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e-Debate: Kate Cowan comments in Round 2
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Kate Cowan highlights three main challenges to maintaining a balance in between sport and other components in S&D interventions. Read her comments here...

Delivering a balanced or holistic approach in S&D programmes is often advised, but difficult to implement. In your opinion, what are three main challenges we face in trying to maintain a balance between sport and other components?

Delivering a holistic approach in S&D program is difficult, the main challenges that must be faced are:

Keeping sport our focus rather than a tool to attract participants
It is sometimes difficult to avoid getting overwhelmed by the challenges communities face; we want to fix them all. However, we have to recognize that sport is our delivery method and we need to remember that this needs to remain our focus.

Quality volunteers for quality programs
One of the main challenges S&D programs face is providing quality training of volunteers, peer leaders, teachers, staff etc. These are the people that our children will look up to, therefore we need to ensure they have the technical skills, embrace our philosophies and understand their position as a role model.

Finding creative ways to introduce and demonstrate community issues through age-appropriate active games
Some of the health challenges communities face are often difficult (sometimes taboo) to speak to children about. Therefore as professionals and practitioners working with S&D programs it is often difficult to know how to approach these issues at an age appropriate level and develop sports centered activities that speak to these challenges.

Can you describe a bad example of trying to embed sport in other interventions aimed at addressing health issues?
I have witnessed situations where sport is used as a tool to attract children to an event or activity.

When the children show up they are given 15 minutes of activity, the ball is then hidden and the event is turned into a lecture or inactive discussion period on health issues that may or may not be a concern to the community.

This is a bad example of how to use sport to address health issues.

I would have to agree with Frank van Eekeren and Cees Versteeg in the first round of this debate - sport should be the core of S&D projects, not just a means for attraction.

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