Sundays in the school sports hall: integrative sports project "Open Sunday"

A new inclusive sports project at the University of Oldenburg aims to encourage children to take part in Sport and Movement Science on Sundays. To kick off the "Open Sunday" project, 170 children came to the sports hall at Nadorst primary school over the past four Sundays. Under the guidance of specially trained young people from the Seifenblase circus school and the Flötenteich integrated comprehensive school (IGS), they were able to swing on rings, balance on balance beams or practise circus-style jumps.

Dr Ulf Gebken, sports educator and head of the affiliated Institute "Integration through Sport and Education", was delighted with the impressive response to the free leisure activities on offer in one of the school sports halls, which are otherwise often unused on Sundays. Only just under a sixth of the children are members of a sports club and some have disabilities. "Above all, however, we have succeeded in appealing equally to migrant pupils, boys and girls," says Gebken. This speaks in favour of the concept of offering a variety of forms of exercise and using female "junior coaches" in particular - otherwise it is often only boys who take part in open activities.

Annegret Meyer, head of the IGS all-day programme, praises the "enormous inclusive potential" of the Sunday sports programme. "We are delighted that pupils from years 9 to 11 have implemented this project with great social responsibility, prudence and commitment." The project at the University of Oldenburg will continue after a summer break, during which the sports educators want to evaluate the experiences to date.