Police sports in European countries Epp Jalakas, MA

Epp Jalakas is Director of Physical Education at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences (EASS) and Member of the Board of the Estonian Police Sports Association (EPSA) Main research interests: physical abilities and actvities in the area of internal security; sedentary behaviour. Estonia has only one police educational establishment - the Police and Boarder Guard College which is one of the colleges at EASS. Estonian police sport is headed and managed by EPSA, which organizes Estonian Police championships and other police competitions in Estonia. The president of EASS is Kalle Laanet – a former minister of the interior; the general secretary is Maili Arro. About the author, EASS and EPSA

Collecting data about police sports in Europe Materials of USPE conference in 2009 Supervison of Diploma thesis about Estonian police sports in USPE conference - questions were raised whether new USPE championships were necessary and what are the most popular sports in member countries A questionnaire was sent to police sports contacts in European countries in August and a second time in September 2013 Answers were collected from 15 countries up to the end of October A police sports seminar at EASS was held on

Members of USPE /CEPOL

Countries in the summary Full answers France Germany Finland Latvia Hungary Belgium Luxembourg Serbia Slovenia Ireland Estonia Partially given or data found from the internet Sweden Bulgaria Austria Switzerland Italy United Kingdom Russian Federation Lithuania Holland

Candidates to the police schools and academies per one place (regarding to the answers to the questionnaire) EstoniaLatviaFinlandBelgiumAustriaSloveniaDenmarkFranceSerbiaHungaryLuxembourgIrelandSwitzerland 3-111, , ,8- 5,3 2,

Physical abilities entrance tests used in European countries Strength excercises Push-ups Pull-ups, arms bent hanging Bench press Pulling and pushing on a isokinetic machine with handle bars Dragging a simulated body (45 kg, 80 kg) Sit-ups

Physical abilities entrance tests used in European countries 4x10m, 10x10m shuttle run, 100m sprint 1000m, 1500m, 2000m, 2400m, 3000m runs, shuttle endurance run, Cooper test Circuit; tracks with series of obstacles (pushing and pulling weights, jumping over or/and running around or/and going through obstacles, running up and down on stairs, walking along a beam) Jump over a barrier 2m/2,3m Standing longjump * swimmig 100m, diving for an item 3kg ball throw

Practical guidelines for candidates AC2257A17002EB3EF

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Many combined exercises are used for entrance tests

Though not usual, suggestions are still made regarding height and BMI in evaluating whether candidates are suitable for policework Other demands for candidates

Evaluation of physical abilities is actual. Table from the last german police sports magazine _Polizeisport-Depesche_ARred.pdf

The amount of physical education in curricula (vocational/(applied) higher ed.) (related to the answers to the questionnaire) EstoniaLatviaFinlandBelgiumSwitzerlandSerbiaHungary*Luxembourg*Denmark* 24/9666/ ,52 * Some countries showed in their answers only the amount of PE classes in one week

Self-defence and similar disciplines in curricula (vocational/(applied) higher ed.) (related to the answers to the questionnaire) IrlandEstoniaLatviaFinlandBelgiumSerbiaSwitzerlandFrance*Hungary*Luxembourg*Denmark* 2472/96102/ ,52 * Some countries showed in their answers only the amount of SD classes in one week

More examples in the area of physical education and self defence Holland police academy hours of training including judo, self defence, swimming (lifesaving), handling a weapon, handling an escalated conflict situation, arresting a (dangerous) suspect, etc. Just for judo - approx. 70 hours Police officers need to take judo and self-defence classes twice a year

Competitions organized for police officers (mostly police championships; in some cases other competitions) Germany 4-6 in a year; some events are done every 2, others every 3 years Hungary 9+ Slovenia 10 Finland Estonia 12 (+ 6 other compet.) Latvia 15 Denmark 16 (+35 local compet.) Holland 18 Lithuania 18 France 19 Sweden 20 Russia 20 Austria (+ summer and winter games) Luxembourg Ireland 32 Belgium 76

Example: German police sports championships calender

Indoor sports Various races Joint competitions

The most popular sports in past years Soccer (Finland, Slovenia, Sweden, France, Luxembourg, Ireland, Lithuania) Cross-country and long- distances runs, (Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, France) Shooting (Finland, Slovenia, Sweden, Lithuania, Estonia) Cross-country skiing (Finland, Slovenia, Sweden) Martial arts (France, Bulgaria) Bicycle sports (Belgium, Denmark) Triathlon (Belgium, Irland) Police summer games (Austria, Latvia) Volleyball (Finland, Denmark) Handball (Denmark, Germany)

Popular sports in past years, mentioned only in one country Basketball (Lithuania) Alpine skiing (Slovenia) Floor hockey (Sweden) Golf (Sweden) Swimming (Germany) Judo (Germany) Boxing (Ireland) Track and field (Luxembourg) Walking (Luxembourg) Gaelic football (Ireland) Hurling (Ireland) Rugby (Ireland) Rowing (Ireland)

Joint competitions The fourth Estonian internal security area and military forces games will take place in August Participants in these games besides police personnel are prison, tax and customs, rescue service and other personnel. There are military and police games in the Lihtuanian police sports calender There are also joint competitions for police, fire and prison departments in the UK police sports calendar

Second largest competitions in the world

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