Endurance Handbook

AVIVA UKA ACADEMY ENDURANCE AWARDS

SECTION 8

The Endurance section of the Aviva UKA Academy Awards is designed to be inclusive for all children with targets set to be attainable by everyone. Research has shown that when testing inexperienced children on a standard 400m track, a considerable number start off too fast and fade badly. Many give up trying out of embarrassment when on the far side of the track so the test becomes invalid. For many children, a 400m track presents a long, monotonous and arduous task. The Awards overcome this by dividing the task into bite-sized chunks by using the 50m Linear Track or the 50m Sports Hall Oval Track as described in Section 2. The vast majority of children should be able to cope well with this task and we would seldom expect that a child gives up. Indeed, we would expect many children of moderate ability to manage to achieve a further distance than they do on a 400m track. Group Working WEB COPY ©EVEQUE Children can be paired with a partner who would start at the other end of the course, as shown in the illustration, so that the trial becomes a pursuit and is treated as a game. Working in groups provides built in rest periods when participants can help with the judging by recording distances achieved and encourage and give support to other athletes. The linear track is marked out using six cones and five disks set out as shown. The time trials are held as pursuits with participant 9m 10m 10m A

ENDURANCE AWARDS

‘ A ’ chasing participant ‘ B ’. The position and distance covered by each runner is recorded

when the whistle is blown on completion of the time period. Two linear tracks may be set out side by side to facilitate four partic- ipants running at

10m

10m

the same time. The tracks should be placed at least 3m apart. WEB COPY ©EVEQUE 9m 10m B Aviva UKA Academy Endurance Awards - Individual Test Periods Score cards for these tests can be downloaded at www.sportshall.org/endurance

Age Group

Test Period One Minute Two Minutes Three Minutes

Years 3 and 4 (ages 7 to 9) Years 5 and 6 (ages 9 to 11) Years 7 and 8 (ages 11 to 13)

45