By Katsaounos Anastasis, Kollirou Nefeli, Lazana Myrto

Over the past few years, the percentage of children who play sports has decreased rapidly. This phenomenon presents a dilemma. People are conflicted weather playing sports should be included in every school’s curriculum or not. So, it is important to consider “what are the advantages and the disadvantages of playing sports at school?”

If playing sports are to be included in schools’ curriculums, there will be major repercussions. To begin with, some people claim that sports are time-consuming. Students should not spend time playing sports because they should focus on more important subjects. To make matters worse, funding for school sports is dramatically costly. The equipment which every school needs, requires a huge funding. Last but not least, in all likelihood, sports lead to violence. This consequently means that student may ever be injured or so heightened aggression during this lesson.

On the other hand, the rise in playing sports can have many benefits. First of all, it is vital for children to keep fit in order to avoid any health problems. Moreover, via sports kids learn to have a balanced diet and they work out regularly. Exercising has, also, a positive impact on both mental and physical health. That is the reason why student athletes are motivated and get better grades at school, according to a volleyball coach called Jenny Lee. What is more, it is also important to remember that working out helps the brain to relax and take a break for many demanding activities, such as studying. Finally, through sports and especially team sports, students collaborate, respect the other athletes and socialise.

Above all, it seems that the advantages of playing sports far outweigh the drawbacks and we firmly believe that sports should be included in every school’s curriculum in order to benefit children with respect to their mental and physical health. In our opinion, students should be aware of fair play and respect of their opponents so that any instances of violent behaviour would be minimised.