According to research released today by the British Triathlon Federation (BTF), to launch the 2011 Tata Kids of Steel triathlon series, a generation of British children risk turning their backs on physical activity in favour of keeping ‘digitally fit’ by watching TV, playing video games and chatting on social networks.
The survey of 1,500 British 6-15 year olds, commissioned by Tata Steel in partnership with British Triathlon, revealed that more than twice as many youngsters spend their free time watching TV (79%), as they do playing sport (34%).
Other less active pastimes preferred to sport include surfing the Internet (56%), chatting on social networks (45%) and playing video games (43%).
Further highlighting the shift from traditional physical pastimes to a more ‘digitally fit’ generation, only 34% of the youngsters had swam a length of a pool and just 46% had ridden their bikes in the last week. In contrast, nearly three quarters (73%) had found the time to play a video game in the last seven days.
Staggeringly, 15% of the kids confessed to not being able to swim, nearly a quarter (22%) claimed they’d never run a distance of 400m, and 1 in 10 said they couldn’t ride a bike. A further 15% of the children polled said they had never played sport with their parents.
New technology may be criticised for its ability to take over an adult’s life, but the findings suggest technology users are getting younger and younger. Of the children surveyed – the youngest aged six – a third (33%) admitted to not owning a bike; while 68% have their own mobile phone and more than three quarters have a games console (77%).
The research findings help to reinforce Tata Steel’s commitment to giving more than 50,000 8-13 year olds the chance to discover triathlon by 2012. Since launching in 2007 (formerly as Corus Kids of Steel), the Tata Kids of Steel series has created opportunities for nearly 25,000 children to participate in free and fully equipped mini-triathlons geared simply towards having fun and taking part, regardless of ability.
Karl Köhler, CEO of Tata Steel in Europe, said “This research has highlighted a number of important issues which we hope Tata Kids of Steel will help to address. As the Corporate Partner of British Triathlon, we’re committed to reviving an interest in playing sport within local communities, so to be giving 14,000 children a first-hand experience of how accessible and fun triathlon can be is a very exciting prospect.”
Zara Hyde Peters, British Triathlon CEO, added “We’re passionate about creating opportunities for young people to discover how much fun the triathlon challenge is. It’s one of the fastest growing, dynamic and modern sports around and, with the Olympics just around the corner, there’s no better time to be inspiring youth participation in our sport.
“Our hope is that with the support of our Corporate Partner, Tata Steel, every child walks away from Tata Kids of Steel with a smile on their face and if we can inspire the next generation of triathletes along the way, even better!”
This summer Tata Kids of Steel will visit 18 locations across the UK and give more youngsters the chance to sample triathlon than ever before.
As well as being given the chance to try the three key disciplines – swimming, cycling and running – every child gets fitted with the correct sized bike and helmet, and receives a medal for taking part in addition to a swim cap, t-shirt and gym sack to help harness the very best of their inner triathlete.
