Sport is a powerful tool that transforms lives, it builds resilience, courage, and leadership. It can be used to build social capital and sustainability. Community sports are a fundamental part of life. It is a great way to promote physical activity and a healthy sense of competition. Sports has a common language, solidarity which brings people from different communities together on a single platform.
Many teams are full of talents because they comprise players who have made sacrifices. Hard work, commitment, focus, and perseverance are a few of the ingredients which make a successful sportsperson. Apart from all this, there is one thing which we generally skip and that is resilience. Mirabai Chanu, silver medalist at Olympic 2020 used to travel 50 km daily for her weightlifting practice and was practicing three times a day. Hailing from a small village town of Nongpok, it was her resilience that has brought her so far. Resilient athletes develop confidence in their ability to overcome hardships. Another thing that is responsible for building a great team/ Sportsperson, which is generally, not taken into consideration is the support of people throughout the journey
Let’s discuss some of the factors which are directly linked with the development of the sport and making sports accessible to all-
Sports for child development
Along with a plethora of physical benefits which sports provide to a child, the mental benefit is also important. Sport can help children relieve stress and anxiety. A child involved in sports will have a night of better sleep and then performance at school. Fostering social skills through sports will have a life-long impact on the child. With correct education and awareness at the grassroots level, we can cultivate a future sports star from the socially deprived community. Participation in sport can improve children’s learning and skill development, BARCA Foundation and UNICEF reports find.
Sports for Women development
Sports is for all. Women play a major role in the development of society. If you empower a woman then you empower a society. Girls who experience sports have a resilient character with patience. Mary Kom is one of the greatest examples of this. Creating an opportunity for females and giving them a platform to show their talent will grab some attention from the media, which in turn, will greatly improve the inclusion of women into society. Research suggests that sporty women with access to sports are less likely to get pregnant, consume drugs, live longer, and in India escape early marriage.
Gender equality
It’s a ghost term in most of rural India. Young girls are not even sent to schools which is their fundamental right and most of them are married off at an early age. Instilling Gender equality in young minds by making the involvement of girls compulsory in the game. Raising awareness by telling parents about the scope of sports in earning money can bring out some young female talents from such backgrounds. If you teach a girl today, maybe in the future she teaches 10 more girls. Hence, the cycle keeps on moving. The participation of girls and women in sports challenges gender stereotypes and discrimination. Women’s involvement in sports can make a significant contribution to rural life and in the development of a community.
Sports for job development
Local sporting events contribute towards the employability and creation of jobs for people in sports. If an event turns out to be a successful one then sponsors support these events, carving out more opportunities for people of the community. If a person from a rural background turns out to be a sports star, pumping in money into their community by opening a fitness Centre. This effect increases the livelihood of the locality.
Improving health
Involvement of youth in Sports activities can help fight major health concerns at a broader level. Teenagers involved in sports are less likely to deviate from alcohol. Both women and men can get proper knowledge of menstrual hygiene through camps organized at their locality. While a fairly high percentage of children participate in youth sports, there are disparities in rural communities on youth sport participation and physical activity outcomes based on age, sex, and family income.
Source-archpublichealth
Building self-confidence
Sporting experiences will help people living in rural areas to build and develop positive self-esteem as it is something they lack. Discipline, patience, time management are few components of playing a sport. Confidence is a core mental skill. According to research, an athlete tends to have higher self-confidence. When you have confidence based on your hard work, you can excel at any of life’s events. It will help people from rural backgrounds to prove their mettle when they face others at the various competition, maybe a job.
We have potential in our youth from rural backgrounds. If they are aware of all that sports can give them, then definitely more athletes will come forward. All we need is to provide them with basic facilities for their training.
