Neighbourhood Sports Facilities 2005: Children and Youth Survey

The survey was part of a multifaceted evaluation of neighbourhood sports facilities carried out by Young Finland Association. Data were collected from four different sources: from project managers of sports facility construction projects (FSD2537), children and young people in the neighbourhood where the facility is located (FSD2535), their parents (FSD2536), and schools if the facility was located in the schoolyard (FSD2538). The main themes in the children and young people survey were physical activities taken at school break times and physical exercise taken during leisure time. Physical activity at school breaks was charted by asking the respondents what were their favourite spots for physical activities, how much of their break they usually spent in such activity and whether the construction/renovation of the sports facility in the schoolyard had increased their physical activities. Physical activity at leisure time was charted by asking the respondents how often they took exercise for at least 20 minutes at a time, for how many hours a week they took strenuous exercise (becoming breathless and sweaty), whether they used the neighbourhood sports facility at leisure time and whether it had increased or varied their physical activities. Some questions covered the type of exercise taken and with whom. Reasons for using the neighbourhood sports facility at leisure time were charted as well as what prevented or hampered them from taking exercise. Background variables included the municipality, whether the facility was in the schoolyard or not, distance between the respondent's home and sports facility, name of the school, the respondent's gender, class, grade received at physical education, whether did sports in a sports club, and how often.