Speakers
Description
Objectives: Youth sports around the world are affected by the Covid -19 pandemic. In order to explore the "drop out" in youth sports after forced "retirement", our research question was: how has the past period of several temporary closures affected youth sports in Slovenia? Methods: an online survey, "Youth sports in the grip of COVID -19 epidemic measures," conducted from November 18 to December 10, 2021, targeted coaches of 12- and 20-year-old years sport selection in track and field, alpine and Nordic skiing, gymnastics, basketball, football, swimming, and handball. Descriptive statistics were obtained for all variables. Findings: 204 coaches from Slovenia (male= 80.2%, age 41.74 years, SD ± 10.8, coaching experience 13.4 years, SD± 9.83) participated in the study. Most of the teams or athletes were boys. The results show a negative trend (11.4% "dropouts" and 10.5% "newcomers") during the study period. More than half of the coaches (54%) indicated that the main reason for dropping out was lost interest in the sport. Discussion: Even though some coaches offered online training during the study period, detailed analysis showed that we lost between 1,200 and 800 young athletes from 505 selections, including 42 talented young athletes. Conclusion: While the negative effects of lockdown sports are known in the short term, we are not yet clear about the long-term effects. If the negative trend in youth sports participation continues, the potential pool of talented elite athletes will be lost, and the “dropouts” will grow into a less active and less healthy generation.
