How to Teach the Values of Fair Play to Young Athletes Best Practice in Informal Education at the Youth Olympic Games EFPM 21 st Fair Play Congress Baku, Azerbaijan, 8-10 October 2015 Lilla Zsófia Ádám, CIFP Special Adviser on Education & YOG Programmes

INTRODUCTION What is fair play? How could it be taught to the youth? Lack of consensus in conceptualizing fair play in sport philosophical literature CIFP’s answer – Fair Play Education Programme specifically developed for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) What kind of educational platform do the YOG offer? YOG - Global highest-level multi-sport event integrating education and culture Learn & Share Activities – Platform for encouraging athletes to become sport champions on and off the field What are the characteristics of the target group? Athletes aged 15-18, adolescence period, vary in their physical, emotional, mental and social development, predominantly kinaesthetic learners Elite athletes focused on competition, limited time for other activities Young generation of an image- based, digital world Activities prepared for them to be less dependent on verbal communications, image-based 2

MAJOR OBJECTIVES & METHOD Major objectives of the Fair Play Education Programme To promote sportsmanship and the values composing fair play To develop a better understanding of the notion of fair play and how fair play and its values can be applicable in the daily lives of athletes Teaching methods to convey the fair play message Freedom of the youth to be respected, opportunity to choose between activities and use their imagination Cooperation instead of imposing rules Realistic approach to fair play (not idealistic) Role plays, situation of dilemmas, small group games Key tools: challenging the imagination and emotions Symbols, examples, questions to educate fair play in practice 3

Fair play. Spirit of a champion. SCIENTIFIC FRAMEWORK - A FAIR PLAY THEORY „Fair play as virtue” by Daniel Statman The pursuit of human flourishing lies in the character of good persons living good lives Players must know what the rules of the game are and also understand why they are Fair play equated with virtue as they are essential to be a member of a community or to participate in any social activity Fair play not only adherence to written rules: right attitudes, right spirit of athletes and their behaviour Fair play to be developed through sports education Education through appropriate moral exemplars: more successful way than focusing on rule-following (abstract) 4

GAMES & ACTIVITIES TO TEACH FAIR PLAY - 1 Fair play. The rule for combat. The rule for life. Building blocks to convey the message Clear definition of values composing the notion of fair play Key messages and slogans related to sportsmanship Examples of how the values of fair play can be adopted in the daily lives of the athletes on and off the sporting field Images and stories of popular athletes showing fair play attitude throughout their career 5

GAMES & ACTIVITIES TO TEACH FAIR PLAY - 2 Colourful, exciting interactive games and team building activities (10-15 min) Interactive board games – Activity, Fair Play Takes It All – to test the participants’ knowledge of fair play Interactive computer games – Memory, Logo Hunt, Puzzle, Poster Drawing – to focus on the values and symbols of fair play while challenging the creativity of the youth Exciting team building activities to provide the youth with first-hand experience of fair play situations through cooperation and effective communication Colourful printed materials – Brochure, Post Card, Calendar – to feature the heroes of fair play and present the history of some of the most interesting fair play awards, to complement the games and activities Team building – Fair play tower 6

RESULTS Experience & Success of the Fair Play Education Programme in Nanjing 2014 Young athletes capable of identifying fair play values Ideas about acting in the spirit of sportsmanship on and off the field Preferences: Team building activities: Fun, first hand experience, cooperation, no language barriers Fair Play Activity Board Game: Fun (!) – key factor Computer games: Memory, logo hunt and puzzle – image- based, fast CIFP Computer Games (843/1530 visitors) 7

CONCLUSION Athletes aged predominantly kinaesthetic learners Introducing important topics through concrete examples rather than presenting theories: efficient and successful way of education Young people absorb messages subconsciously while participating in different activities Young people have to recognize the relevance of certain issues to their own lives Facing problems in characteristic situations and making first-hand experience will reinforce the learning process Activities have to be fun, image-based with as many interactions as possible: opportunity for quick- learning Games and tasks to amaze and make the players laugh Specific activity to capture young people’s attention facilitating their engagement with the topic 8

Thank you for your attention! EFPM 21 st Fair Play Congress Baku, Azerbaijan, 8-10 October 2015 Lilla Zsófia Ádám, CIFP Special Adviser on Education & YOG Programmes