Mass physical education and sports sector development: municipal-level project management

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PhD, Professor M.S. Rasin
Siberian State University of Physical Culture and Sports, Omsk

Keywords: physical education and sports services, local governments, project technologies, urban sport infrastructure, questionnaire survey, interactive map

Background. Physical education and sport service development policies are ranked on top of the list of priority social progress strategies to facilitate the popular demand for the physical education and sport service and help the local people physically progress, improve the life quality and mobilize the communal human resource. One of the key goals of the municipal physical education and sport service is to meet the communal demand for healthy lifestyle by physical education and sport facilities and services.

It should be mentioned, however, that the municipal physical education and sport service development initiatives are still restrained by the following factors: (1) shortage of the municipal budgets for the relevant projects, particularly for the outdoor and indoor sport infrastructure development projects; (2) uneven distribution of the sport infrastructure across the municipality with some areas being still in need of modern recreation/ sports zones; (3) outdoor sport facilities operation and maintenance problems, particularly in the communal housing areas; (4) still inadequate remuneration schemes for the sport trainers/ instructors/ managers with poor incentives for the quality service in the municipal areas – yards, parks, beaches etc.; and (5) still low priority given to the mass physical education and sport service by the local authorities and regulators.

Modern physical education and sport services offer a wide range of benefits both in the physical progress and social aspects and, hence, are very important as one of the social wellbeing securing sectors. The physical education and sport sector issues need to be addressed by harmonized efforts of many sciences including the social management theory and practice, psychology and pedagogy.

Objective of the study was to provide theoretical grounds for and offer an Urban Health Zone Concept based on a questionnaire survey of the municipal population on issues of the municipal physical education and sport service infrastructure.

Methods and structure of the study. Subject to the questionnaire survey was the Omsk population (n=3300, 67% female and 33% male) evenly sampled in every district of the city, with the sample dominated by the 14-18 and 22-44-year-olds (28%+29% = 57%, respectively).

The questionnaire survey found the following: a few most popular physical education and sport services including traditional physical conditioning practices, swimming and track and field sports; reported reasons for the sagging popular interest in physical education and sport service and attendance of the municipal sport/ health facilities -  including shortages of time, money and easily accessible sport facilities at walking distances; chronic fatigue, health limitations, poor motivations, unawareness of the local physical education and sport services, limited offer of the physical education and sport services and infrastructure etc. In highest demand by the respondents were swimming pools, street jogging/ ski-roller/ cycling tracks, equipped outdoor training/ gymnastics grounds, playgrounds, sport courts/ fields and indoor training gyms. Furthermore, 59% of the sporting subgroup of the sample reported using the local school stadiums for their trainings – that is indicative of the popular need for the accessible and traditional sport infrastructure at general education establishments with the relevant legal and regulatory provisions for the communal access to these physical education and sport facilities in the off-class time.

The popular interest in the mass sports may be boosted, in opinions of the respondents, by timely rehabilitation and maintenance service to the municipal stadiums and other outdoor facilities at schools and in housing areas plus the modern physical education and sport infrastructure development projects.

For the municipal physical education and sport infrastructure development and public awareness purposes, we worked out an online interactive map presenting the local physical education and sport facilities including the outdoor ones, with detailed information about location of every facility, service schedules, ranges of services and owners, and with a feedback capacity to keep the physical education and sport service institutions informed on the actual condition and demand for the physical education and sport infrastructure. The physical education and sport service location and distribution information provided by the interactive map proved highly relevant for the municipal investment, architectural and city planning divisions – as it puts the decision-making on the new physical education and sport projects on a grounded basis.

The questionnaire survey data were particularly helpful for the Urban Health Zone Concept approved by the Omsk Mayor’s Office Order #746 of June 20, 2016 that makes provisions for the physical education and sport infrastructure development projects in the communal areas with the highest demand for them.

Results and discussion. Only for one year since the Urban Health Zone Concept has been under implementation, the city has reported to rehabilitate and equip 72 outdoor sport facilities including: 5 street training grounds; 5 children playgrounds; 3 walled ice-hockey rinks; beach volleyball stadium with spectator stands; 4 school stadiums; and 2 indoor physical education and sport centers sponsored by the GaspromNeft OJSC social investment division. In addition to the municipal budget investments to the physical education and sport infrastructure development, rehabilitation, operation and maintenance projects, they were supported by a few commercial and non-governmental organizations who won the relevant municipal and federal contests of the social projects and initiatives.

The municipal physical education and sport infrastructure development/ rehab projects were associated with a growth of the mass physical education and sport events in the city. For the last year the city reported hosting more than 800 communal and municipal mass sport events joined by 105,794 people – that is 200 people more than in the last year according to the formal reports of competitions.

As officially reported by the Federal Statistical Data Form 1- physical education:

  • The municipal physical education and sport infrastructure has grown up for the year by 22 facilities, with the outdoor physical education and sport grounds reported to grow by 656,720 square meters to reach 30% of the federal standard (versus 26.5% in the last year).
  • The municipal physical education and sport service popularity has grown for the period, with the served population reported at 386,360 that is 22,418 more than in the last year. The actively sporting population was reported to grow by 1.9% to 35.2% of the total.

Conclusion. The Urban Health Zone Concept for Omsk city has not only provided the necessary legal and regulatory framework but also offered practical solutions for progress the popular physical education and sport service and popular movement that will help meet the communal demand for healthy lifestyle and physical education and sport service infrastructure and improve the living standard in the city.

References

  1. Rasin M.S. Novye podkhody v organizatsii fizkulturno-sportivnoy raboty s naseleniem: opyt Omska [New approaches in organization of physical education and sports activities with population: the Omsk experience]. Praktika munitsipalnogo upravleniya. 2015. no. 6. pp. 83-91.
  2. Rasin M.S. O realizatsii kontseptsii «Omsk – territoriya zdorovya» [Implementation of "Omsk - territory of health" concept]. Rol mestnogo samoupravleniya v razvitii fizicheskoy kulturyi i sporta [role of local government in development of physical education and sports]. Proc. VIII nar. res.-pract. conf. within IV nat. forum. Omsk, 18-19 May 2017. Omsk: Aleant, 2017. pp. 66-71.
  3. Ukaz Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii «Ob otsenke effektivnosti deyatelnosti organov ispolnitelnoy vlasti sub'ektov Rossiyskoy Federatsii» ot 28 iyunya 2007 goda (# 825) [Decree of the RF President “On Evaluation of Effectiveness of Activities of Executive Authorities of the Subjects of the Russian Federation” of June 28, 2007 (No. 825)].
  4. Federalny zakon «O fizicheskoy kulture i sporte v Rossiyskoy Federatsii» ot 4 dekabrya 2007 goda (# 329 – FZ) [Federal Law “On Physical education and sports in the Russian Federation” dated December 4, 2007 (No. 329 - FL)].
  5. Federalny zakon «Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossiyskoy Federatsii» ot 6 oktyabrya 2003 goda (# 131 – FZ) [Federal Law "On General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation" dated October 6, 2003 (No. 131 - FL)].

Corresponding author: rasinm51@mail.ru

Abstract

Municipal policies in the local physical education and sport sector management domain are mostly geared to meet the communal demand for comfortable healthy lifestyle and physical education and sport services. Objective of the study was to provide theoretical grounds for and offer an Urban Health Zone Concept based on a questionnaire survey of the municipal population on issues of the municipal physical education and sport service infrastructure. Subject to the questionnaire survey was the Omsk population (n=3300) evenly sampled in every district of the city. The survey found the most popular forms of physical activity; and the survey data and analyses were used to work out the Urban Health Zone Concept for Omsk city – that was approved by the Omsk Government Decision #746-p of June 20, 2016. The concept makes provisions for the health zones being established in every district via the physical education and sport infrastructure upgrade/ development projects located where convenient for the local communities. The Urban Health Zone Concept for Omsk city has not only provided the necessary legal and regulatory framework but also offered practical solutions for progress the popular physical education and sport service and popular movement that will help meet the communal demand for healthy lifestyle and physical education and sport service infrastructure and improve the living standard in the city.