| Abstrakt: |
Background: Primary school plays a pivotal role in shaping children's motor skill competence. Recognising this critical developmental phase, our study aimed to assess the impact of a two-year after-school physical activity intervention on fundamental motor skills among young primary school children. Methods: A cohort of twenty healthy children (10 boys, 10 girls) aged 6-7 years formed a baseline engaged in IAAF Kids' Athletics training, comprising two weekly one-hour sessions. Concurrently, a control group of twenty peers (10 boys, 10 girls) adhered to conventional practices. The assessment involved measuring jumping with max-effort rotation, sit and reach test, standing long jump, ball throwing, 4 × 10 m shuttle run, and 20 m endurance running tasks at halfyear intervals throughout the two-year intervention period. Data analysis employed two-way ANOVA with repeated measurements. Results: At baseline, intervention students demonstrated superior performance (p < 0.01-0.001) in the standing long jump, ball throwing, and shuttle and endurance runs compared to control subjects. After the two-year intervention, girls in the physical activity group exhibited a positive impact (p < 0.05-0.001) on three out of six motor skills - specifically, the standing long jump, ball throwing, and endurance run - compared to their counterparts in the control group. Conversely, no statistically significant improvements were observed in any motor skills for boys in the intervention group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a sustained, long-term physical activity intervention can significantly enhance fundamental motor skills in girls, while no such conclusive improvements were observed in boys. Potential factors contributing to these genderrelated differences are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
