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With four out of five Jersey kids failing to meet the World Health Organisation’s guideline of at least one hour of physical activity a day, a new initiative is hoping to get youngsters excited about exercise.
Only one in five (19%) young islanders are being physically active, at or above the national recommended level of physical activity, a proportion that has increased since 2010, according to the Jersey School Survey Report.
But Jersey Sport is looking to reverse the trend, and has just announced a series of family 'play days' aimed at encouraging more families to get active in the island's parks.
Following the success of an event held in Parade Park last year on National Play Day, Jersey Sport decided to extend the offer across the island so that more children can reap the benefits of physical activity.
Running this summer from 26 July to 23 August, 'Friday Fun Play Days' will take place on Fridays from 11:00 to 14:00 and will be open to children aged up to eight years old.
Friday Fun Play Days will take place at the following parks, on the following dates:
Pictured: The first Play Day of the summer will take place on 26 July at Millennium Park.
Jersey Sport staff will be setting up 25 different games and activities at each of the sessions for the children to take part in with the rest of their families.
There will be the traditional sack races and balance buckets as well as other activities aimed at developing fundamental skills such as throwing and catching or for kids to just “roll about.”
“The Friday Fun Play Days are designed to be fun and give young children the opportunity to be creative and develop new skills,” David Kennedy, General Manager at Jersey Sport. “It’s another example of Move More Jersey in action – helping to combat the issue of inactivity within the island.
“Play Day is an early introduction to exercise and it gives the opportunity to show parents that you can do a lot of play that does not cost a lot of money, is easy to set up and that you can take part in.”
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