With the start of the new school year, the daily exercise unit has started in ten regions of Austria. Instead of a daily gymnastics class, a “three pillar model” is implemented. Exercise should be integrated into all areas of the school. External trainers should also come to the schools and provide additional units for those students who specifically need them.
This and next school year, the project will be tested in about 1,100 classes and groups of children. “Every attempt needs a goal,” Sports Minister Werner Kogler (Greens) said on Thursday. To achieve this goal of “moving to Austria”, one has to start with the children. After the two trial years, the project must be expanded, but according to the Minister of Sport, this can only be done step by step.
millions for exercise
The project makes about 70,000 additional movement units possible. The Ministry of Sport is making 6.2 million euros available for this. “I assume these investments will continue,” Kogler said.
A large part of this goes to the financing of pillar two, the external exercise coaches. The umbrella sports organizations ASKÖ, ASKVÖ and Sportunion are responsible for the implementation of this pillar. In recent months, the national associations of the umbrella organizations have recruited additional exercise coaches. These are trained with school law and educational content and must provide an extract from the criminal record.
Get even the little ones excited about sports
The pilot project includes children and young people aged 2 to 14 in some 260 schools and kindergartens. So far, the project has been very well received, emphasizes Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP). “If young people don’t like exercise, they won’t as adults either.” The aim of the pilot phase is to find out what support the schools need. It is therefore also important that the practice units are adapted to the local circumstances and needs and that the schools can make individual decisions. “The goal is to have a package of support options at the end.”
The ten pilot regions are the district of Neusiedl or parts of the vicinity of Eisenstadt (Burgenland), the district of Korneuburg (Lower Austria), the regions of Leibnitz (Styria) and Carnica-Rosental (Carinthia), the district of Schwaz (Tirol), the Bregenzerwald (Vorarlberg), the Salzburg districts of Aigen, Parsch and Salzburg Süd, parts of the Rohrbach district and the Urfahr area (Upper Austria) and in Vienna the district of Kagran in the Danube City.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
