No uniform, No changing - No problem! Let them Play!

We need to remove as many barriers as possible when it comes to getting our students playing either in the gym or outside. Making it mandatory for students to change into proper physed clothing for intramural activities will drastically reduce the number of students who participate. It really doesn't matter if they have shorts, track pants or even a proper physed t-shirt on. As long as they are wearing running shoes and remove belts, ties or anything else that could harm someone they should be able to play. With short lunch periods and limited gym time after school, we need to make it as easy as possible for kids to walk into the gym and play.

I spoke to two physed teachers from the Thames Valley board on Thursday after a workshop and they told me what a difference it has made once they removed the 'must change' barrier from their program. Instead of getting the same 20 - 30 hard core students who change, they are getting 100+ kids coming through the gym during the lunch every day. In addition, it's not the same core group of students either. Kids with running shoes who informally drop in to play 10 - 20 minutes of basketball, soccer, floor hockey or whatever else is going on that day.

The more accessible the gym is to our students, the more successful and relevant our programs will be.