Non-organised Extracurricular Physical and Sport Practice: gender, educational stage and physical activity index

There are very few studies on the types of non-organised physical and sport practice
outside the school setting. Therefore, this paper consisted of describing these activities
and analysing their relationship with other variables: gender, educational stage
and physical activity index. The research design was quantitative, cross-sectional
and descriptive. It involved 1,040 students, 521 boys and 519 girls (M = 12.30; SD =
3.08) enrolled in 26 Galician schools and aged between 10 and 17. The International
Questionnaire on Physical Education, Health and Lifestyle was administered. The results
showed that the most popular activities were soccer, walking, cycling, basketball
and running. Significant differences were found in some of the activities studied in
terms of gender and school stage. The physical activity index was higher in boys and
in primary students. Very low levels of physical activity were observed. Differences
were also found between active and less active people in some of the sports. The
information obtained helps to identify the features of how free time is spent in Galician
society. This type of evidence makes it possible to address participation needs
in childhood and adolescence better by enabling future actions in the community and
sports management settings.