Tag

This game is perfect to play at the beginning of the year since it helps with learning names and allows the teacher to get to know the first student in line.

35. The Border

This game is so fun and requires no equipment whatsoever. Divide the gym into two sides. One side can move freely while the other side must avoid letting their feet touch the floor by rolling around, crawling, etc.

36. Freedom Catch

This is a simple throwing, catching, and tag game that will certainly be a hit with your PE class. Captors attempt to tag players so they can send them to jail. You can be freed if someone on your team runs to a freedom cone while throwing a ball to the jailed person. If the ball is caught by the jailed person, they can rejoin the game.

37. Oscar’s Trashcan

As far as PE games for kindergartners goes, this one is a guaranteed winner since it is based on the show Sesame Street . You’ll need two large areas that can be sectioned off to use as trash cans and also a lot of medium-size balls. There are two teams who must compete to fill their opponent’s trash can while emptying their own. Once over, the trash will be counted and the team with the least amount of trash in their trash can wins!

38. 4-Way Frisbee

Divide your class into four separate teams, who will compete for points by catching a Frisbee inside one of the designated goal areas. Defenders are also able to go into the goal areas. There are a number of other rules that can be applied so you can modify the game in a way that’s best for your class.

39. Badminton King’s/Queen’s Court

This one is simple but fun since it is played rapid-fire with kids waiting their turn to take on the King or Queen of the court. Two players start and as soon as a point is earned, the loser swaps places with another player. The goal is to be the player that stays on the court the longest, consistently knocking out new opponents.

40. Jumping and Landing Stations

Kids love stations and they definitely love jumping, so why not combine those things into one super-fun gym class? They’ll have a blast challenging themselves with all the different obstacles presented in this video.

41. Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course

Regardless of whether you’ve ever seen an episode of American Ninja Warrior , you are probably familiar with the concept and so are your students. Plus, you’ll probably have just as much fun as your students setting up the obstacles and testing them out!

42. Balloon Tennis

Since kids love playing keepy-uppy with a balloon, they will love taking it a step further with balloon tag!

43. Indoor Putting Green

If your school can afford to invest in these unique putting green sets, you can introduce the game of golf to kids as young as kindergarten. Who knows, you might just have a future Masters winner in your class!

44. Scooter Activities

Let’s be honest, we all have fond memories of using scooters in gym class. Regardless of whether you do a scooter sleigh or scooter hockey, we think there is something for everyone in this fun video.

45. Pick It Up

This is the perfect PE game to play if you are stuck in a small space with a good-size group. Teams win by making all of their beanbag shots and then collecting all of their dots and stacking them into a nice neat pile.

46. Dodgeball Variations

Since not all kids love having balls thrown at them, why not try a dodgeball alternative that uses gym equipment as targets rather than fellow students? For example, have each student stand in front of a Hula-Hoop with a bowling ball inside of it. Students need to protect their hoop while attempting to knock over their opponents’ pins.

What are your favorite elementary PE games to play with your class? Come and share in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Plus, check out  our favorite recess games for the classroom ..

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Guide to Physical Education and Sport

by CoachMePlus | Academy

The Role of Physical Education

P.E. exposes most youth age groups to manipulative, non-manipulative, and locomotor skills. The sequential development of P.E. students is founded on strong pedagogical principles, such as progressions and age-appropriate activities. In addition to independent movement and coordination, later developmental programs include collaboration between students, team activities, and the addition of competitive elements to the curriculum. Eventually, a child develops into a young adult, and priorities change from fundamentals with coordination to lifelong wellness. How many responsibilities exist beyond general exposure to coordination is still unknown, but childhood obesity is evidence that more activity beyond sports is needed. Curriculum development is driven by both research and experience, and instructors are expected to update their approaches to child development internally and with broader organizations outside their school district.  Organizing exercises is easy when utilizing  workout designing and sharing software  

Fundamental Coordination Development

The most vital component of physical education is teaching the student to control their body in time and space. Most of early childhood is grasping simple coordination that serves as a foundation for later stages, specifically sports and fitness. Nearly all of the resources with a curriculum should make coordination development a priority, especially in the area of locomotion. Childhood physical development should also focus on manipulating objects and learning basic activities such as catching, throwing, and other forms of movement skills. As students develop the ability to coordinate their body with simple tasks, the demands are increased through interaction with other students and challenges. In physical education, the progression of a student is gradual, starting with very basic movements in near isolation to more sophisticated coordination with games and sports. As competence is attained with the basics, new priorities such as fitness and performance are introduced.

  A common uncertainty about physical education’s role in athletic development is the timing of the inclusion of formal training with sport. Eventually, an athlete needs to play the game, and practices that dedicate more time will be an advantage. The tradeoff of immediate development with specialization occurs early, while the long-term benefit of slower and wider development may be seen much later. The ideal pace with specialization and specific training is when an athlete can reach their potential in one or more sports without negatively affecting their long-term growth or health.

“Most of the empirical evidence is leading experts to believe that specializing too early and for too long leaves most athletes at risk of injury and burnout.”CLICK TO TWEET  

Movement Skill Appraisals and Assessment

Connection to games and recreation.

Fitness and Health Promotion Responsibilities

As a student advances to adulthood, the transition from simple recreation to the responsibility of health and fitness begins. Current PE curriculums are now focused on lifelong wellness, as most student-athletes in high school won’t participate in organized sports later in life. Adult leagues and recreational sports attract former athletes, while most fitness and wellness activities are not competitive in nature. Therefore, a focus on lifelong exercise and nutrition is now the new standard with most scholastic curriculums. As a child matures, the focus on sports formally decreases, so the expectations of youth sports should be adjusted as a student gets to high school age. Even in middle school, children start to participate in wellness programs and recreational activities instead of sporting games, so adjustments should be considered with performance programs.

As the curriculum evolves into fitness to ward off childhood obesity, the worry is that the sporting culture will decline. Currently, no evidence or research indicates that a wellness-focused high school curriculum reduces sport participation or success, so a modern health curriculum is not the culprit in school sport performance failure. Other responsibilities of physical education often include community-type programs such as first aid and CPR, as well as a water safety assessment.

Technology use  in the classroom is increasing year after year, including in physical education. The adoption of heart rate monitors and other  physiological monitoring  devices like wearable trackers and pedometers is growing. How physical education evolves in the next decade will be highly dependent on the information collected today. Research on childhood success in the classroom now includes many of the P.E. activities from over a decade ago, and some outcomes look promising. Improvements in emotional and behavior function due to exercise and movement are supported in the research, and many programs are cost-effective since they use existing PE programs to fulfill needs within school districts.

Teaching Physical Literacy and Competence

The primary goal of physical education is to teach essential skills to students and support their health. While athletes may benefit from early coordination and motor skill development, eventually physical education ceases to affect performance as an athlete ages. During later development years, athletes need to be instructed and cultivated with sport-specific training. Those in physical education can benefit from sports performance models, as many of the pedagogical teachings are very parallel to each other. Just as sports performance coaches  benefit from actionable and enlightening data , so does the modern physical education teacher. The use of assessments and student evaluations is growing, and the right combination of teaching methodology and testing will be the future of physical education.

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Physical Education

Physical education is the foundation of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program. 1, 2 It is an academic subject characterized by a planned, sequential K–12 curriculum (course of study) that is based on the national standards for physical education. 2–4 Physical education provides cognitive content and instruction designed to develop motor skills, knowledge, and behaviors for physical activity and physical fitness. 2–4 Supporting schools to establish physical education daily can provide students with the ability and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime. 2–4

There are many benefits of physical education in schools. When students get physical education, they can 5-7 :

• Increase their level of physical activity.
• Improve their grades and standardized test scores.
• Stay on-task in the classroom.

Increased time spent in physical education does not negatively affect students’ academic achievement.

Strengthen Physical Education in Schools [PDF – 437 KB] —This data brief defines physical education, provides a snapshot of current physical education practices in the United States, and highlights ways to improve physical education through national guidance and practical strategies and resources. This was developed by Springboard to Active Schools in collaboration with CDC.

Secular Changes in Physical Education Attendance Among U.S. High School Students, YRBS 1991–2013

The Secular Changes in Physical Education Attendance Among U.S. High School Students report [PDF – 3 MB] explains the secular changes (long-term trends) in physical education attendance among US high school students over the past two decades. Between 1991 and 2013, US high school students’ participation in school-based physical education classes remained stable, but at a level much lower than the national recommendation of daily physical education. In order to maximize the benefits of physical education, the adoption of policies and programs aimed at increasing participation in physical education among all US students should be prioritized. Download the report for detailed, nationwide findings.

Physical Education Analysis Tool (PECAT)

The  Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT) [PDF – 6 MB] is a self-assessment and planning guide developed by CDC. It is designed to help school districts and schools conduct clear, complete, and consistent analyses of physical education curricula, based upon national physical education standards.

Visit our PECAT page  to learn more about how schools can use this tool.

• CDC Monitoring Student Fitness Levels1 [PDF – 1.64 MB]
• CDC Ideas for Parents: Physical Education [PDF – 2 MB]
• SHAPE America: The Essential Components of Physical Education (2015) [PDF – 391 KB]
• SHAPE America: Appropriate Instructional Practice Guidelines for Elementary, Middle School, and High School Physical Education [PDF – 675 KB]
• SHAPE America: National Standards and Grade-Level Outcomes for K–12 Physical Education 2014
• SHAPE America: National Standards for K–12 Physical Education (2013)
• SHAPE America Resources
• Youth Compendium of Physical Activities for Physical Education Teachers (2018) [PDF – 145 KB]
• Social Emotional Learning Policies and Physical Education
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Guide for Developing Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs . Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2013.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School health guidelines to promote healthy eating and physical activity. MMWR . 2011;60(RR05):1–76.
• Institute of Medicine. Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2013. Retrieved from  http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=18314&page=R1 .
• SHAPE America. T he Essential Components of Physical Education . Reston, VA: SHAPE America; 2015. Retrieved from   http://www.shapeamerica.org/upload/TheEssentialComponentsOfPhysicalEducation.pdf  [PDF – 392 KB].
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance . Atlanta, GA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health and Academic Achievement. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2014.
• Michael SL, Merlo C, Basch C, et al. Critical connections: health and academics . Journal of School Health . 2015;85(11):740–758.

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Rethinking the classification of games and sports in physical education: a response to changes in sport and participation

• School of Curriculum Teaching & Inclusive Education

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

Background: Through changing the way games are represented, classification systems have increased possibilities for teaching game forms beyond structured adult and singular official versions of popular sports. At the time of inception, the four-game form approach to classification (target, net/wall, striking/fielding, and invasion games) enabled modified, small sided conditioned games to be adapted to suit individual attributes, whilst reinforcing a core set of tactical and technical elements for transfer. With global shifts in patterns of sport participation, it is timely to review this dominant classification frame and the role it plays within physical education (PE). Purpose: This paper proposes changes to classification boundaries around games and sports in PE to establish a classification system that is inclusive of a wider range of games and sports and growing forms of participation that we contend are important for PE. The paper also argues for a broader conceptualisation of tactics, with social, environmental and affective dimensions a focal point for a revised, contemporary classification framework. Methods: The paper draws on Bernstein’s notions of classification and frame to explore the pedagogical utility of the dominant games and sport classification used in PE and ways in which it could be revised. Each author independently undertook a structured mapping exercise designed to facilitate exploration and potential classification of a wide range of contemporary activities potentially relevant for physical education. Results: The paper proposes the addition of lap or circuit sports, route or journey sports, rush or action sports, stunts or tricking sports and rhythmic or aesthetic sports to broaden the learning and participation possibilities for young people and tune teachers into contemporary movement forms. The paper proposes sample questions that extend the tactical foci inherent in classification to encompass meaning, social, and ecological considerations for learning in PE.

• action sports
• games-based
• informal sport
• Invasion games

Access to Document

• 10.1080/17408989.2022.2061938 Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Other files and links

• Link to publication in Scopus

Research output

• 13 Citations
• 1 Chapter (Book)

Research output per year

Informal sport and curriculum futures: an investigation of the knowledge, skills and understandings for participation and the possibilities for physical education

The role of informal sport in after-school physical activity.

Research output : Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review

Managing informal sport participation: tensions and opportunities

Projects per year

Informal sport as a health and social resource for diverse young people

Jeanes, R. , Spaaij, R., Penney, D., O'Connor, J. , Guerra, C. & Trew, G.

Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (trading as VicHealth) , Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) (Western Australia) , Monash University – Internal Faculty Contribution , Centre for Multicultural Youth , Victorian Cricket Association (trading as Cricket Victoria) , Edith Cowan University , Victoria University

1/08/19 → 1/07/24

Project : Research

T1 - Rethinking the classification of games and sports in physical education

T2 - a response to changes in sport and participation

AU - O’Connor, Justen

AU - Alfrey, Laura

AU - Penney, Dawn

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

N2 - Background: Through changing the way games are represented, classification systems have increased possibilities for teaching game forms beyond structured adult and singular official versions of popular sports. At the time of inception, the four-game form approach to classification (target, net/wall, striking/fielding, and invasion games) enabled modified, small sided conditioned games to be adapted to suit individual attributes, whilst reinforcing a core set of tactical and technical elements for transfer. With global shifts in patterns of sport participation, it is timely to review this dominant classification frame and the role it plays within physical education (PE). Purpose: This paper proposes changes to classification boundaries around games and sports in PE to establish a classification system that is inclusive of a wider range of games and sports and growing forms of participation that we contend are important for PE. The paper also argues for a broader conceptualisation of tactics, with social, environmental and affective dimensions a focal point for a revised, contemporary classification framework. Methods: The paper draws on Bernstein’s notions of classification and frame to explore the pedagogical utility of the dominant games and sport classification used in PE and ways in which it could be revised. Each author independently undertook a structured mapping exercise designed to facilitate exploration and potential classification of a wide range of contemporary activities potentially relevant for physical education. Results: The paper proposes the addition of lap or circuit sports, route or journey sports, rush or action sports, stunts or tricking sports and rhythmic or aesthetic sports to broaden the learning and participation possibilities for young people and tune teachers into contemporary movement forms. The paper proposes sample questions that extend the tactical foci inherent in classification to encompass meaning, social, and ecological considerations for learning in PE.

AB - Background: Through changing the way games are represented, classification systems have increased possibilities for teaching game forms beyond structured adult and singular official versions of popular sports. At the time of inception, the four-game form approach to classification (target, net/wall, striking/fielding, and invasion games) enabled modified, small sided conditioned games to be adapted to suit individual attributes, whilst reinforcing a core set of tactical and technical elements for transfer. With global shifts in patterns of sport participation, it is timely to review this dominant classification frame and the role it plays within physical education (PE). Purpose: This paper proposes changes to classification boundaries around games and sports in PE to establish a classification system that is inclusive of a wider range of games and sports and growing forms of participation that we contend are important for PE. The paper also argues for a broader conceptualisation of tactics, with social, environmental and affective dimensions a focal point for a revised, contemporary classification framework. Methods: The paper draws on Bernstein’s notions of classification and frame to explore the pedagogical utility of the dominant games and sport classification used in PE and ways in which it could be revised. Each author independently undertook a structured mapping exercise designed to facilitate exploration and potential classification of a wide range of contemporary activities potentially relevant for physical education. Results: The paper proposes the addition of lap or circuit sports, route or journey sports, rush or action sports, stunts or tricking sports and rhythmic or aesthetic sports to broaden the learning and participation possibilities for young people and tune teachers into contemporary movement forms. The paper proposes sample questions that extend the tactical foci inherent in classification to encompass meaning, social, and ecological considerations for learning in PE.

KW - action sports

KW - games-based

KW - informal sport

KW - Invasion games

KW - tactical

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85129128397&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/17408989.2022.2061938

DO - 10.1080/17408989.2022.2061938

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85129128397

SN - 1740-8989

JO - Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy

JF - Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy

9 Activity Ideas for STEM in Physical Education

• Lauren Chiangpradit
• November 16, 2023
• Reviewed by Sean Barton
• Reviewed by Haley MacLean

Table of Contents

The Synergy of Movement and Learning

Physical education stem activities for elementary school, stem activities for middle school pe students, advanced stem challenges for high school learners, tech, tools, and resources for stem in physical education.

Integrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) into Physical Education (PE) classes offers an innovative approach to education. In an era where sports statistics, science, and technology increasingly influence athletics, PE classes are uniquely positioned to blend physical activity with STEM learning and 21st century skills. This article explores how PE educators and facilitators can use STEM learning in their coursework. It also provides a range of curriculum activity ideas to get students at different education and skill levels engaged.

Research indicates that physical activity can significantly bolster cognitive abilities. When students participate in movement-based learning, they benefit physically and experience enhanced concentration, memory, and creativity. This cognitive boost is crucial for comprehending and applying STEM concepts, which often demand high levels of problem-solving and critical thinking. Active learning, where students engage in physical activities while learning STEM concepts, results in more profound understanding and retention of information. Integrating physical and mental challenges not only makes learning more enjoyable, but is more effective, as students apply theoretical concepts in practical settings, leading to better comprehension and recall.

Integrating STEM into elementary physical education presents a fantastic opportunity to lay the foundation for lifelong learning and curiosity in young students. Through these innovative activities, elementary school children can explore and understand key STEM concepts while engaging in fun and physical play. Each activity is designed to be not only educational but highly interactive and suitable for their developmental stage. Here are some engaging activities that blend physical education with STEM learning for elementary students:

• Jump and Measure: Students perform a variety of jumps – like the long jump and high jump – and measure their distances or heights. This activity introduces basic concepts of measurement and physics, encouraging students to understand how force and motion play a role in their physical activities.
• Geometry with Body Movements: In this activity, children use their bodies to create geometric shapes, either individually or in groups. It’s an engaging way for students to learn about basic geometry, spatial awareness, and symmetry. Teachers can challenge students to form complex shapes, enhancing their understanding and teamwork skills.
• STEM Soccer : In a lesson devoted to measuring throw-ins, students collect data in centimeters and convert their data to meters dividing by 100. Students then evaluate measurement systems to decide the best measurement size. This disguised learning,  interactive lesson is a great way for physical education teachers to add STEM into their PE classes.
• Weather and Exercise: Students observe and record weather patterns over a week and discuss how different weather conditions affect physical activities. This integrates meteorology into PE, allowing students to see the real-world application of science in their everyday activities.
• Heart Rate Exploration: After engaging in various exercises, students measure their heart rates to learn about the cardiovascular system and the science behind exercise. This activity not only educates them about their bodies, but about the importance of physical fitness in maintaining health.
• Playground Physics: Utilizing playground equipment, this activity allows students to explore concepts like gravity, force, and motion. They can experience firsthand how these physical laws impact their play and movements, turning the playground into a living laboratory.

As students enter middle school, their capacity for more complex and abstract thinking grows significantly. This developmental stage is an ideal time to introduce more intricate STEM concepts through physical education, enhancing their learning experience with practical applications. The following STEM activities are tailored for middle school students, offering a blend of intellectual challenge and physical engagement. These activities are designed to pique students’ curiosity in STEM fields through the familiar and enjoyable medium of sports and physical exercises. By participating in these activities, students not only deepen their understanding of STEM concepts, but learn valuable lessons in teamwork, problem-solving, and the practical application of classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios. Here’s a look at some stimulating and educational STEM activities for middle school PE:

• Sports Statistics Analysis: Students gather and analyze sports statistics from games or physical activities. This teaches them about data collection, interpretation, and the importance of statistics in understanding and improving athletic performance.
• STEM Football: During a lesson in STEM Football, students collect and graph data of a controlled experiment by using a line graph. Students then explain the relationship between kinetic energy and mass by writing a claim evidence supported by evidence-based reasoning from class data. This lesson highlights the strong classroom connection between physical education and STEM learning, and how it can help create tangible examples for students.
• Energy and Movement: This activity focuses on the concept of kinetic and potential energy in the context of sports. Students explore how energy is transferred and transformed during different physical activities, such as running, jumping, or throwing a ball.
• Biomechanics of Sports: Here, students delve into the study of human movement and mechanics in various sports. They learn about the science behind athletic performance, injury prevention , and how athletes optimize their movements for maximum efficiency and safety.
• Mathletics Relay: A relay race where each leg involves solving a math problem before passing the baton. This combines physical fitness with mathematical skills, emphasizing quick thinking and teamwork.
• Technology in Sports Training: Students explore how technology is increasingly used in sports training and performance analysis. They might look at wearable tech, video analysis software, or other tools that help athletes improve their skills and coaches to make informed decisions.

High school students, with their advanced cognitive skills and heightened interests, are well-positioned to tackle complex STEM challenges through physical education. This section of the curriculum is designed to offer high school learners in-depth, hands-on experiences that combine higher-level STEM concepts with physical activities and sports. These advanced activities are not just about physical exertion; they require students to engage in critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative innovation. They provide an opportunity for students to see the real-world applications of the STEM knowledge they acquire in their classrooms, bridging the gap between theoretical learning and practical implementation. By participating in these activities, high school students can gain a deeper understanding of various STEM fields, such as physics, engineering, biotechnology, and environmental science, observing how these disciplines intersect with sports and physical fitness. Here are some challenging and intellectually stimulating STEM activities designed for high school learners:

• Physics of Sports Equipment Design: Students research and discuss the physics principles involved in the design of sports equipment. This can include topics like material science, aerodynamics, and ergonomics, providing insights into how equipment is optimized for performance and safety.
• Engineering a Miniature Golf Course: Students design and construct a miniature golf course, applying concepts of geometry, physics, and design. This project not only involves creativity, but a practical application of STEM principles by creating functional and enjoyable mini-golf holes.
• Sports Analytics Project: Students undertake a project to analyze a sports game using statistical methods and tools. This activity introduces them to data science in sports, teaching them how to interpret and use data to understand game strategies and player performance.
• Biotechnology in Athletics: This topic explores how biotechnology is used in sports, from equipment design to performance enhancement techniques. Students might study material innovations, genetic research in athletics, or the ethical implications of biotechnology in sports.
• Environmental Science in Outdoor Sports: Students analyze how environmental factors impact outdoor sports activities. They can study topics like climate change, pollution, and natural terrain, understanding the interplay between sports and the environment.
• Virtual Reality Sports Training: Students explore how VR technology is being used for skill development, strategy training, and injury rehabilitation in various sports by discussing the emerging role of virtual reality in sports.

Bringing STEM into PE classes effectively requires the right resources, including technology tools, educational kits, and comprehensive guides. Resources like the STEM Sports® kits provide ready-to-use activities that seamlessly blend physical education with STEM learning. These kits offer an invaluable resource for teachers looking to enrich their curriculum and engage K-8 students through a cross-curricular learning approach. For additional resources, tools, and innovative ideas, please visit STEM Sports® .

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• Open access
• Published: 25 February 2008

Physical education, school physical activity, school sports and academic performance

• François Trudeau 1 &
• Roy J Shephard 2  

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity volume  5 , Article number:  10 ( 2008 ) Cite this article

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The purpose of this paper is to review relationships of academic performance and some of its determinants to participation in school-based physical activities, including physical education (PE), free school physical activity (PA) and school sports.

Linkages between academic achievement and involvement in PE, school PA and sport programmes have been examined, based on a systematic review of currently available literature, including a comprehensive search of MEDLINE (1966 to 2007), PSYCHINFO (1974 to 2007), SCHOLAR.GOOGLE.COM, and ERIC databases.

Quasi-experimental data indicate that allocating up to an additional hour per day of curricular time to PA programmes does not affect the academic performance of primary school students negatively, even though the time allocated to other subjects usually shows a corresponding reduction. An additional curricular emphasis on PE may result in small absolute gains in grade point average (GPA), and such findings strongly suggest a relative increase in performance per unit of academic teaching time. Further, the overwhelmingly majority of such programmes have demonstrated an improvement in some measures of physical fitness (PF). Cross-sectional observations show a positive association between academic performance and PA, but PF does not seem to show such an association. PA has positive influences on concentration, memory and classroom behaviour. Data from quasi-experimental studies find support in mechanistic experiments on cognitive function, pointing to a positive relationship between PA and intellectual performance.

Given competent providers, PA can be added to the school curriculum by taking time from other subjects without risk of hindering student academic achievement. On the other hand, adding time to "academic" or "curricular" subjects by taking time from physical education programmes does not enhance grades in these subjects and may be detrimental to health.

The purpose of this paper is to review relationships between physical education (PE), school physical activity (PA), school sports and academic performance. These relationships have been the subject of extensive discussion between advocates and skeptics of PE, school PA and school sports programmes. Both elements of this discussion (academic achievement and physical activity) are independent determinants of a child's health. Our intent in this article is to assess the effects on academic achievement of school PA programmes (including PE and school sports), in both elementary and high schools. Previous reviews have examined relationships between PA and academic achievement. [ 1 – 4 ] Recent research results, echoed in the media, suggest that such activity may have a positive impact on learning and memory. It is now fairly well-recognized that PA is associated with the maintenance of cognitive function in older adults [ 5 ] and offers some protection against Alzheimer's disease. [ 6 ] Cognitive dysfunctions in older adults is becoming an urgent public health problem, given the ever-rising average life expectancy and the associated growth in the proportion of old and very old individuals in most societies. A positive association between PA and cognitive health is also suspected in younger subjects, but is not as well documented in this age group. Nevertheless, any positive influence of PA on the cognitive functions of children is important for at least 2 reasons: 1) It is a potential argument for increasing PE and/or other types of school PA without risk of decreasing academic progress, and 2) It may offer a way to reduce disruptive behaviour at school and the drop-out from educational programmes. Furthermore, an important by-product of an increased participation to school PA would be an enhanced level of physical fitness.

Search methods

The databases searched included MEDLINE (1966 to 2007), PSYCHINFO (1974 to 2007), SCHOLAR.GOOGLE.COM, and ERIC, as well as the extensive personal databases of the authors. The reference lists of the articles thus identified were also consulted to identify additional potentially-relevant research. Publications in languages other than English were considered where appropriate. For the purpose of this review, we use the term academic achievement to encompass academic success, school performance and all combinations of these terms.

The outcomes of school PA/PE and academic achievement, success or performance were actual or self-reported grade point average (GPA) and determinants of GPA that could potentially be changed by the interventions (concentration, learning, classroom behaviour, engagement in learning, self-esteem, etc.). The terms physical education, physical activity and sports are, for the purposes of this review, restricted to programmes offered within the school context (i.e. instructional physical education and extracurricular physical activity, including in-school physical activity programmes, intraschool and intramural sport).

Quasi-experimental and longitudinal studies

It is not surprising that no randomized controlled trials were identified, as they are not practicable in this type of research setting. Quasi-experimental protocols are usually indicated when causality cannot be tested by a random controlled trial in milieux such as the school setting. Seven quasi-experimental studies were identified (Table 1 ). Cross-sectional studies were also considered, as well as experimental or laboratory experiments on the determinants of academic performance (i.e. learning concentration, classroom behaviour, etc.).

The first documented quasi-experimental study relevant for to this paper was the Vanves (France) investigation; this involved a small group of schoolchildren tested during the 1950's. [ 7 ] Schoolchildren who spent mornings in the classroom and afternoons doing PE were said to perform better academically than children from a control class, but no further details were given. [ 7 ] Unfortunately, the specifics of these observations were not described in peer reviewed journals.

A second quasi-experimental study conducted in the Trois-Rivières region (Québec) between 1970 and 1977 involved 546 primary school students; this noted that students involved in an experimental 5 hours of physical education per week had a higher academic performance than their control counterparts who were enrolled in the normal school program for 40 min per week [ 8 ]. The supplemental 260 minutes allocated to PE was necessarily taken from time for other academic teaching (i.e. an average 14% curtailment of academic instruction). Despite this curricular change, during the last 5 years of primary school, the overall academic performance of the experimental students improved relative to the controls. During standardized Provincial examinations, children receiving the 5 hours/week of PE had higher scores in mathematics, but lower scores in English (their second language), despite the fact that 33 minutes were removed from mathematics instruction and none from English. [ 3 ]

A 2-year quasi-experimental study followed 759 Californian children in the 5th and 6th grades. [ 9 ] Subgroups of children were taught PE by either a professional physical educator (n = 178), a trained homeroom teacher (n = 312), or in the normal programme (n = 165). The professional physical educators, the trained teachers, and normal programmes offered, respectively, 80, 65, and 38 minutes per week of PE. As expected, those taught by the professional physical educators achieved greater fitness (cardiovascular and muscle endurance). [ 10 ] Also, the groups taught by the professional physical educators and trained teachers had smaller declines in academic performance despite allocating more time to PE. Four of 8 statistical comparisons disclosed an advantage for students in the experimental groups; one comparison was advantageous to control students, while the remaining 3 were equal. The group who spent the most time on PE (i.e. those with a professional physical educator) showed no negative effects on academic achievement and indeed the decline of academic results during the 2 years of the intervention was smaller than that observed in the control subjects. [ 9 ]

In South Australia, the 500-student SHAPE trial added 1.25 hours per day of endurance fitness training to the curriculum of 10-year-old primary school students. [ 11 ] Over the first 14 weeks of the study, the experimenatl group showed gains in physical work capacity and decreases in body fat relative to controls. Arithmetic and reading scores were not adversely affected by the substantial reallocation of curricular time in favour of PE. These physical benefits appeared to be maintained over the succeeding 2 years in a follow-up of 216 participants. These follow-up evaluations showed (non-significant) trends for better arithmetic and reading grades in experimental students, as well as beneficial changes in teachers' ratings of classroom behaviour. [ 12 ]

The 16-month Action School BC! project involved a population of 287 British Columbian primary school children (4th and 5th years: 9–11-years olds). PA was delivered by classroom teachers, amounting to 47 minutes more per week in interventional than in control schools (139 ± 62 vs. 92 ± 45 minutes, P < 0.001). [ 13 ] Despite a corresponding decrease in academic time, the academic performance of the experimental group, as measured by the Canadian Achievement Test, remained unchanged; indeed, data analysis revealed a trend towards an enhanced academic performance in the intervention schools (the average score rising from 1,595 to 1,672 units).

Another interventional study of 6 th grade (11 year-old) students covered a single school term. Fifty-five minutes/day of PE were included in the curriculum, vs. the same allocation of time for arts or computer sciences; the two groups performed equally well in mathematics, sciences and English. [ 14 ] Finally, an intervention in Israel involved 92 preschool and 266 first grade children. [ 15 ] The experimental manipulation here was a school-based movement education programme, and children in the experimental group showed greater reading skills and arithmetic scores than controls. [ 15 ]

Taken together, these quasi-experimental data suggest that the enriched PE programmes demanded a substantial reduction in the time allocated for academic tuition. Since the children achieved at least equally despite the reduced teaching time, the evidence seems strong that the efficiency of learning was enhanced. [ 3 ] Despite the variety of programme durations and locations, a common and valuable by-product was a significant increase in various measures of physical fitness (PF).

Cross-sectional studies

Cross-sectional studies commonly have difficulty in controlling for potential biases, particularly socio-economic status (SES). SES remains the strongest predictor of academic achievement [ 16 ] and is also one of the strongest predictors of PA participation in children (e.g. in Canada [ 17 ]; Italy [ 18 ] and Estonia [ 19 ]). Cross-sectional studies generally indicate a positive association with academic achievement. Some of these studies did control for confounders such as SES, and still most of them found a positive association between physical activity and academic achievement (Table 2 ).

Positive results on GPA

Nelson and Gordon-Larsen [ 20 ] analyzed results from the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; they observed that adolescents who were active in school were more likely to have high grades. Even after adjustment for demographics and SES, the risk ratio of higher grades was 1.20 for mathematics and 1.21 for English among adolescents who were active at school. Within middle to upper middle SES categories, a cross-sectional study of suburban high school seniors (52 girls and 37 boys) found that the more active group had higher GPA. [ 21 ]

4,690 Hong Kong children from primary 5 to secondary 7 (i.e. grades 5 to 12) completed a pre-validated questionnaire relating their sports and exercise participation to perceived academic performance. [ 22 ] Low correlations were seen for the whole sample (r = 0.10, P < 0.01; r = 0.17, P < 0.01 for females; r = 0.06, NS for males). GPA was not a significant correlated with PA participation when all school bands were confounded; however, the high band showed a positive link between GPA and PA participation, whereas students in the low band showed a negative relationship between PA participation and GPA. [ 23 ] These reports suggest that the relationship between PA and academic performance is influenced by the type of students and/or the school that they attend. Deliberate stratification of students by learning ability is by no means universal, but we cannot exclude the possibility that spontaneous, unplanned banding may also influence the strength of observed relationships.

Dwyer et al. [ 24 ] made a cross-sectional survey of 9000 Australian schoolchildren between the ages of 7 and 15 years (500 in each age/sex stratum drawn from 109 schools, i.e. 10 girls and 10 boys per school). Depending on the group, a linear regression analysis with good control of confounding variables demonstrated a significant association between academic achievement and PA (a combination of lunchtime PA and minutes of PA the preceding week). In all subjects aged 9–12 years, school performance was positively associated with ratings of PA during the preceding week. In girls 10–15 years old and boys 8–15 years old, academic achievement was also positively associated with the estimates of lunchtime PA. The correlation coefficients between PA and academic achievement, although low (r = 0.08 to 0.19) were statistically significant, suggesting that PA was contributing to academic achievement in both boys and girls. Data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey likewise showed that a perception of little or no involvement in PA was associated with a perception of low academic performance. [ 25 ] Another cross-sectional study from England also controlled for SES; this again reported a positive association between school sports participation and academic achievement. [ 26 ]

Researchers from Iceland designed a study included other health behaviours. [ 27 ] They found small but significantly positive univariate associations of PA with self-reported school performance (r = -0.11 with absenteeism and r = 0.09 with grades). When confounders were considered, these associations were further weakened, but nevertheless remained statistically significant predictors if selected health behaviours and psychological variables were included in the prediction model. [ 27 ]

Negative or null outcomes on GPA

In 6,923 grade 6 New Brunswick children (age 11 years), PA showed a weak inverse association with academic achievement, but a positive association with self-esteem. [ 28 ] A study on 232 English boys and girls (13–16 years old) found no relationship between self-reported PA and GPA. Moreover, in children aged 13, 14, or 16 years, the durartion of PA was negatively correlated with marks for English (r = -0.29 to -0.30). [ 29 ] To our knowledge, these are the only 2 studies to observe negative associations between PA (but not PE) and academic achievement.

A survey of 117 Australian primary schools found no deterioration of literacy and numeracy results in primary school grades 3, 5 and 7 when more time was allocated to PE. [ 30 ] SES was the strongest predictor of both literacy and numeracy scores. A recent analysis of Hong Kong pre-adolescent boys reported that a high level of PA at school was associated with high self-esteem, but not with academic achievement. [ 31 ]

Even studies that failed to find a positive relationship between PA/PE and GPA have generally found no decrease in academic achievement as a consequence of increased participation in PA (Table 2 ). Clearly, the absence of an elevation in GPA should not be interpreted as a negative outcome. This is well illustrated by a survey conducted in Virginia's primary schools. [ 32 ] A reduction in the time allocated for PE (or the arts) did not improve performance in other subjects like mathematics or reading. Moreover, increasing the time allocated to PE (or the arts) at the expense of other academic subjects was not detrimental to test scores in these subjects. [ 32 ] Taken together, these observations suggest that if academic achievements are maintained while spending less time on a specific discipline, the intervention has increased academic efficacy.

Effects of PA on elements considered to favour academic performance

Many factors like classroom behaviour, self-esteem, self-image, school satisfaction and school connectedness have been postulated as determinants of academic achievement.

Classroom behaviour

Self-identification as a school athlete vs. a «jock» is associated with a lower rate of reported misconduct at school [ 33 ], with the exception of binge drinking. [ 34 ] In the American linguistic context, the word "jock" refers to an individual whose life is oriented toward sport; it is not necessarily a pejorative term. However, it should not be confused with the focused and planned life of a typical athlete.

In the Trois-Rivières study, competencies linked to behaviour were similar overall in the experimental vs. the control group. [ 35 ] A German cross-sectional study (CHILT) compared 12 intervention schools (n = 668) vs. 5 control schools (n = 218), finding that PF was associated with concentration in 6–7 years old children. [ 36 ]

Evans et al. [ 37 ] reported a lower rate of inappropriate talking among emotionally, or behaviourally-disturbed children who were participating in a jogging and football exercise programme. Furthermore, a meta-analysis on the effect of exercise prior to classes led to the conclusion that most exercise interventions significantly reduced disruptive behaviours in disturbed students. [ 38 ] These effects could reflect in part better teacher attitudes towards these children, as seen in the Trois-Rivières [ 3 ] and the Australian [ 1 ] quasi-experimental studies.

Other psychosocial effects

Better self-esteem or self-image [ 20 , 39 ] and body image [ 40 ] are commonly associated with high levels of PA. Many studies have also linked school sport or PA programmes with other psychosocial outcomes, such as school satisfaction and school connectedness, regardless of ethnic group [ 41 ]. Both school connectedness and school satisfaction are factors preventing drop-out from school. [ 42 ]

A recent analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health [ 20 ] found evidence of a positive association between PA and components of mental health, including self-esteem, emotional well-being, spirituality, and future expectations. When participation in PA/sports also included parental involvement, the behavioural risk profile became even more positive.

A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 245 Finnish adolescents [ 43 ] observed no association between PA level and school satisfaction and the trend to a weak correlation between PA level and problems at school was not statistically significant. However, PA was correlated with global school satisfaction (r = -0.21 for boys) and absence of a depressive mood state (-0.20 and -0.26 for girls and boys, respectively).

What are the acute effects of PA on cognitive function?

Many authors have documented the acute effects of PA on cognitive function. Three recent reviews and/or meta-analyses examined these studies. [ 44 – 46 ] In a meta-analysis of 44 studies, Sibley and Etnier [ 45 ] concluded that PA was positively associated with better cognitive functioning in children. Some groups, particularly middle school students (grades 6–8, aged 11–13 years) and younger, seemed to benefit more from PA. Sibley and Etnier [ 45 ] noted that unpublished studies had a higher effect size than published reports, suggesting that no bias had occurred from a failure to publish non-significant results.

Brisswalter et al. [ 44 ] reviewed published studies into the effects of exercise on various tasks. They concluded that the optimal intensity for decisional tasks covered a wide range (~40–80% VO 2 max). An exercise duration of more than 20 minutes was most efficient in increasing the performance of perceptual and decisional tasks. [ 44 , 46 ] Tomporowki [ 47 ] suggested an upper limit of 60 minutes might arise from the adverse effects of dehydration on cognitive functions.

The literature generally suggests a positive effect of acute physical exercise on cognition. Other activities, like involvement in music also have the potential to increase reading skills, although in this case there is no positive influence on PF. [ 48 ]

Relationship of PF with academic achievement

What is the effect of a high level of PF on academic performance? Is good cognitive functioning associated with above average PF? If so, is this a consequence of PF per se, or of better overall physical health? When analyzed globally, the literature does not indicate any clear linkage between PF and either academic achievement or intellectual performance. As early as 1969, Railo found no relationship between PF and either of these outcomes. [ 49 ] More recently, Etnier et al. [ 50 ] concluded from a meta-regression analysis that the empirical literature did not support a link between cardiovascular PF and academic achievement. However, this meta-analysis revealed a weakness in the literature: there was little data on the relationship between PF and academic achievement in school-aged children. Indeed, only 1 of the 37 studies identified included this age group.

When the definition of PF includes aspects other than cardiovascular fitness, there seems evidence of positive correlations between various measures of psychomotor performance, cognitive abilities and academic achievement. [ 51 , 52 ] Psychomotor performance shares many common neurological mechanisms with cognitive functions.

A 2001 cross-sectional study on California children disclosed a positive relationship between reading and mathematics results (as measured by Stanford Achievement Test-9) and results on a field test of physical fitness (the Fitnessgram). Despite a huge sample of students from grades 5, 7 and 9 (n = 954,000), potential selection biases were not considered, making it difficult to conclude that PA was linked to increased academic performance. [ 53 ] When found, any effects of PF were small. Another weak association between PF and academic achievement was observed in South Korean children (grades 5, 8, and 11); in this study, the association was much smaller than that between academic achievement and regular meal eating. [ 54 ] Dwyer et al. [ 24 ] measured muscle fitness in 9,000 Australian students. They found significant but weak associations, ranging from r = -0.10 to -0.19 for running distances of 50 m and 1.6 km, and from r = 0.10 to 0.22 for sit-ups and standing long jump, respectively.

School sports and academic achievement

The connection between school sports and intellectual achievement has been a long-standing issue since Davis and Cooper [ 55 ] first reported a positive association between school sports participation and academic achievement. It remains the subject of recent investigations. The competitive dimension of most sports introduces particular problems, even in the school context, as the educational dimension tends to be relegated to a secondary level. The literature comprises mainly cross-sectional data and the results are more equivocal than for PA; unfortunately, most of the earlier studies did not control for biases common to athletic and academic achievements. [ 56 , 57 ]

Data from the longitudinal Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study included 67% African-Americans and 33% European-Americans; it found that participation in extracurricular PA was a significant predictor of better academic results and of higher academic expectations. [ 58 ] Furthermore, sports participation by 8th grade African-American males resulted in aspirations to continue their studies toward college, with less likelihood of acting inappropriately in school. [ 59 ] In their female counterparts, sports participation also resulted in higher aspirations and in a reduction of absenteeism.

Cooper et al. [ 60 ] found that even after eliminating confounding factors, extracurricular activities, including sports and PA were predictors of better academic achievement in 2,200 American high school students. Their conclusion is in line with the point that Marsh made in 1992, that such activities may have an effect on academic achievement by increasing motivation and investment in school. [ 61 ] Another study of 11,957 American adolescents found that even after standardization for SES, sports participation with parental presence was associated with an increased probability of good grades in English and mathematics, the Adjusted Relative Risk being 1.23 for both subjects. [ 20 ] Dexter [ 62 ] examined the relationship between sports knowledge, sport performance and academic ability, the last being measured by scores on the British General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). They observed a small but significant positive correlation between sports performance and GCSE score for both mathematics and English.

Melnick et al. [ 63 ] detected no relationship between academic achievement and sports participation in 3,686 African-American and Hispanic students from the "High-school and Beyond Study". However, sports participation was associated with a lower drop-out rate. Therefore, they suggested that if sports participation contributes to academic achievement, it may do so indirectly, by encouraging retention in school. Fisher et al. [ 64 ] also observed no association between sports involvement and self-reported grades in an ethnic mix of 838 grade 9 to 12 students (predominantly 63% African-American and 27% Hispanic).

Harvard students involved in varsity teams had a slightly lower GPA than their peers, but reported a higher degree of satisfaction with their university experience. [ 65 ] This also seemed the case in other institutions examined by Light. Athletes have more friends and a stronger sense of belonging to their institution. They are, according to Light, "the happiest on campus". Generally, this same trend is seen among high-school athletes. Students engaged in extracurricular PAs do not achive different academic scores than their peers, but they feel a greater engagement with their institution. [ 66 , 67 ] This may reflect in part the greater attention directed towards these specific students. Indeed, participants in extracurricular activities (including sports) have more interactions with significant adults than non-participants. [ 66 ]

Sport is a very complex phenomenon. There are many cultures within school sports, and any effect on academic achievement is influenced by gender, race, type of sport, type and level of athletic involvement. White and McTeer [ 68 ] suggested that the status of a given sport may influence its effect on academic achievement. Their results showed that high-status sports had a positive influence on English grades but they saw no evidenceof an effect of such sports on mathematics grades. They suggested that academic performance was more likely to be affected by cultural factors in subjective subjects like English than in mathematics. Any influence of school sports participation may also differ between girls and boys [ 33 ], and between various ethnic and cultural groups. [ 69 ]

In conclusion, the available literature suggests that sport is more likely to benefit academic achievement if offered in school rather than in other sport contexts, given the proximity of educational resources and environment. This may be particularly important for team sports, which often seem associated with risky behaviours, particularly binge drinking of alcohol. [ 70 ] When sports-involved students identify themselves as athletes rather than «jocks», such risky behaviours seem less prevalent. [ 67 ] Greater academic coaching of school athletes could be a factor favouring their academic achievement. [ 67 ] School sports should be monitored closely, with the intent of avoiding a drift away from educational objectives. It appears that satisfaction with sports vs. satisfaction with school work is predicted by a differing psychological domain (perceived ability vs. task orientation). [ 71 ] It may be helpful to create an environment where both types of endeavour find common ground, i.e. school may be the best setting in which sports can be directed towards task orientation and skills acquisition, without decreasing the pleasure and satisfaction of being good at sports and PA. As noted in various long-term follow-ups, elite and varsity level athletes later tend to experience greater educational and labour market success than non athletes. [ 34 , 67 , 72 , 73 ] Current evidence suggests that this effect may be mediated by racial group. [ 74 ]

Populations with special educational needs

Academic integration of children with various behavioural and developmental problems is a growing trend in industrialized countries. The question arises in terms of their academic achievement. Reviews of exercise programmes for children with learning disabilities [ 75 , 76 ] have suggested that in order to increase the likelihood of positive outcomes, such programmes should have a low student-instructor ratio. Benefits (with the exception of increased PF) may reflect increased attention toward the participants.

In hyperactive impulsive children, PA is associated with global satisfaction in boys and an absence of depressive emotions in both sexes. [ 77 ] An outdoor education programme also decreased behavioural problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. [ 78 ]

In children with reading disabilities, a school-based programme of balance and coordination training, throwing, catching, and stretching produced significant improvements in both reading and semantics. [ 79 ] Positive changes were maintained for at least 18 months following the programme, reducing the likelihood of a Hawthorne effect. [ 80 ]

Four pupils with emotional and behavioural disorders were directly studied before and after a 10-week PE intervention. Back in class, there was an increase (13.8%, or a little more than 23 minutes) in the amount of time spent focused on the tasks they were supposed to be performing. [ 81 ] A 10-week PA intervention in children with learning disabilities improved classroom behaviour and the perception of academic competence was increased. [ 76 ] However, a similar outcome was seen in the control group, indicating that there had been no specific effect from the programme.

The effects of school PA upon children with learning problems thus remains an open field for research.

Is the potential beneficial effect of PE, school PA and sport supported by fundamental research?

The positive association observed between PA and intellectual performance among children in quasi-experimental studies should be supported by mechanistic, experimental evidence. No one can deny the important role of neurosciences in the comprehension of academic achievement. [ 82 ] Most research on the relationships between PA and cognition has centered on the hippocampus, a brain region that mediates memory and learning in mammals, and on changes in the cerebral circulation. The hippocampus has an important role in the consolidation of memory. One major mechanism essential to its functions is long-term potentiation, or LTP. LTP leads to an enhancement of nervous influx following a first series of stimuli.

Exercise and learning mechanisms

Hippocampal LTP is the most credible physiological explanation for learning and memory in mammals, including humans. [ 83 ] LTP leads to an increase of synaptic efficacy following an increase of synaptic traffic. [ 83 ] It was shown recently that PA favours hippocampal LTP. [ 84 ] Chronic exercise favourably influences the hippocampus through 3 mechanisms:

1) Heightened neurogenesis, i.e. an increased formation of new neurons after chronic PA, as demonstrated in the adult mouse [ 85 , 86 ],

2) Augmented LTP itself, i.e. enhanced neuronal transmission in the hippocampus. Different methods employed to measure cognitive functions, and scores on these tasks are well correlated with a better performing hippocampus [ 87 ]. Radial maze learning, i.e. an hippocampal spatial learning, is increased in both male and female rats exercised by voluntary running. The performance of this task does not seem to be influenced by changes in fitness of the animal, as is the case for the Morris water maze. However, if the water maze is used, it remains possible to control for an animal's level of fitness. Other studies using the Morris water maze have also reported improved performance. [ 85 , 88 ] Exercise has no effect on glutamate receptors in the hippocampus in aged rats [ 89 ], reinforcing the view that post-receptor mechanisms are responsible for stronger LTP in active animals. However, this point remains to be confirmed in the hippocampus of younger animals,

3) Chronic exercise creates a favourable environment for LTP by increasing the hippocampal concentrations of neuroprotective factors like brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) [ 90 ] and of other growth factors such as insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), nerve growth factor, and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2).

The brain concentration of some antioxidants is also increased in trained animals, thus protecting hippocampal cells from oxidative damage. [ 91 ] Radak et al. [ 92 ] studied the acute effects of exercise (2 hours). Oxidative damage to macromolecules was reduced through an increase of glutathion synthetase activity and a reduction in the deleterious, inactivity-related efflux of glutamate (the neurotransmitter of learning in the hippocampus). Acute exercise also normalized certain memory functions, particularly orientation time to novelty and passive avoidance reactions.

To our knowledge, these mechanisms of enhanced learning and memory have never been explored in animals at a developmental stage corresponding to school-age children. We hypothesize that, given the higher brain plasticity of childhood, the changes seen in older brains may have an even greater magnitude in the developing brain. The data suggest that the brain structures involved in learning and memory, although more complex, function much like skeletal muscle. To enhance function (i.e. increase memory and learning), periods of stimulation must be followed by a recovery period when supercompensation can take place, and the new proteins associated with learning and memory consolidation can be synthesized.

Discussion and Conclusion

Available data suggest that school PA (PE instruction, free time PA or school sport) could become a consistent component of PA to meet current guidelines for children and adolescents without impairing academic achievement, even if curricular time for so-called academic subjects is curtailed. In his classical work "The Adolescent Society," James S. Coleman advanced the concept of a zero-sum model. [ 93 ] This hypothesized that if time was taken from academic programmes to allow other pursuits, academic achievement would suffer. This concept may be applicable if time is spent in paid employment while attending school [ 94 ], but it does not seem to apply to extracurricular activities like sports or curricular PE. [ 95 ] In contrast, such activities are likely to increase attachment to school and self-esteem which are indirect but important factors in academic achievement.

Parents concerned about decreases in study and homework time may be better advised to question the time their children spend on TV and computer games rather than the time that they devote to PE, PA or sports in school. Indeed, the more children watch TV, the greater the decline in their academic results. [ 96 ] At least one Canadian study found that the time devoted to PA was positively associated with the time that school-aged children spent in reading. [ 97 ] Parents interested in the health and academic success of their offspring should focus on the increased prevalence of various metabolic pathologies in which sedentary behaviour plays a key etiologic role, for example, obesity and type 2 diabetes, both of which are beginning at an ever younger age. [ 98 ] Such pathologies have the potential to affect school performance adversely, although this is an area where more research is needed. [ 99 ] In one recent article, obese 3 rd grade girls (8 years old) did not have poorer academic results after control for SES, but relative to normal weight girls they exhibited more displaced behaviours like arguing and fighting, as well as more depressive symptoms like loneliness and sadness [ 100 ].

Engagement in PE instruction would probably be increased if grades were allocated for performance in PE, particularly in high school. The engagement of girls, particularly, decreases when PE is not considered incalculating their GPA. [ 101 , 102 ] However, between grade 8 and 12, the school drop-out rate for adolescents of both sexes is reduced by sport participation [ 103 ]

Another problem that remains to be resolved, despite a call for action from the Surgeon General in 1996, is the heterogeneity in provision of PE [ 104 ], extracurricular sports and other school PA programmes [ 105 ], schools with a low SES being particularly disadvantaged. School sport would appeal to more students if emphasis was placed on its educational potential rather than its competitive side. Potential drifting of objectives should be monitored to avoid a «subversion» of the educational mission and ensure a maximisation of positive effects such as academic achievement and long term adherence to physical activity. The current emphasis on a limited range of team sports should be modified to provide opportunities for students who are interested in and have the skills relevant to other sport ventures, thus attracting a wider range of students.

Many questions remain to be clarified on the relationship between academic performance, PE, school PA and sports. However, to paraphrase Eccles et al. [ 67 ], "We now know enough about the kinds of programs likely to have positive effects on children and adolescents' development." The literature strongly suggests that the academic achievement, physical fitness and health of our children will not be improved by limiting the time allocated to PE instruction, school PA and sports programmes.

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F. Trudeau is holder of a joint initiative grant from Social Science and Humanity Research Council/Sport Canada. R. J. Shephard is collaborator on the same grant.

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Trudeau, F., Shephard, R.J. Physical education, school physical activity, school sports and academic performance. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 5 , 10 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-5-10

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Difference between games and sports

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GAMES AND SPORTS 

Difference between games and sports- It has often been seen that sports and games are considered one and the same. However, sports and games are quite different from each other. A game involves more than one person and a sport is concerned with the skill and performance of only one person.

The word GAME is derived from the Proto-Germanic GA – collective prefix + MANN “person” , which refers to the sense of “getting people together”. And the word SPORT is derived from Old French desporter “to seek entertainment” , which literally means des- “ away ” + porter “to carry”.

So, understanding the community aspect, and the joy it derives from it, is paramount in the “play”, while in the “play” it is the more twisted aspect, and the joy comes from the activity itself, not from being together. Generally, sports and games refer to both competitive and physical activities. However, with the Games, competition, and physicality can be optional.

We can say that “ NOT ALL GAMES ARE SPORTS BUT ALL SPORTS ARE GAMES”.

MEANING OF THE GAME: –

Recreational activities; those played at parties; Word Play Games. A competitive activity in which players compete with each other according to certain rules: basketball , Rummy, Football, etc.

Some examples of games are:-

MEANING OF SPORTS: –

A competition or sport in which people perform certain physical activities and compete against each other in accordance with a specific set of rules. like – badminton, lawn tennis, horse riding, etc.

Each is defined in terms of the other, although sports are a subset of games that involve physical activity. So the synopsis of a sport is a competition, and a sport is a competition that involves physical activity. Both games and sports can be defined in terms of recreational activities and competitions. The two can be used almost interchangeably, thus they are listed as synonyms in dictionaries.

In recreational activities, we play games to entertain ourselves. We play games to exercise ourselves. Generally, we consider sports as a good thing in our life because while playing any sport we also learn good sportsmanship.

                              Read more about- Difference between yoga and exercise

In competitions, we use the word game to emphasize the “goal” , which is to “win” the game. Usually, we use the word sports to emphasize sportsmanship and a high level of skill action, which is achieved only through serious practice. It usually includes physical activities but has recently been extended to cover mental activities as well.

What is the difference between games and sports-

• A SPORT is an athletic pursuit that involves specific physical skills that can be trained OR developed over time. A GAME is a structured pass-time in which players or teams compete with each other according to detailed rules to try to achieve an objective, whether through skill, luck, or both.
• SPORT is a physical activity in which you compete against a lying person under some set of rules that have been devised. On the other hand, a GAME is a type of recreational activity that we play for fun and enjoyment and to make rules within ourselves which suit us.
• SPORT , a physical activity, is performed under an agreed set of rules. Sport is related to entertainment and purpose, either for competition or for self-pleasures. A GAME is also a recreational activity involving one or more players. GAME is also played on the basis of a set of rules; a game is defined as the goal that the players continuously strive to achieve.
• SPORT is an activity or physical activity, in which the physical abilities of the player are observed. In a sport, there is a player or person who determines the outcome of an activity. But, a person’s talent cannot determine the game. It is the overall performance of him and his fellow players that determines the winner in a game. An individual’s individual skill or performance matters a lot in physical activity, but doesn’t matter much in a game; it is only the coordination and team spirit that leads the team to win the game.
• A person participating in a SPORTS  competition is called an athlete or sportsperson .  A person participating in a sports competition or championship is called a player .
• While playing SPORT , an athlete can make his own independent decisions on which his winnings and losses depend, GAME- but a player cannot make such independent decisions in games as decisions are made only with the consent of his fellow player or group player in the game. Winning games depends on strategy and tactics, and sports are based on individual skill, performance, and luck.
• The most important difference between sports and games is that sports mostly depend on physical energy and GAME depend on mental strength. Although both depend on physical energy and mental power, both things have their own importance.
• SPORT is played with competition in mind whereas GAMES is played with a friendly attitude. More professionalism can come in sports than in sports.

In a SPORT , the athlete or sportsperson is expected to play in good sportsmanship which also includes conduct such as respecting opponents and officials. But in a GAME , one cannot give such a character. The performance of the entire team is taken into account in the game.

The nature of sports is organized and competitive. It also requires commitment and fair play. An athlete or a player always gains popularity by his skill but in a GAME , popularity does not get to any one person but to the whole like if the basketball team of a country wins the Olympic Games then popularity gets to the whole team.

Sports and game in summary

• Winning in sports depends on individual skill and physical strength. In games, it is the collective responsibility of a team, depending on the cohesion within the team.
• Sports activity is based on physical energy and games are based on mental strength.
• Games depend on team strategy and tactics; the game is based on individual performance, his/her skill, and luck.
• Sport is an activity in which the physical abilities of the player are observed. The overall performance of the players in games is what determines the winner in a game.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN GAME AND SPORTS

• Rules govern both games and sports to ensure fair competition.
• They may include both teams and individual participants.
• People enjoy games and sports for relaxation and entertainment, but they also learn new skills and knowledge.

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A scoping review on physical literacy domains associated with participation in sports video games among youth and adolescence

• Published: 24 April 2024

Cite this article

• Wai Keung Ho   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0387-9869 1 ,
• Kim Wai Raymond Sum   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4051-9945 1 &
• Di Tang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6962-6939 1  

Sports video games (SVGs) are one of the most popular genres in video gaming, which are suggested to be associated to physical literacy (PL). The objective of the current scoping review is to identify and summarize the empirical evidence on PL domains associated with participation in SVGs among youth and adolescence, based on the Australian Physical Literacy Framework (APLF). The literature search followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines on databases PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. This review included studies that evaluated any outcomes associated with the participation in SVGs based on APLF: physical, psychological, social, and cognitive domains. Articles related to other video game genres or gambling were excluded. All types of devices, modes of playing and intensities of play were included. Finally, there were 3859 articles retrieved from which 11 met the inclusion criteria. The most studied outcomes were related to the psychological and the cognitive domains which shown that SVGs to be effective in increasing motivation and engagement, and enhancing total knowledge in real-life sports. This finding provides a new insight that this sedentary behavior could be used in promoting sports and might help to solve the problem of physical inactivity. However, more research is needed for the physical and the social domains regarding to SVGs play among youth and adolescents. The current evidence base relating to SVGs is not large enough to be able to understand the associations of some gaming variables, such as duration of time, frequency, skill levels, mode of playing and gender, to PL and risky behaviors among youth and adolescents.

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Abbreviations

Australian Physical Literacy Framework

Active video game

Entertainment Software Association

International Physical Literacy Association

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games

• Physical literacy

Sports video game

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Professor Wong Heung Sang Stephen, and Professor Chung Peichi for giving constructive and helpful feedback throughout the study.

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Ho, W.K., Sum, K.W.R. & Tang, D. A scoping review on physical literacy domains associated with participation in sports video games among youth and adolescence. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05997-4

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How to understand sports and traditional games and how to apply it to physical education. On the “Goal of Game”

J. p. ribas.

1 Teaching Faculty, Didactics of Languages, Arts and Sports, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain

J. Hernández-Moreno

2 Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Didactics of Corporal Expression, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain

R. Díaz-Díaz

P. j. borges-hernández.

3 Teaching Faculty, Specific Didactic, University of La Laguna. San Cristobal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

J. V. Ruiz-Omeñaca

4 Teaching Faculty, Educational Sciences, University of La Rioja, La Rioja, Spain

A. R. Jaqueira

5 Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Laboratório de Jogos, Recreação, Lutas Tradicionais e Capoeira, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

Associated Data

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Introduction

Does philosopher's stone exist in physical education? It could be said that teaching games for understanding approach (TGfU) keeps turning everything it touches into gold: its presence in the educational centers, its volume of publications, the way of teaching games and sports, its connections with other approaches, its game categories, learning transferable principles of play. But… no, all that glitters is not gold. There are TGfU issues that should be improved. For example, these categories are disconnected from each other because TGfU lacks classification criteria. The “goal of game” is a concept that has been studied, but it has not been applied to physical education. The aim of the article is to show how to deepen the understanding sports and traditional games from the “goal of game”, and to propose its applicability to physical education.

The traits of “goal of game” will be identified by investigating two close concepts, “prelusory goal” (formalist philosophy of sport) and “motor-goal” (motor praxeology).

The traits of “goal of game” concept: main-motor-problem, described in the game rules and that the players will try to solve during the game dynamics. The “goal of game” chances: (1) It allows us to understand sports and traditional games based on their internal logic (2) It allows us to classify traditional games and sports based on classification criteria and that can be useful to organize the physical education program; (3) It allows us to deepen the understanding of sporting games and their applicability to physical education: on the one hand, proposing progressively more specific goal of game options and, on the other hand, proposing a network model of intentions of play to understand the game dynamics and to design learning tasks.

Conclusions

The conclusions collect some properties of the “goal of game” concept in order to propose its applicability in physical education students learning: identify and compare the main-motor-problems of the games; solve these problems during the game dynamics; transfer the procedures used to solve other games. The goal(d) of game amazes us; maybe physical education teachers are curious to continue discovering this wonderful treasure.

Teaching Games for Understanding approach (TGfU) is notable because some merits. Its progressive diffusion in physical education (PE) ( 1 , 2 ) has led to a substantial bibliography for practical application, theoretical foundations, and research ( 3 – 7 ).

Some teaching and research approaches have come closer to TGfU, such us motor praxeology ( 8 , 9 ), constraints-led approach (CLA) ( 10 ), game-centred approaches (GCA) ( 4 , 11 ), game sense ( 12 , 13 ).

TGfU has modified the way of teaching and learning games and sports, making the students to focus their attention to the logic of the game dynamics ( 14 ). Compared to the traditional skill drill technical model ( 15 ), TGfU achieves higher motivation ( 16 ), strategic knowledge transfer ( 17 ) and student's connection to the activity ( 18 ).

The summary is that “ The Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach for games teaching in physical education is one such increasingly popular teaching approach that advocates a learner-centered orientation, with emphasis on exploratory learning within “gamelike” situations ( 2 )” (p. 252). It could be said that TGfU is the philosopher's stone of PE: it turns everything it touches into gold.

Furthermore, TGfU proposes categories, where each category contains games and sports whose design logics and game dynamics logics are similar: “ If teachers select or sample different games from the same category, children can be led to understand similarities between apparently dissimilar games within a game form. For example, basketball and soccer, as invasion games, can explore common principles of attack and defense. Also, differences between apparently similar games can be compared, such as tennis and badminton as net games ( 19 )” ( p . 30).

Time is tight in PE. The student will not have to learn and practice countless games and sports in PE if a curriculum is proposed from game and sports categories ( 20 ). The objective is for the student to understand and retain the structures and game principles of each category and to reuse them in the practice of sports and games with similar internal logics (transfer) ( 17 , 21,22).

The initial TGfU grouped games and similar sports into four broad categories. They are games similar to each other because they coincide in their designs and in their (tactical) principles of play ( 23 ). For instance, invasion games” (soccer, basketball, hockey, rugby) share: a goal or similar target for scoring, invading territory to make space in attack and the containment of space in defense.

This means that during the game dynamics of one and the other games and sports that belong to the same category, the student performs similar procedures ( 20 , 24 ): similar intentions of play, similar decision-making, similar interpretations of game situations. It is worth pointing out this way of acting in PE proposed by the TGfU. This is precisely what the development of this paper will focus on (see Table 1 ).

The four categories of games chosen by the TGfU approach (this is a selection from the original table by Butler ( 25 ).

The diversity of learning experiences in PE ensures the improvement of the spheres of the person ( 26 ) and of the student's motor-behaviour ( 27 ): affective, cognitive, motor and relational. But if a student spends many hours learning and practicing the same type of very similar games he will have less opportunity to take time to experience other beneficial experiences. For example, learning more and more invasion games (soccer, basketball, hockey, tag rugby, ultimate, lacrosse) implies a repetition of similar game experiences. Then, “ The focus of TGfU is to design learning experiences for individuals to acquire tactical skills of the major games through playing modified versions of target games considered suitable for their current physical, intellectual, and social states of development ( 2 )” ( p . 253).

The learning and practice of games of diversity of categories ensures the diversity of experiences and its consequent influence in the spheres of the person ( 28 , 29 ). This has implied that more and more categories have been added to the TGfU model over the years ( 6 ), for example, wrestling games (judo, wrestling, canarian wrestling) and combative games (taekwondo, fencing, canary stick game) ( 30 ), traditional sports and games whose goal of game is for players to throw a moving-object at other players' bodies (ball-tag games, paintball, dodgeball, sitting-ball) ( 31 ) and tag games (cops and robbers, kabbadi, kho-kho) ( 32 , 33 ).

The games and sports included in these other categories also meet the requirements of being games similar to each other because they coincide in their designs and in their structures and (tactical) principles of play ( 23 , 25 ). Then, the student performs similar procedures in these sports and traditional games during the game dynamics ( 20 , 24 ). Then, they can meet the requirement of transfer between games belonging to a category ( 17 , 22 ). And, finally, they can meet the other requirements of being major games, target games and being games considered suitable for their current physical, intellectual, and social states of development ( 2 ).

Other kinds of sports and traditional games that can perfectly meet part or all of the above requirements of the TGfU: traditional sports and games whose goals is for players to reach a goal-place (relay races, puss in the corner, musical chairs, king of the mountain, green light-red light), acrobatic games (artistic gymnastics, capoeira, trampoline), juggling, games of building human towers (castellers, acro-sport), games with music and rhythm (jump rope, rhythmic gymnastics, clapping hand games, aerobics). Definitively, more games and sports categories are needed in PE ( 29 ).

A PE curriculum that plans the practice of sports and games based on categories is more advisable than a curriculum that chooses a list of countless sports and games with no connection to one another In line with the proposals of the TGfU ( 23 ), it is advisable to distribute the wide universe of games and sports by exhaustively grouping them into a finite number of large categories ( 34 ).

To organize a homogeneous and exhaustive system of game and sports categories, it is not enough to identify the traits that differentiate some categories from others ( 20 ) (specific differences). It is also essential to identify what all the categories have in common with each other (near gender), that is, classification criteria are needed. But TGfU lacks classification criteria to organize and connect its categories. All that glitters in TGfU may not be gold.

In this sense, the classification criteria belonging to internal logic are appropriate in PE because they allow us to understand games and sports internal structures ( 34 ). Elements of internal logic are: goal of game, game space, game time, motor-communication and materials ( 34 ). Motor praxeology has developed categories using classification criteria the “type of space” and the “type of motor-communication” ( 35 ), but has not proposed categories using “type of goal of game” as classification criterion.

The “goal of game” is significant: it has been insistently covered since the 1960s ( 36 ), until the present ( 37 ). However, the goal of game has not been used in PE to understand games and sports and for its applicability in student learning. The “goal of game” is a treasure to discover in PE.

The aim of the article is to show how to deepen the understanding sports and traditional games from the “goal of game”, and to propose its applicability to physical education.

“ Goal of game ” and understanding of sports and traditional games

In the 1960s, the debate on the pre-lusory goal was sparked among formalists, a current within the philosophy of sport that tries to describe and define the concepts “game” and “sport” from the rules ( 38 , 39 ). The triggering article published in 1967 “What Is a Game?” is signed by Bernard Suits. The debate continues in the present.

Since the 1990s, and after the publication in 1981 of the book “Contribution à un lexique commenté en science de l'action mortice” ( 40 ), motor praxeology (science of motor action) has developed concepts, classifications, some research and some proposals of applicability in PE, based on the “motor-goal” ( 37 ).

 We will focus on the contributions of the formalists and motor praxeology to understand the traits of the “goal of game” concept.

The “goal of game” is an internal component of the game . Suits ( 36 ) uses the term “lusory goal” (“lusory”, from ludus, “game” in Latin) that means “the goal of game” and refers to a state of affairs to be reached during the game (reaching the goal of game). Suits ( 41 ) renamed it “pre-lusory goal” and both terms have come to be used with similar meanings ( 42 ).

However ( 43 ), describes the differences between the two states of affairs to be achieved. It is the same argument defended by Devine and Lopez-Frias ( 39 ): “ Games are goal-directed activities. Each game has two distinct goals: a “lusory” goal and a “prelusory” goal. The pre-lusory goal is a specific state of affairs that players are trying to achieve: putting the ball in the hole in golf, crossing the bar in the high jump, and crossing the line in the marathon. These goals can be achieved prior to the formation of a game. For example, I can put a golf ball in a hole even though no golf game has started, or I can jump over a bar even though no high jump competition is in progress. The lusory goal is to win. This can only be achieved in the context of organized play .” (digital version).

For motor praxeology, the motor-goal is an element belonging to the internal logic of games and sports ( 44 ). Parlebas ( 34 ) understands internal logic as the logic of game design (sports rules, traditional game rules) and as the logic of game dynamics (principles of play, decision-making, tactical problems, intentions of play, perceptions, interpretations of the situation of play).

The “goal of game” is the problem to be solved by the players . Torres ( 45 ) uses the term “playful problems of the game”. For Schell ( 46 ) ( p . 37) “ A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude ”. According to Kretchmar ( 47 ) ( p . 12) “ To play a game, we look for (or, as far as necessary, invent) a good problem just so that we can encounter it and try to solve it ”. And according to motor praxeology, motor-goal is the demand to be achieved by the participants ( 44 ).

The “goal of game”-problems are motor-goals . Parlebas ( 34 ) refers to the “motor-task” of sporting games (traditional games, sports), and Lagardera and Lavega ( 28 ) say that physical activities and sports are “… motor-oriented situations, carried out by means of our motor faculties, and with a strictly motor purpose: to score a goal, to pass the bar, to exercise ” ( p . 50) (respectively in soccer, pole vaulting, and cycling). Rodríguez-Ribas ( 48 ) proposed the term “motor-goal” after concluding in his inductive study that all physical activities and sports coincide in that “… the goal to be achieved is of a motor nature ” ( p . 31).

Formalists as Suits ( 49 ) ( p . 2) says that sports are “… competitive events involving a variety of physical human skills (usually in combination with others), in which the superior participant is judged to have exhibited those skills in a superior manner ”. And Meier ( 50 ) ( p . 24) says that “… a game may also properly be called a sport if it possesses the additional characteristic of requiring participants to demonstrate physical dexterity or skill in the achievement of its objective ”.

The motor-goal is not only a feature common to all games and sports, it is also a criterion that differentiates (discriminates) what is a motor-game or sport from other games ( 48 , 51 , 52 ). Non-motor games (board games, chess, e-sports) have no motor-problems to solve.

And finally, the “goal of game”-problems are the main problems that players solve during the game dynamics ( 44 ).

Summarizing, in traditional games, sports and modified or invented games, the concept “goal of game” refers to a main-motor-problem, described in the rules of the game and that players will try to solve during the game dynamics (see Figure 1 ).

Traits that identify the “goal of game” of sports, traditional games and modified games.

Let's check with an example if there is concordance between the formulation of the concept and reality. The two basketball goals of game are: “ The aim of each team is to score in the opponents’ basket and to prevent the other team from scoring ( 53 )” (art 1.1, p . 6). Both are the two main problems that players must solve (article 1.1). Both are motor-problems (getting the ball into the opponents' basket, and preventing them from doing so). Both problems are described in the rules (page 6 and later). Players try to achieve these two goals of game during the game dynamics (playing a basketball game).

The goal of game facilitates the understanding of the internal logic of the game. A short sentence summarizes what the game consists of and summarizes what elements are necessary for the game (in basketball: one ball, two baskets, two opposing teams).

Other examples of goals of game but in traditional games are:

• - Dodgeball (two goals of game): hit the ball into the opponents' body, and prevent the opponents from doing so.
• - Green light-red light (two goals of game): get to the goal line but avoid moving when “it” turns around, and restart from the starting line if “it” sees you move when it turns around.
• - Puss in the corner (two goals of game): to reach a free corner before another player, and to prevent or encourage other players to reach a corner.

Is it possible to use the “goal of game” as a classification criterion for sports and traditional games? The elaboration of a specific classification in PE based on the “goal of game” criterion requires answering the question: “What types of goals of game exist in sports and traditional games?” And specifically, which categories of main-motor-problems can be found in the rules of sports and traditional games.

Parlebas ( 35 ) states that the goals of game of traditional games and sports included in the so-called “sporting games” are of the space type. “ The spatial goals are the poles around which the acts of the game gravitate ” ( p . 181). Examples of sporting games are invasion games, net/wall games, tag games, fighting games and running games. The goals of game of the sporting games are synthesized in “to overcome motor-spaces”.

Also from motor praxeology, Mateu and Bortoleto ( 54 ) ( p . 133) propose “motor-forms”, where “… the purpose of the motor action: oriented by the production of meaning and by the morphokinetic character ” determine the goals of game of expressive traditional games and aesthetic sports. Examples of this type of sports and traditional games are acrobatic games, juggling games, games of building human towers, games with thematic meanings, games with music and rhythm. The goals of game of motor-expression games are summarized in “to obtain motor-forms”.

Formalist sports philosophers ( 42 , 55 , 56 ) distinguish the two large categories of games as well. Kretchmar ( 57 ) clarifies Suits ( 48 ) by adding that what he calls “performances” is guided by aesthetic factors.

Different goals of game suggest new definitions. Sporting games: “Sports and traditional games whose goals of game imply to overcome motor-spaces”. Motor-expression games: “Sports and traditional games whose goals of game imply to obtain motor-forms”.

The goal of game allows the understanding of games and sports. The two large categories distribute sports and traditional games of the PE curriculum based on two different goals of game (see Table 2 ).

The two large categories of sports and traditional games according to their goals of game, and some examples.

Deepen the understanding of sports and traditional games. The sporting games in PE

We dedicate this section to deepen the understanding of sports and traditional games. We'll use “goal of game” to apply specifically to sporting games. Deepening the understanding of sports and traditional games that are sporting games using their goals of game requires answering the question: What are the different options “to overcome motor-spaces” in sports and traditional games?

According to the formalist Kretchmar ( 47 ) ( p . 6), the goal game problems include two constituents: “… gamewriting is a process of manipulating means and ends for purposes of producing ‘just right’ problems. Frequently, it is a combination of both. Naismith's invention of basketball is a case in point. He problematized the prelusory goal of ‘ball-through-basket’ by elevating the basket. He also limited permissible means for achieving this state of affairs by prohibiting the use of ladders and by allowing interference by defenders. The combination of the two produced a provocative game problem ”.

Adding means and conditions to “to overcome motor-spaces” produces new, more concrete problems, i.e., more concrete goals of game. From the motor praxeology, Parlebas ( 35 ) ( p . 177) differentiates in sporting games between space as “ distance to travel” and space as “ target to achieve”. The distance to travel “It is the distance a ball or puck is made to travel; It is also, and above all, the distance to travel oneself ”. Regarding the target to be achieved, he distinguishes between “ The material targets: almost always fixed, they correspond to conditioned places ” ( p . 181) and human targets, in which “ The space to be achieved is a dynamic human space… ” ( p . 182); it is a human target. According to the pointed out possibilities, two components are distinguished for the goals of game “to overcome motor-spaces”:

• - The arrival component has two options: 1. A target or a goal; 2. Players are the (dynamic) target to achieve.
• - The component that will overcome the motor-space to the arrival component has two options: 1.The players themselves will overcome the motor-space to the arrival component; 2. The moving-objects (ball, disc, dart…) used by the players are those that will overcome the motor-space to the arrival component.

Let's act deductively. The combination between the two options of both component (see Figure 2 ) implies a classification of four more specific types of the goal of game “to overcome motor-spaces” (which will be named number 1):

• 1.1. To overcome motor-spaces (players themselves) to the goal.
• 1.2. To overcome interpersonal motor-spaces.
• 1.3. To overcome motor-spaces (moving-objects) to the goal or target.
• 1.4. To overcome motor-spaces (moving-objects) to players.

Which sports or traditional games contain one or more of these goals of game? For example, basketball and all invasion games contain the goal of game. 1.3. [“To overcome motor-spaces (moving-objects) to the goal or target”]; blob tag and all tag games contain the 1.2. goal of game; baseball and all striking/fielding games contain the goals of game 1.1, 1.3. and 1.4.; paintball and dodgeball contain 1.4.

Combinations between the two options of the two components based on the goal of game “to overcome motor-spaces” (arrival component and component that overcomes the motor-space to the arrival component).

For further deepening the understanding of traditional games and sports, it will be necessary to deduce their goals of game with a higher concreteness degree. For this purpose, more conditions will be added to the four goals of game. Here are some condition options that can be added:

• - The arrival component can be static or be dynamic. For example, the basket in basketball is static, while the human paintball target or the skeet shooting target are in motion.
• - The arrival component is usually delimited and localized (e.g., goal, target, bowling, other participants), but there are also variable spaces as a goal, for example, in long jumping or throwing objects away (throwing in athletics).
• - Participants may cooperate to get moving-objects or other participants to overcome the motor-space; on the other hand, there are sports and traditional games in which opponents will prevent it.

The following classification of game goals has three concreteness degrees. Some examples of traditional games and sports that contain one or more game goals have been included.

• 1.1. To overcome motor-spaces (players themselves) to the goal:
• 1.1.1.1. Perform races/runs (and/or preventing the opponent from doing so). E.g. relays, parkour, striking games (baseball, cricket, rounders), climbing.
• 1.1.2. Perform height jumping or distance or obstacles jumping (long jump, pole vaulting, ski jumping, bungee jumping).
• 1.1.3. Occupy spaces (and/or preventing the opponent from doing so) (puss in the corner, musical chairs, king of the mountain).
• 1.2.1. Hit/touch others and preventing the opponent from doing so. E.g., combative sports (boxing, fencing, taekwondo), tag games (cops and robbers).
• 1.2.2. Immobilize others and preventing the opponent from doing so (judo, wrestling).
• 1.2.3. Knock down/excluding others from a space and preventing the opponent from doing so. E.g. judo, sumo wrestling, fencing, traditional wrestling (canarian wrestling).
• 1.2.4. Group with others (and/or preventing the opponent from doing so). E.g. running to group, Romeo and Juliet.
• 1.3. To overcome motor-spaces (moving-objects) to the goal or target (examples of moving-objects: ball, disc, puck, javelin):
• 1.3.1. Put the moving-object to a target or goal and to prevent the opponents from doing so. E.g. invasion games (soccer, basketball), conquest of the flag, kinball, tchoukball, striking games.
• 1.3.2. Prevent the opponent from forwarding the moving-object to a target or goal. E.g. net/wall games (volley games, tennis games), spikeball.
• 1.3.3. Throw, shooting or hitting moving-object accurately towards a target. E.g. target games (golf, billiards, bocce, bowling, three-point contest, croquet).
• 1.3.4. Throw, hitting moving-object at a distance (athletics throws, striking games).
• 1.3.5. Lifting or dragging objects. (weight lifting).
• 1.4.1. Throwing or passing a moving-object to others (and/or preventing the opponent from doing so) E.g., dodgeball, sitting-ball, paintball, ten passes, rondo, striking games, throwing the fresbee to others.
• 1.4.2. Making a moving-object return (auto-passes, bouncing the ball, boomerang).

This is a classification of goals of game. For example, striking/fielding games contain four different goals of game and, therefore, appear in several categories of goals of game (1.1.1. Performing races/runs; 1.3.1. Get the moving-object to a target; 1.3.4. Throw, hitting moving-object at a distance; 1.4.1 Throw, pass a moving-object to others.

This classification of goals of game has three concreteness degrees, but further concreteness of goal of game can be made to expand the understanding of similar games (or groups of games). For example, starting from the goal of game of invasion sports 1.3.1. “Put the moving-object to a goal and prevent the opponents from doing so”, two more concreteness degrees can be specified:

Concreteness level 4 (1.3.1.1): “To put the moving-object into the opponents’ goal and to prevent them from doing so”, of invasion sports with goal (soccer, field hockey, polo, handball).

Concreteness grade 5 (1.3.1.1.1.1): “To put the ball into the opponents’ goal and preventing them from doing so, directing the ball with any part of the body except arms and hands”, from soccer [indoor soccer (5 players), soccer-7, soccer-11, jorkyball, beach-soccer].

To correctly express a goal of game requires the infinitive of a verb with the meaning of a problem to be solved, and described with the means contained in the problem (Kretchmar, 2019). For example, the basketball goals of game (two baskets) would be correctly expressed as follows: “to put the ball into the opponents’ basket, and to prevent the opponents from putting the ball into our basket”.

The goals of game allow a deeper understanding of sporting games from their internal logic ( 34 ), that is, from the logic of design (the rules of the game) and from the logic of game dynamics. We have deepened the logic of design of sports and traditional games through goals of game. Is it possible to deepen the understanding of the logic of the game dynamics of sports and traditional games through the goals of game?

As formalist sports philosophers point out, playing a game is to attempt to achieve the goals of game ( 47 , 58 , 59 ). In the same sense, Bayer ( 59 ) ( p . 62) specifies for invasion games that: “… each player will carry out his action on the playing field, with an intention (and the meaning that is attached to it) that will modify the present situation and it will motivate on the part of the other players (in order to preserve the balance of the system) some intentions that will be articulated among themselves ”.

Curiously, the principles of play of invasion games in Bayer ( 60 ) (from phenomenology) are the same ones used by Bell and Hopper ( 61 ) (from TGfU) to design invasion game learning tasks. We propose a “network of intentions of play” that collects the articulation of levels of intentions of play of the players during the game dynamics, and that are triggered from the goals of game. The learning tasks are associated to each intention of play. The different levels of intentions of play (level 1, level 2, level 3…) allow us to create tasks for different levels of learning (see Figure 3 ).

Network model of intentions of play of invasion games (according to the principles of play proposed by Bayer ( 60 ).

Regarding PE, the similarities between the intentions of play of two games suggest coincidental teachings and positive transfers between those games; and the notable differences between their intentions of play suggest a differentiated teaching of those games. And going back to what was stated in the introduction of the article, the transfer of procedures to solve different games is one of the TGfU's working hypotheses ( 17 , 21 , 22 ) , .

“ Goal of game ” refers to a main-motor-problem, described in the rules of the game of sports and traditional games, and that the players will try to solve during game dynamics. For example, the two goals of game of dodgeball are to hit the ball into the opponents' body, and prevent the opponents from doing so; and the two goals of game of basketball are to put the ball into the opponents' basket, and to prevent the opponents from putting the ball into our basket.

Regarding the questions in the article title “how to understand traditional games and sports and how to apply it to physical education”, we've have compiled some of the “goal of game” properties taken from the sections of this article, and we propose applicability options in PE for student learning:

• - The goal of game is described with a brief phrase, which summarizes what the game consists of and summarizes what elements are necessary for the game. Students can identify the main-motor-problems that they will have to solve in each game (or group of similar games).
• - The goal of game is a motor-problem. Students can discriminate between motor games (traditional games and sports) compared to non-motor games (board games, chess, e-sports). Non-motor games have no-motor problems to solve.
• - The goal of game serves to classify. Students can compare games by recognizing similarities or differences between main-motor-problems from different games (or a group of games).
• - The game dynamics is deduced from the goals of game. Students can solve each main-motor-problem by selecting intentions of play.
• - The intentions of play could be transferable. Students can perform similar procedures to solve a main-motor-problem (goal of game) that belongs to two different games (or group of games).

“Goals of game” and “intentions of play” can help PE teachers to plan the program of PE, to design teaching units and sessions, to design modified games and to control the monitoring of student learning.

The “goal of game” is a concept that allows deepening the understanding of sports and traditional games, but it had not been applied to PE before. The authors are aware that what is provided in this article is a first approximation: the goal(d) of game amazes us; maybe PE teachers are curious to continue discovering this wonderful treasure. The “goal of game” can enrich the foundations, research and its applicability from motor praxeology, from TGfU and from the philosophy sport.

Acknowledgments

The working group whose members are the authors of the article wishes to thank the support provided by scientific associations ACCAFIDE and International Sportics Society (SIS-ISS).

Data availability statement

Author contributions.

JPR and JHM contributed to conception and design of the study. PBH and RDD organized the database and performed the analysis. JPR and RDD wrote the first draft of the manuscript. JPR produced the figures and the tables. JHM, JVR, ARJ and PJB wrote sections of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Texas A&M University

School of education & human development.

Climate Change and the Future of Sport

By Travis Bowles

Sport management researcher addresses impact in national report.

Dr. Brian McCullough of our Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management contributed his research to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, addressing how climate change will affect sport, recreation and physical activity.

The assessment is the U.S. Government’s preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks and responses. McCullough’s contributions mark the first time the National Climate Assessment has addressed how sustainability efforts could impact sport, recreation and physical activity.

“It is important to make these impacts personally relevant, especially to those in the Southern Great Plains,” said McCullough. “People are more likely to address climate change through lifestyle changes if they see their favorite sports and physical or recreational activities will be adversely impacted.”

McCullough also assisted with the recently published Texas A&M Athletics’ Sustainability Master Plan . “Texas A&M Athletics is a great example of how you can be environmentally responsible while also being quite pragmatic,” he shared.

McCullough is the Director of our Center for Sport Management Research and Education and the Laboratory for Sustainability in Sport. To read his contribution to the latest National Climate Assessment, visit tx.ag/NHAtFxA .

For media inquiries, contact Ruben Hidalgo .

• climate change
• Environmental Impact
• health and kinesiology
• health education
• sport management
• texas a&m

About Travis Bowles

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40 facts about elektrostal.

Written by Lanette Mayes

Modified & Updated: 02 Mar 2024

Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

Elektrostal is a vibrant city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia. With a rich history, stunning architecture, and a thriving community, Elektrostal is a city that has much to offer. Whether you are a history buff, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about different cultures, Elektrostal is sure to captivate you.

This article will provide you with 40 fascinating facts about Elektrostal, giving you a better understanding of why this city is worth exploring. From its origins as an industrial hub to its modern-day charm, we will delve into the various aspects that make Elektrostal a unique and must-visit destination.

So, join us as we uncover the hidden treasures of Elektrostal and discover what makes this city a true gem in the heart of Russia.

Key Takeaways:

• Elektrostal, known as the “Motor City of Russia,” is a vibrant and growing city with a rich industrial history, offering diverse cultural experiences and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
• With its convenient location near Moscow, Elektrostal provides a picturesque landscape, vibrant nightlife, and a range of recreational activities, making it an ideal destination for residents and visitors alike.

Known as the “Motor City of Russia.”

Elektrostal, a city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia, earned the nickname “Motor City” due to its significant involvement in the automotive industry.

Home to the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Elektrostal is renowned for its metallurgical plant, which has been producing high-quality steel and alloys since its establishment in 1916.

Boasts a rich industrial heritage.

Elektrostal has a long history of industrial development, contributing to the growth and progress of the region.

Founded in 1916.

The city of Elektrostal was founded in 1916 as a result of the construction of the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Located approximately 50 kilometers east of Moscow.

Elektrostal is situated in close proximity to the Russian capital, making it easily accessible for both residents and visitors.

Known for its vibrant cultural scene.

Elektrostal is home to several cultural institutions, including museums, theaters, and art galleries that showcase the city’s rich artistic heritage.

A popular destination for nature lovers.

Surrounded by picturesque landscapes and forests, Elektrostal offers ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

Hosts the annual Elektrostal City Day celebrations.

Every year, Elektrostal organizes festive events and activities to celebrate its founding, bringing together residents and visitors in a spirit of unity and joy.

Has a population of approximately 160,000 people.

Elektrostal is home to a diverse and vibrant community of around 160,000 residents, contributing to its dynamic atmosphere.

Boasts excellent education facilities.

The city is known for its well-established educational institutions, providing quality education to students of all ages.

A center for scientific research and innovation.

Elektrostal serves as an important hub for scientific research, particularly in the fields of metallurgy, materials science, and engineering.

Surrounded by picturesque lakes.

The city is blessed with numerous beautiful lakes, offering scenic views and recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike.

Well-connected transportation system.

Elektrostal benefits from an efficient transportation network, including highways, railways, and public transportation options, ensuring convenient travel within and beyond the city.

Famous for its traditional Russian cuisine.

Food enthusiasts can indulge in authentic Russian dishes at numerous restaurants and cafes scattered throughout Elektrostal.

Home to notable architectural landmarks.

Elektrostal boasts impressive architecture, including the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Elektrostal Palace of Culture.

Offers a wide range of recreational facilities.

Residents and visitors can enjoy various recreational activities, such as sports complexes, swimming pools, and fitness centers, enhancing the overall quality of life.

Provides a high standard of healthcare.

Elektrostal is equipped with modern medical facilities, ensuring residents have access to quality healthcare services.

Home to the Elektrostal History Museum.

The Elektrostal History Museum showcases the city’s fascinating past through exhibitions and displays.

A hub for sports enthusiasts.

Elektrostal is passionate about sports, with numerous stadiums, arenas, and sports clubs offering opportunities for athletes and spectators.

Celebrates diverse cultural festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal hosts a variety of cultural festivals, celebrating different ethnicities, traditions, and art forms.

Electric power played a significant role in its early development.

Elektrostal owes its name and initial growth to the establishment of electric power stations and the utilization of electricity in the industrial sector.

Boasts a thriving economy.

The city’s strong industrial base, coupled with its strategic location near Moscow, has contributed to Elektrostal’s prosperous economic status.

Houses the Elektrostal Drama Theater.

The Elektrostal Drama Theater is a cultural centerpiece, attracting theater enthusiasts from far and wide.

Popular destination for winter sports.

Elektrostal’s proximity to ski resorts and winter sport facilities makes it a favorite destination for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities.

Promotes environmental sustainability.

Elektrostal prioritizes environmental protection and sustainability, implementing initiatives to reduce pollution and preserve natural resources.

Home to renowned educational institutions.

Elektrostal is known for its prestigious schools and universities, offering a wide range of academic programs to students.

Committed to cultural preservation.

The city values its cultural heritage and takes active steps to preserve and promote traditional customs, crafts, and arts.

Hosts an annual International Film Festival.

The Elektrostal International Film Festival attracts filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing a diverse range of films.

Encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elektrostal supports aspiring entrepreneurs and fosters a culture of innovation, providing opportunities for startups and business development.

Offers a range of housing options.

Elektrostal provides diverse housing options, including apartments, houses, and residential complexes, catering to different lifestyles and budgets.

Home to notable sports teams.

Elektrostal is proud of its sports legacy, with several successful sports teams competing at regional and national levels.

Boasts a vibrant nightlife scene.

Residents and visitors can enjoy a lively nightlife in Elektrostal, with numerous bars, clubs, and entertainment venues.

Promotes cultural exchange and international relations.

Elektrostal actively engages in international partnerships, cultural exchanges, and diplomatic collaborations to foster global connections.

Surrounded by beautiful nature reserves.

Nearby nature reserves, such as the Barybino Forest and Luchinskoye Lake, offer opportunities for nature enthusiasts to explore and appreciate the region’s biodiversity.

Commemorates historical events.

The city pays tribute to significant historical events through memorials, monuments, and exhibitions, ensuring the preservation of collective memory.

Promotes sports and youth development.

Elektrostal invests in sports infrastructure and programs to encourage youth participation, health, and physical fitness.

Hosts annual cultural and artistic festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal celebrates its cultural diversity through festivals dedicated to music, dance, art, and theater.

Provides a picturesque landscape for photography enthusiasts.

The city’s scenic beauty, architectural landmarks, and natural surroundings make it a paradise for photographers.

Connects to Moscow via a direct train line.

The convenient train connection between Elektrostal and Moscow makes commuting between the two cities effortless.

A city with a bright future.

Elektrostal continues to grow and develop, aiming to become a model city in terms of infrastructure, sustainability, and quality of life for its residents.

In conclusion, Elektrostal is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant present. From its origins as a center of steel production to its modern-day status as a hub for education and industry, Elektrostal has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. With its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and proximity to Moscow, there is no shortage of things to see and do in this dynamic city. Whether you’re interested in exploring its historical landmarks, enjoying outdoor activities, or immersing yourself in the local culture, Elektrostal has something for everyone. So, next time you find yourself in the Moscow region, don’t miss the opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Elektrostal.

Q: What is the population of Elektrostal?

A: As of the latest data, the population of Elektrostal is approximately XXXX.

Q: How far is Elektrostal from Moscow?

A: Elektrostal is located approximately XX kilometers away from Moscow.

Q: Are there any famous landmarks in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to several notable landmarks, including XXXX and XXXX.

Q: What industries are prominent in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal is known for its steel production industry and is also a center for engineering and manufacturing.

Q: Are there any universities or educational institutions in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to XXXX University and several other educational institutions.

Q: What are some popular outdoor activities in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal offers several outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling, and picnicking in its beautiful parks.

Q: Is Elektrostal well-connected in terms of transportation?

A: Yes, Elektrostal has good transportation links, including trains and buses, making it easily accessible from nearby cities.

Q: Are there any annual events or festivals in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal hosts various events and festivals throughout the year, including XXXX and XXXX.

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