Intensive sports training may affect schoolwork: survey

• By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter, with CNA

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While a majority of elementary-school students in sports-focused classes feel a strong sense of achievement from their training, about half fall behind in their schoolwork due to frequently missing class for competitions, a survey by the Child Welfare League Foundation found.

The non-profit organization disclosed the survey results after the Executive Yuan on Thursday last week approved amendments to the National Sports Act (國民運動法), which are designed to protect student athletes in elementary schools from high-intensity sports training.

The Executive Yuan also ruled that no new sports-focused classes would be established at the elementary-school level. The existing sports-centered classes would be transformed into sports clubs and community sports to balance learning and sports training, and to prevent students from undertaking high-intensity sports training.

A basketball player in Ming Chuang Junior High School dribbles in an undated photograph.

Photo courtesy of the Keelung Department of Education

The survey found that 66.6 percent of respondents had experienced training for more than three hours in a single day during the week, while 18.6 percent underwent extreme training sessions lasting three consecutive hours without a single break.

Some schools did not follow the Regulations Governing the Establishment of Physical Education Classes in Senior High Schools and Below (高級中等以下學校體育班設立辦法), which limits the training to no more than three hours per day during the week, the foundation said.

Of the respondents, 60.6 percent said that they had experienced training for more than three hours in a single day, while 15.6 percent said they had endured training sessions of more than eight hours in a single day.

In addition, 38.7 percent of the student athletes said training had taken up so much of their time that they had little time left to study their academic classes. About 26 percent of respondents said they had undergone sports training during times when they were supposed to be attending academic classes.

Close to 32 percent said that they had taken a leave of absence for more than 16 days in one semester due to sports competitions and training.

Close to 50 percent reported they were at one point having trouble keeping up with schoolwork because of training and sports competitions, the foundation said.

More than half of the respondents said that it was difficult for them to regain energy after training even with sufficient time to rest, while 20.4 percent said that they had undergone operations, undertaken long-term therapies or been hospitalized due to sports-related injuries.

About 27 percent said they were asked to undergo high-intensity training when they were injured.

Regarding the mental health of student athletes, 56.4 percent said they had questioned the meaning of athletic training, while 46.5 percent said that their passion for the sports had gradually faded.

Meanwhile, 47 percent said they were concerned that poor academic performance would hurt their job prospects, while 17.8 percent said they were concerned that they lack other skills and have very limited career options.