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YOUTH SPORTS COMPETITIONS EVALUATION: DEFINITION OF CATEGORIES AND APPLICATIONS TO HANDBALL

Abstract

Youth sports competitions’ goals should be different from adult-oriented competitive scenarios in order to contribute to the process of teaching and learning sports. This study presents an evaluative proposal for youth competitions to verify their suitability to the needs of young people. Based on studies about sports and competitive youth programs, we established evaluation criteria applied to three youth handball competitions held in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. We note that the São Paulo State Handball League and the São Paulo State Handball Federation are not youth-friendly environments and that the São Paulo Handball Development League is aligned with the assumptions advocated by the theoretical basis of this investigation. Furthermore, the commitment expected by coaches to allow their athletes to participate in competitions is not in line with competitive goals modified for youth. Therefore, coaches’ influence may subvert the proposals of these scenarios.

Keywords
Learning; Youth; Sports

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