Kayaking health benefits- active childhood

Kayaking health benefits – active childhood by Zagreb Canoe Association was a project completely financed by the European Union Erasmus+ Sport Programme and in the authority of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency – EACEA. Zagreb Canoe Association from Croatia was the project administrator and its partners were North Macedonia (Macedonia Canoe Federation) and Slovenia (Canoe Federation of Slovenia). Bosnia and Herzegovina could not be the formal partner, so it took part only in certain actions of the project in order to gain experience and knowledge for possible future projects. Zagreb Canoe Association has been collaborating successfully with the partner countries for a long time. Kayaking health benefits – active childhood was another project intended to connect programmes by our respective Associations and clubs, exchange experience and help children form the habit of regular exercising. Another important aspect of the project was to introduce kayaking to children, thus creating the opportunity for them to recognize it as an interesting sport and maybe consider joining one of the kayaking clubs in their region. Furthermore, we came across worrying data on children being overweight or obese in all three partner countries. The results presented by the Croatian Institute of Public Health in relation to school-age children's health show that 20% of girls and 33% of boys are overweight or obese at the age of eleven in Croatia. In Slovenia, the OECD study in 2013 showed that 22.8% of girls and 27.2 % of boys, aged 6 to 19, had that same problem, while in North Macedonia that problem affected 33 % of boys and 20 % of girls, aged 11, according to the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey (2009/2010). This data attracted our interest to analyse if a uniquely designed kayaking programme could affect the morphological characteristic of children, motivate them to actively join kayaking and improve their health. The uniquely designed kayaking programme consisted of three parts that each country carried out: anthropometry, psychological testing and the lecture on the importance of proper eating habits and regular exercise. The planned activities took place in Zagreb, on Lake Jarun, as a part of three kayaking camps that were held at different occasions, for children from North Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. The project lasted for 18 months (January 2018 – June 2019). Using anthropometrical procedures, the project team had determined and then analysed the morphological status of children participating in the project. The psychological testing to determine the level of motivation for the sport, specifically kayak/canoe, and reasons for taking part in this unique programme was administered by psychologists from Croatian Association of Sport Psychology (HASP). The lectures on importance of physical activity, healthy eating habits and harmful effects of doping were held by professors of Kinesiology and professional canoe/kayak coaches from Zagreb who also managed and coordinated trainings and sports activities. Children participated in a quiz on healthy eating habits and healthy lifestyle in general. The project also promoted voluntary activities in sport, so children from Croatia and Slovenia volunteered at the European Championships U-23 in Macedonia, August 2018, and children from Croatia and Macedonia volunteered at the World Cup in Slovenia, May 2019. All Associations from the partner countries wish to create a Universal kayaking school sometime in the future, based on shared knowledge and experience, which would combine good practises of many professionals working in that field in North Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosna and Herzegovina and Croatia.