Pixel International Conferences

Covid-19 has forced children and young people to stay indoors, preventing many from playing sports also for reasons related to the economic conditions of families.

However, even after the pandemic, the Italian National Institute of Statistics found through the Report on Equitable and Sustainable Wellbeing (BES), published in 2022, that young people, who live in absolute poverty, do not practice sports during their free time. In this context, therefore, the level of sedentariness of young people has increased.

This problem could be partially solved through better use of school gyms. However, in Italy, there are not many schools where there is also a gym for pupils.

The aim of this study is to reflect on the possibility of optimising the use of school gyms even outside school hours, with the collaboration of local authorities and sports associations, to allow access to sports activities even to pupils who do not have this possibility, mainly for economic reasons.