Would you ever have imagined to do sports online or watch athletes perform in an empty stadium some years ago? Well, currently we are experiencing exactly this.
The COVID-19 pandemic has many impacts on our lives. One aspect that has particularly been affected is the world of sports. From international and national sporting events, to our sport as a hobby and physical education at school. It has negative consequences on the economic sector as well as on the physical and mental health and the daily life of people all over the world.
Impact on professional sport
The COVID-19 pandemic has an enormous impact on international sport events. Many have been postponed and others have been cancelled. The 2020 Summer Olympics, for example, should have taken place in Tokyo starting on the 24th of July. However, due to the pandemic, this major event has been rescheduled to 2021.
The virus affected competitions of all kinds worldwide, which then had repercussions especially on the economic aspect. There are only a few countries that have continued professional sports as they did before the pandemic, but for the majority of matches of various sports had to be suspended. This caused athletes and players not being able to perform their sport and spectators and fans not to watch any. Meanwhile most competitions have started again and we got used in watching football, basketball, volleyball and other matches without spectators and fans in the stands of the stadium.
Impact on grassroots sports and sport facilities
One of the hardest aspects for us as students and young people is the fact that we can’t practice our own sport either. In fact a sector that has been heavily impacted is the grassroots sports. This includes all sporting clubs of a community. Many of us practice an activity in one of these clubs. Normally we do this outside of school during our free time, but due to the pandemic trainings are suspended. Only some sports, which are possible to be carried out within all social distancing rules, can take place. Unfortunately this excludes several activities and causes many children and teenagers not being able to train. For a period of time we attended trainings with protective facemasks, maintaining two meters of distance between each one of us and sanitizing sport equipment after every use of it, but despite our efforts it didn’t last for long and activities stopped again. However, some clubs have decided to continue to practice by doing exercises with the whole team through video calls.
Also public sport facilities, such as gyms and swimming pools, experience negative economic impacts. Several of the smaller clubs and facilities are heavily affected by the epidemic and many associations were forced to close.
Impact on sport in schools
The pandemic has also an impact on physical education in schools. Since we have returned to go to school, many restrictions were set up. Including on physical education lessons and on sport activities during our breaks. The sport lesson had to change completely. There aren’t a lot of activities we can do without getting directly in contact with other students and ball-sports aren’t allowed, with the exception of football, as in this case the ball is only touched with our feet. Many students usually used to enjoy their breaks by playing football or basketball with their friends, which isn’t possible nowadays. Nevertheless our sport lessons have continued to unfold and we try to have fun as far as it is possible, despite the little alternatives of activities, also through inventing new games that we are able to do regarding the restrictions.
Tips and ideas for movement during lockdown
Especially as some of us are back on distance learning, which means sitting in front of the computer all day long, here are some advices of how to keep on track with physical movement.
Take any chance to get some motion. In this way you can continue to train yourself, stay fit and healthy, get some fresh air and distract yourself from school. It doesn’t have to be on a daily basis, you may choose when and how much you want to do. Of course anything you do outside of your house must be done respecting social distancing regulations.
· Do some workout that you can easily do at home. This is widely practiced by many people who find themselves locked up at home. You could also do that with some friends through a video call.
· Have a walk. This might not be possible for everyone, but if you can, this might be one of the best ways of doing movement. You could do this also by just taking out your dog for a walk.
· Go jogging or running.
· Practice your sport by your own. Depending on the sport you practice, you can also try to train yourself at home.
As this article is about sports, I would like to dedicate it to our physical education teacher, who unfortunately passed away recently, Vito Ugo L’Episcopo.
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