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The material here on the Children’s Sports website has been developed together with children, youth, and adults within IFK Umeå, but it is also based on research and other proven experience. We intend for the material to serve as a support for the sports movement—not as a definitive guide.
On this page, you can deepen your knowledge in this area and access specific information on which the material is based. The material is fundamentally based on Swedish legislation in the form of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with the main focus on Article 12, “The child’s right to be heard.”
Links - Children and Youth
Children’s and young people’s participation in sports is crucial for safety, preventing harassment, and strengthening engagement, while also being a right according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and sports guidelines. By allowing children to influence training, rules, and the club’s activities, both individual development and the club’s quality are strengthened, and participation needs to be practiced from an early age.
Links - Coaches and Leaders
The web-based training Safer Together Club provides leaders with knowledge, tools, and reflection to create a safe and secure sports environment for children and young people. It focuses on preventing risks, acting upon concerns, and strengthening leadership through concrete methods based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“If we listen to young people and consider how they themselves perceive sports, we can create environments that are both enjoyable and meaningful. This could increase the likelihood of more individuals choosing to continue for longer.”
Links - Club Management
The study indicates that young athletes experience a high degree of social cohesion but limited influence over their sport, particularly regarding training and competition. Coaches maintain a dominant role in decision-making, which means that young people’s right to participation is not fully realized.
The study shows that girls discontinue floorball through a gradual process where multiple factors interact, such as increased performance demands, time constraints, changes in teams and coaches, and new interests. The decision is often preceded by a prolonged withdrawal process where associations have limited insight. Therefore, it is crucial to systematically investigate what children think and feel about sports activities and to adapt them to the children’s situation in order to prevent dropouts.
The report shows how the sports movement can strengthen children’s and young people’s participation and influence in democratic processes through specific areas for development and measures. The focus is on creating structures in which young people have a genuine opportunity to influence decisions that affect them.
The report describes different forms of participation and that it can be both subjective – feeling involved and objective – participating in decisions. This distinction is important for being able to examine, understand and influence children’s and young people’s participation in sports and physical activity in a nuanced way.
Links - Important Adults
The initiative “Umeå grows safely and securely” is a collaborative effort designed to prevent crime and deter children and young people from being recruited into criminal networks by strengthening protective factors such as a secure upbringing, education, and meaningful leisure activities. Sports serve as a crucial protective factor, fostering community and structure, and can counteract loneliness, exclusion, and mental ill-health.
Parents and other important adults play a crucial role in creating a safe, enjoyable, and developmental sports environment for children, as their behaviors and involvement influence the entire club’s climate. By engaging and being present—even for children who lack support at home—adults contribute to an inclusive sports culture that strengthens community and children’s development.
Children’s and young people’s participation in sports is crucial for safety, preventing harassment, and strengthening engagement, while also being a right according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and sports guidelines. By allowing children to influence training, rules, and the club’s activities, both individual development and the club’s quality are strengthened, and participation needs to be practiced from an early age.
The web-based training Safer Together Club provides leaders with knowledge, tools, and reflection to create a safe and secure sports environment for children and young people. It focuses on preventing risks, acting upon concerns, and strengthening leadership through concrete methods based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
