Intervention With Alternative Sports for Physical and Mental Improvement in Primary School Children
NCT ID: NCT07313267
Last Updated: 2025-12-31
Study Results
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Basic Information
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NOT_YET_RECRUITING
NA
210 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2026-04-01
2026-09-12
Brief Summary
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Can participating in a physical intervention involving alternative sports help children improve their strength, speed, endurance, motor skills, and enjoyment of physical activity? For 8 weeks, during physical education classes, researchers will compare an intervention with alternative sports (korfball, flag football, kin-ball, and ultimate frisbee) with the usual classes that students receive according to their study program, to see if alternative sports improve physical and psychological aspects.
Participants must:
* Perform physical and motor tests to determine their initial physical condition
* Complete a questionnaire to determine their level of enjoyment during physical activity.
* Actively participate in an 8-week intervention during physical education classes.
* Monitor their level of physical activity during classes using a device (accelerometer).
* Authorize the use of their first semester grades.
* At the end of the intervention, physical and motor tests will be performed again to assess progress and physical changes.
For eight weeks, researchers will conduct a study in physical education classes to compare two types of teaching: one based on alternative sports (such as korfball, flag football, kin-ball, and ultimate frisbee) and another with traditional school program classes to see if children improve physically and psychologically.
Detailed Description
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Randomization is performed at the educational establishment level in order to reduce the risk of contamination between participants. Three urban establishments in the city of Talca, Chile, representative of different administrative and socioeconomic contexts (municipal and privately subsidized), are randomly assigned to the intervention group (IG) or control group (CG). In each establishment, one sixth-grade class is assigned to the IG and another to the CG, making a total of six clusters.
Participants in the intervention group receive the RENUEVATE program, a school physical activity intervention integrated into regular physical education classes. The program is implemented during the academic period by previously trained physical education teachers, using a standardized manual that ensures the fidelity of the intervention. Teachers receive initial training and periodic supervision from the research team.
The intervention is based on the use of alternative sports (flag football, ultimate frisbee, korfball, and kin-ball), selected for their ability to promote moderate to vigorous physical activity, motor skill development, cooperation, inclusion, and gender equality. Each session follows a standardized structure that includes warm-up, main development, and cool-down phases, prescribing the intensity necessary to achieve adequate levels of physical effort during the central phase. The fidelity and dose of the intervention are monitored through session records, subjective perception of effort, and heart rate monitoring in a subsample of participants.
The control group continues with the regular physical education curriculum taught by the school, without modifications or exposure to the intervention content, participating only in pre- and post-intervention assessments.
Assessments are conducted at two points in time: before the start of the intervention (baseline) and at the end of the program, during the school day and by previously trained assessors, ideally blinded to group assignment. Primary and secondary outcomes include variables of physical fitness, motor skills, physical activity levels, body composition, enjoyment of physical activity, and health-related quality of life, assessed using validated instruments widely used in children. A detailed description of the variables and measurement instruments is presented in the corresponding sections of the registry.
The sample size was estimated to detect a clinically relevant difference in the percentage of body fat between groups, considering the cluster design and an expected intraclass correlation. Statistical analysis will be performed under the intention-to-treat principle, using mixed-effects models that allow for the hierarchical structure of the data and repeated measurements over time, adjusting for baseline values and relevant covariates. The procedures for handling missing data and sensitivity analyses are predefined in the study protocol.
Conditions
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Keywords
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
With these assumptions, ≈ 44 students per arm are needed in an individual trial. Adjusting for cluster effect with ICC = 0.03, the size per arm increases to ≈ 88 students. Then, considering 15% losses, the final size per arm is ≈ 104 students. To cover this with average group sizes of 35, 3 courses/clusters per arm (6 clusters in total) will be needed, implying 210 enrolled students (105 intervention / 105 control)
OTHER
NONE
Study Groups
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Intervention with alternative sports
The experimental group will hold 90-minute sessions twice a week for two months. Each two-week block will be dedicated to an alternative sport (flag football, ultimate frisbee, korfball, and kin-ball).
Intervention with Alternative Sports (kin-ball, korfball, ultimate frisbee and flag football))
The RENUÉVATE intervention will be implemented by previously trained physical education teachers. It will last for two months, with sessions held twice a week. The sessions will take place during the school day, in physical education classes, and will last 90 minutes. Each two-week block will be dedicated to an alternative team sport (flag football, ultimate frisbee, korfball, and kin-ball). The physical load for each session is as follows:
Warm-up (15 min): general mobility and specific exercises to prepare for the sport in question, maintaining an intensity of 50-60% HRmax; RPE 9-11.
Main part (65 min): practice of the alternative sport through games and technical/tactical progressions. An intensity of 65-80% HRmax will be prescribed; RPE 12-15, with active breaks between tasks.
Cool down (10 min): relaxation, stretching, and group reflection activities with a light intensity \<50% HRmax; RPE ≤ 9.
Control Group, traditional classes.
The control group (CG) will only participate in the initial and final evaluations, continuing with their traditional physical education classes without modifications, distributed in two weekly sessions of 90 minutes each.
The classes incorporate sports and motor activities that involve collaborative sports and games.
Intervention with regular classes from the school curriculum
The intervention will be implemented by physical education teachers who have been trained in the project's objectives, methodology, and values. The training will include a standardized manual and a two-hour weekly practical session to ensure fidelity in the program's implementation. In addition, weekly monitoring meetings will be held with the research team to resolve questions and ensure consistency across schools.
Interventions
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Intervention with Alternative Sports (kin-ball, korfball, ultimate frisbee and flag football))
The RENUÉVATE intervention will be implemented by previously trained physical education teachers. It will last for two months, with sessions held twice a week. The sessions will take place during the school day, in physical education classes, and will last 90 minutes. Each two-week block will be dedicated to an alternative team sport (flag football, ultimate frisbee, korfball, and kin-ball). The physical load for each session is as follows:
Warm-up (15 min): general mobility and specific exercises to prepare for the sport in question, maintaining an intensity of 50-60% HRmax; RPE 9-11.
Main part (65 min): practice of the alternative sport through games and technical/tactical progressions. An intensity of 65-80% HRmax will be prescribed; RPE 12-15, with active breaks between tasks.
Cool down (10 min): relaxation, stretching, and group reflection activities with a light intensity \<50% HRmax; RPE ≤ 9.
Intervention with regular classes from the school curriculum
The intervention will be implemented by physical education teachers who have been trained in the project's objectives, methodology, and values. The training will include a standardized manual and a two-hour weekly practical session to ensure fidelity in the program's implementation. In addition, weekly monitoring meetings will be held with the research team to resolve questions and ensure consistency across schools.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Have no motor problems that prevent participation in the physical activities proposed for the development of alternative sports.
Exclusion Criteria
11 Years
12 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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Universidad Católica del Maule
OTHER
Responsible Party
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María P. Pezoa Fuentes
Doctor of Physical Activity Sciences
Principal Investigators
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Eugenio N Merellano Navarro, Doctor
Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
Universidad Católica del Maule
Locations
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Universidad Católica del Maule
Talca, Maule Region, Chile
Countries
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Central Contacts
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References
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Lettink A, Altenburg TM, Arts J, van Hees VT, Chinapaw MJM. Systematic review of accelerometer-based methods for 24-h physical behavior assessment in young children (0-5 years old). Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2022 Sep 8;19(1):116. doi: 10.1186/s12966-022-01296-y.
Herrmann, C. MOBAK 1-4. Test zur Erfassung Motorischer Basiskompetenzen für die Klassen 1-4 (2018). Hogrefe.
Chen C, Weyland S, Fritsch J, Woll A, Niessner C, Burchartz A, Schmidt SCE, Jekauc D. A Short Version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale: Development and Psychometric Properties. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Oct 20;18(21):11035. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111035.
Zurita-Ortega, F., Ubago-Jiménez, J. L., Ibáñez, E. M., González-Valero, G., & Alonso Vargas, J. M. Effects of a physical education programme based on kin ball on body mass index and basic physical skills in students with down syndrome. (2025). https://doi.org/10.12800/ccd.v20i63.2211
Vaquero-Solís, M., Tapia-Serrano, M. A., Moreno-Díaz, M. I., Cerro-Herrero, D., & Sánchez-Miguel, P. A. Exploratory analysis of physical activity in self-objectification and body image of adolescents. Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte, (2021). 16(48), 199-206. https://doi.org/10.12800/CCD.V16I48.1724
Stewart, A., Marfell-Jones, M., Olds, T., & de Ridder, J. International Standards for Anthropometric Assessment. (2011). ISAK.
Muñoz Troncoso, F., Becerra Peña, S., & Riquelme, E. Elaboración y validación psicométrica del cuestionario de convivencia escolar para la no violencia (CENVI). Estudios Pedagógicos (Valdivia), (2017). 43(3), 205-223. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07052017000300012
Moya-Mata, I., Ruiz-Sanchis, L., Martín-Ruiz, J., & Ros-Ros, C. Physical activity represented in physical education textbooks for elementary education. Movimento, (2019). 25(1). https://doi.org/10.22456/1982-8918.89296
Morales-Campo PT, Perez-Munoz S, Lopez-Garcia S, Diez-Fernandez P, Rodriguez-Cayetano A. New alternative proposal in physical education: Touchtennis as a racket sport in schools. Front Sports Act Living. 2025 Mar 3;7:1545994. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1545994. eCollection 2025.
Migueles, J. H., Rowlands, A. V., Huber, F., Sabia, S., & Van Hees, V. T. GGIR: A Research Community-Driven Open Source R Package for Generating Physical Activity and Sleep Outcomes From Multi-Day Raw Accelerometer Data. Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour, 2019. 2(3), 188-196. https://doi.org/10.1123/jmpb.2018-0063
Martins S, Augusto C, Martins MRO, Jose Silva M, Okan O, Dadaczynski K, Duarte A, Fronteira I, Ramos N, Rosario R. Adaptation and validation of the Digital Health Literacy Instrument for Portuguese university students. Health Promot J Austr. 2022 Oct;33 Suppl 1:390-398. doi: 10.1002/hpja.580. Epub 2022 Feb 17.
Markovic J, Bubanj S, Sekeljic G, Pavlovic S, Radenkovic M, Stankovic D, Petkovic E, Aksovic N, Radenkovic O, Preljevic A, Bjelica B, Petrovic V, Sinanovic S, Tomovic M. Efficiency of an Alternative Physical Education Program for the Lower Grades of Elementary School Children. Children (Basel). 2023 Oct 6;10(10):1657. doi: 10.3390/children10101657.
Marfell-Jones, M. J., Stewart, A., & de Ridder, J. H. International standards for anthropometric assessment. (2012). International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry.
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Other Identifiers
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UCM-IN-25214
Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT
Identifier Source: secondary_id
UCM-IN-25214
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id