School Sport
PORT SAPSASA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
On Tuesday 12th September 80 students from year 3-7 represented the school in the Port SAPSASA Cross Country Championships. The training that many of the students put in this term paid off and the team performed well. The event is held over 2km on the beach and reserve adjacent to Semaphore Surf Lifesaving Club. Students who finish in the top four in division 1 races earnt a spot in the Port SAPSASA Team to compete at the State Cross Country Championships at Oakbank in 2018 (year 7’s qualify to compete in the secondary schools events). We had 7 students who achieved this. Congratulations to:
U9 Suraya 1st, Willow 3rd
U10 Alyssa 3rd
U10 Sam 2nd, Marcus 4th
U11 Lily 3rd
U13 Amelie 2nd
Congratulations to our Division 2 place getters.
U9 Jasmin 3rd, U10 Riley 2nd, U11 Caitlin 1st, Jasmin 3rd
Largs Bay School won the team event in 3 races, congratulations to the winning teams:
U9 Girls Division 1, U10 Boys Division 1 and U11 Girls Division 2
Thank you to Brayden Lyle and Travis Hickman who coached the runners throughout the term and to all the parents who supported the team.
Ian Burge
Groundbreaking research shows children must play team sport for emotional development
EXCLUSIVE, The Advertiser
July 28, 2017 11:39pm
TEAM sports have been found to not only keep kids fit and healthy — but are crucial to their emotional growth.
A groundbreaking study into the health habits of 239 South Australian children aged 10-13 found “social connection and peer relationships” in group sports provide them with a better “quality of life” as they grow older.
The University of South Australia study said that while regular exercise was useful, it was organised sport that had the biggest positive impact on their general wellbeing.
“Parents and clinicians should be mindful that not all physical activity has an equal relationship,’’ said UniSA lead researcher Dr Margarita Tsiros. “Encouraging sports participation specifically over general physical activity may be a useful approach where feasible for families,” she said. The study also measured the negative effects of screen time, divided into television, video games and computer use.
Surprisingly, researchers said computer use did not have as big a negative relationship as TV and video games on health-related quality of life.
Dr Tsiros said the findings in relation to screen time were significant for those planning children’s activities.
“The findings highlight the importance of continued efforts to prevent and treat overweight and obesity in children and the importance of limiting screen time,’’ she said.
For boys, the report found the biggest negative effects on their health-related quality of life were caused by high body fat, video game use, and being further along into puberty.
The most positive impact was linked with sport. While for girls the most negative effects were measures of body fat and television viewing, while positive effects were seen with sport participation and higher household income.
The study will soon be published in the Quality of Life Research journal.
Dr Tsiros said organised sport should be an additional focus for those planning children’s physical activities.
“Given sport may be related to better wellbeing in children, more creative low-cost options to promote sport participation in children may be needed,” she said. “Participation in team sports involves social connection and peer relationships and it is possible that these factors may help explain why children who play sport may have better health-related quality of life.”
The study examined percentage of body fat, household income and the stage of puberty as well sport, active transport, play, sleep, television and video games.
Comment
The article above highlights the importance of getting children into organised sports. As summer approaches now is the perfect time to get your children into a summer sport. We are blessed in our local area to have a huge variety of choices. Here are some to consider.
Little Athletics – my kids have enjoyed this sport for years and I can’t recommend it enough, it caters for all in a friendly environment. See West Lakes and Districts Little Athletics Club flyer for details.
Surf Lifesaving – lots of families from our school speak highly of North Haven and Semaphore Surf lifesaving Clubs- two great local options.
Cricket – both Port Districts and North Haven have strong junior cricket programmes. There are also options for beginner players with Cricket Australia (see flyer attached).
Baseball – Port Adelaide baseball club cater very well for juniors and many of our students play there on a Friday evening.
Tennis – Port Adelaide and West Lakes both cater for junior players and I know of students that have lessons at both clubs and play matches.
Netball – there is a summer competition played at the Hart St Courts at Ethelton. Lots of our students are involved in various teams.
Basketball – runs year round, West Adelaide Bearcats at Port Adelaide is the closest team.
Swimming – many of our students have continued past merely learning how to swim to become squad and competitive club swimmers at Largs Bay Swim Centre.
Dance /Cheerleading/ Gymnastics – are all popular with our students.
I urge you to get your kids involved in community sport, the wellbeing benefits are enormous. Don’t be put off if the first sport you try isn’t the right fit for your child, keep giving them options until they find the one that suits them.
Ian Burge
PE teacher