TOC Celebrate a Memorable Nike-backed 2016-17 Active Kids' Season with Children and Parents

The Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) gathered 650 children and their parents on Saturday 13 May to celebrate another successful year of engaging children with sport through the Nike-backed ‘Active Kids’ project.

Children from five primary schools in Istanbul marked the end of the 2016-17 ‘Active Kids’ season with a series of fun and competitive games. A team of Nike employees were in attendance to help trainers with the overall running of the event and hand out medals, prizes and gifts.

The project was first launched by the TOC during the 2014-15 academic year, and is co-developed by Nike Turkey. It also has more than 90 expert organisations who help promote and research the benefits of physical activity. This proven project has gone from strength to strength over the past three years, helping the TOC tackle the global epidemic of physical inactivity amongst youth.

Throughout the year children are invited to schools in Istanbul on the weekend, where they are encouraged to be more active by taking part in a range of fun sporting activities under the supervision of Nike employees.

At the end of every year the TOC survey children and their parents to monitor children’s progress, and determine the physical activity and anxiety levels of participating children. The findings are measured against similar projects across the globe and are analysed and published by a University in Istanbul. The results are also used to determine the success of the project and whether or not it will be resumed the following year.

Discussing another successful ‘Active Kids’ season, TOC President Professor Dr. Uğur Erdener said:

"The TOC is delighted that the ‘Active Kids’ project continues to grow in popularity and go from strength to strength. We believe it is incredibly important to encourage young people to be more active and live a healthier lifestyle. At the TOC, it is our responsibility to promote the mental and physical health benefits of keeping active among our nation’s youth.

Through the ‘Active Kids’ project, thousands of children are engaging with fun and competitive sporting activities, and we will continue to look for new and innovative ways to make sport accessible to the 30 million young people in Turkey. We would like to thank Nike and all our important supporting organisations, without whom this great project would not be possible."

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