In all the schools of Malta and Gozo today the National Sports Day was organized during which thousands of students joined together in various activities with the participation of the educators. This initiative was organized by SportMalta.
In this year’s edition there was the participation of around 95 schools in both Malta and Gozo, as sporting activities were organized on the same day.
Apart from a day of sporting activity, this day also served to promote the importance of involvement in physical activity at school towards a healthier lifestyle.
“Through SportMalta we are taking various initiatives to see that we encourage our children from a young age to participate in sport and physical activity throughout the year”, said Minister Clifton Grima. He was speaking at the Primary School of San Gwann where he visited the sports activities that were going on. “We want society to be aware of the importance of physical activity and to participate more actively in sporting and physical activities”, said Minister Grima.
SportMalta has several initiatives linked to the promotion of sport and physical activity, including the #BeActive campaign and the European Sports Week which was launched last month. The Ministry for Education is continuing to invest in the open spaces of schools with an ongoing project of rehabilitation of sports fields, with the aim of improving the sports infrastructure in State schools both for recreational purposes and to improve the level of sports education.
This work is being done continuously and in the background of the national policy to address obesity among children and to foster a sporting culture in children.
Apart from this, in the new schools that are being built and those that are being modernized, importance is being given to the outside environment, so that it is adequate for physical activity, an important component of the school curriculum.