Darbošanās sporta jomā Latvijā man ir kas pilnīgi jauns, jo vispirms nākas aptvert, kā tas – un īpaši jau skolu sports – šeit tiek organizēts.
Cik zinu, tikai dažām skolām ir sporta komandas, kas spēlē regulāros čempionātos. Parasti šīs skolas pievēršas vienam sporta veidam, piemēram, basketbolam vai hokejam. Ja nemācāties tādā, jūs meklējat sporta klubu kaut kur citur vai vienkārši neko nespēlējat. Lielākā daļa cilvēku koncentrējas uz vienu sporta veidu, un viņi netiek mudināti izmēģināt dažādas spēles.Jaunzēlandē 90 procentos gadījumu pusaudži ar sportu nodarbojas skolās, un katra no tām piedāvā dažādus sporta veidus. Pat tās, kas slavenas ar panākumiem vienā, piedāvā nodarbības arī vairākos citos. Tā kā sports tiek organizēts caur skolu sistēmu, tas ir viegli pieejams visiem un rada daudz lielāku līdzdalības līmeni, nekā Latvijā.Piemēram, es mācījos pēc Jaunzēlandes standartiem salīdzinoši mazā skolā ar 350 audzēkņiem. Vismaz 300 no viņiem pārstāvēja skolu kādā sporta veidā, un skolēni tika rosināti iesaistīties vairākos fizisko aktivitāšu veidos. Savā pēdējā mācību gadā es visas sezonas gaitā pārstāvēju skolu piecos dažādos sporta veidos. Tur sportam arī bija lielāka nozīme, nekā kādā no lielajām skolām, kas ik sestdienu varēja laist laukumā desmit regbija un vairākas futbola komandas. Basketbola spēles parasti notiek piektdienas vakaros, tāpēc daudzi, kuri spēlē regbiju vai futbolu, ir arī basketbolā. Tā kā sporta nodarbības notiek skolu sistēmā, to lielā mērā finansē valdība un skolēnu un viņu vecāku izmaksas ir mazas.Spēlēšana skolas komandas sastāvā cilvēkā rada lepnumu, pārstāvēt savu mācību iestādi ir gods. Vienu gadu mācoties Daugavpilī, to neredzēju skolēnos, kuri ar sportu nodarbojās ārpus skolas laika. Jā, notika starpskolu sacensības volejbolā un basketbolā, bet bija grūti atrast cilvēkus, ko sūtīt laukumā, un viņos nebija lepnuma par savas skolas pārstāvēšanu. Nezinu, vai tāpēc, ka ar skolu starpniecību tiek piedāvāts maz aktivitāšu un tajās ir grūti iesaistīties, vai arī izmaksu dēļ, taču šķiet, ka šeit ar sportu nodarbojas daudz mazāks pusaudžu skaits.Ja Latvijas valdība izvēlētos līdzīgu ceļu kā Jaunzēlande un attīstītu skolu sportu, vai tas nemudinātu vairāk skolēnu ar to nodarboties?Sport in schoolsBeing involved in sport here in Latvia has been a completely new experience for me as I come to grips with the way different sports are organised here in Latvia, particularly concerning sport for teenagers.To the best of my knowledge in Latvia only some schools have sports teams that play in regular competition. The schools that do have sport’s squads tend to focus on one sport, for example basketball or hockey. If you do not attend these schools then you have to find a club outside of school to play for or you simply do not play. The focus of most people also tends to be on one sport with no real incentive given to trying a number of different sports.In New Zealand 90% of sport played by teenagers is organised through schools with a number of sports on offer at every school. Although there are a number of schools that are reputable for a particular sport, the school in question will still offer a number of other sports. Because sport is organised through the school system, it is easily accessible to all students and creates much higher participation rates amongst teenagers than sport here in Latvia. For example I went to a relatively small school by New Zealand standards of 350 pupils. Of those 350 pupils, at least 300 represented the school at some sport, with it encouraged that students play more than one sport.In my final year I represented my school at five different sports throughout the year. Sport also has a lot more depth, with it not uncommon for some of the larger schools to be able to field more than ten rugby teams every Saturday, along with a number of football teams. Basketball it typically played on a Friday evening so a number of people who play rugby or football will also play basketball. Because sport is organised through the school system, it is largely subsidised by the Government, meaning that playing sport comes at little personal cost for the students and their parents, with a large percentage of the costs being picked up by the government.Playing for your school imbeds a certain amount of pride into oneself, with it becoming something of an honour to represent your school. Having attended school in Daugavpils for one year, the same sense of pride did not seem to exist with little school-related activity available outside of classroom hours. Indeed some inter-school sport did take play such as basketball and volleyball but on those occasions it was a struggle to find numbers to field teams and the same sort of inter-school rivalry and sense of pride at representing one’s school was non-existant. I do not know if it is because there is little sport offered through school here and it is difficult to become involved in clubs, or if it is a matter of cost but the numbers of teenagers who are involved in sport seems to be much lower here. I wonder if the Latvian Government took a similar path to New Zealand and developed sport through all schools, then it would encourage more students to participate in sport?
