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School, sports and pupils all over the place

45 minuttes per day. Perhaps you know about the political settlement about the public schools in Denmark a few years back. A part of this agreement was to make sure that children in the Danish schools did more exercise on a daily basis.

These days 11.000 children are taken this thought to another level. They are competing in different kinds of sports at the “Schools Olympics”.

Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF) and Danish Athletic Federation are the two organizations behind the event, which took place for the first time in 2009.

Ten years later children form all over Denmark jump over hurdles, run a relay race and much more in Aarhus.

A great day

Tuesday pupils from 4. Grade was in action. One of them was Ida-Marie (10), who ran a 2000 meter and a 300 meter run:

– It was fun. There were a lot of things you could participate in. I liked sports, and I liked that you yourself could decide, which distance you should run, she said. 

Her teacher Mette Sloth Lave also had a great day and as she points out, the children not only gets the chance of trying different kinds of sports.  

– It’s a great day because they have a lot of fun with each other and I think they in fact get stronger by it they need to ask people for help and handle a lot of things by themselves, she tells.

Not a new thing:


Actually it is not a new thing that Danish pupils do exercise at school. As the first country in the world Denmark introduced gymnastics as a school subject this happened in 1814 with the “almueskoleloven”
(the commoners school law).

In the 1930’s sports halls was build and the physical activities was blossoming. But then came the war and during the German occupation of Denmark many of the sports halls was used for accommodation for the German soldiers.
 
In 1946 the children at school once again played football, did athletics etc. and it was in this year ”Dansk Skoleidræt” (Danish School sports association” was established.