Nominated Most Sporting Primary Schools battle it out during final day

Practising for the battle

Urban sports originated outdoors. But streets, squares and parks have long since ceased to be the only domain of these sports! We are increasingly seeing them at schools as well.

During the opening on 9 April, the nominated schools will therefore compete with each other in a sporting way during an informal battle. Both schools will do this using various urban sports under the guidance of YouTubers and freerunners Rutger Schipper (@Team Tantum) and Mees van Dam (@MeesvDam).

Before the final day, Rutger and Mees will each take one school under their wing and bring along a team of top athletes from various sporting disciplines to prepare for this informal battle. On Tuesday, 19 March, Mees van Dam’s team will be at De Waterhof in Delft from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. On Thursday, 14 March, Rutger Schipper’s team will be at Margarethaschool in Arnhem from 8:45 to 11:45 a.m. They will practise freerunning, breakdancing, skateboarding, gymnastics and acrobatics.

Urgency

Only 62 percent of children aged 4 to 12 meet the physical activity guidelines. Children in our country are champions at sitting still; they sit for an average of 7.2 hours a day. Children are not only exercising less, but also less effectively. For a number of vulnerable groups, their motor skills deteriorated further after the coronavirus lockdowns. School is the place where all children come together and is therefore an important place for encouraging more physical activity.

The schools competing for the title serve as examples for other schools in terms of developing physical activity policies. They offer an outstanding range of physical activity and sports and also have a specialist PE teacher 2.0. They encourage their pupils to develop an active and healthy lifestyle. Naturally, these activities are embedded in the school policy. Through the ‘Most Sporting Primary School in the Netherlands’ election, these schools are given a platform to inspire other schools as well.

This is the tenth time that KVLO (Royal Dutch Association for Physical Education), the Knowledge Centre for Sport and Physical Activity and NOC*NSF have organised this election.

Opening photo: CBS Het Lichtpunt was named Most Sporting Primary School in the Netherlands in 2022.