The aim of this study was to examine secondary school students’ attitudes towards and experiences of a student-centred health-related fitness test battery. A total of 795 adolescents (403 boys, 50.7%; 392 girls, 49.3%) aged 13.2 years (±0.39) from 20 secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland participated in the study. Schools were stratified for gender, location and educational (dis)advantage. Students completed the test battery in small groups ( n = ≤6) and each test item was administered by a trained senior student facilitator. Testing took place during physical education lessons. Test items included: body mass index; 20 m shuttle run; back-saver sit and reach; hand-grip strength; standing long jump; isometric plank-hold; 90° push-up; 4×10 m shuttle run; and blood pressure. Following participation in the test battery, students completed an instrument with valid scores for measuring attitudes towards fitness tests. Students’ experiences of each test item were also analysed. Overall, students had a positive attitude towards fitness testing ( M = 3.9, ±0.59) on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Although both positive, the mean attitude score for boys ( M = 4.05, ±0.59) was significantly higher than girls ( M = 3.79, ±0.59; p < 0.01, t-test). Most students ( n = 690, 86.8%) agreed or strongly agreed that the senior student facilitator made it easier for them to perform the tests. In conclusion, students had positive attitudes towards and experiences of the Youth-fit test battery. Physical education teachers should consider implementing a small-group and senior student-facilitated approach when administering fitness tests.

Objectives(1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness in European children and adolescents aged 6–18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multilanguage fitness platform (FitBack); (2) to provide comparisons across European countries.MethodsThis study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity and fitness at population level (ALPHA) test battery as it comprises tests with the highest test–retest reliability, criterion/construct validity and health-related predictive validity: the 20 m shuttle run (cardiorespiratory fitness); handgrip strength and standing long jump (muscular strength); and body height, body mass, body mass index and waist circumference (anthropometry). Percentile values were obtained using the generalised additive models for location, scale and shape method.ResultsA total of 7 966 693 test results from 34 countries (106 datasets) were used to develop sex-specific and age-specific percentile values. In addition, country-level rankings based on mean percentiles are provided for each fitness test, as well as an overall fitness ranking. Finally, an interactive fitness platform, including individual and group reporting and European fitness maps, is provided and freely available online (www.fitbackeurope.eu).ConclusionThis study discusses the major implications of fitness assessment in youth from health, educational and sport perspectives, and how the FitBack reference values and interactive web-based platform contribute to it. Fitness testing can be conducted in school and/or sport settings, and the interpreted results be integrated in the healthcare systems across Europe.

Purpose: To examine the prevalence of and approaches to monitoring health-related physical fitness (HRPF) in secondary school-based physical education programs. Methods: Physical education teachers (N = 327; 56.6% females) from 235 secondary schools (33.1% of national total) in the Republic of Ireland completed a survey designed specifically for the purposes of this study. Results: HRPF tests were used by 95.3% of teachers. A significant decline in the testing frequency was observed from the junior grades (age 13–15 years) to the senior grades (age 16–18 years) (p < .001). Just over half (51.7%) of the teachers discarded the test results after a single use. Less than one third of the teachers indicated that they shared the test results with the students’ parents. The vast majority (87.0%) of the teachers agreed that the development of a digital platform would facilitate monitoring test results over time. Conclusions: HRPF testing is highly prevalent in secondary schools. More actions are needed to ensure that teachers use pedagogically sound student-centered approaches toward monitoring HRPF, with a focus on learning that may lead to more positive testing experiences for students. Consideration should be given to the development of digital platforms to facilitate monitoring and reporting HRPF.

Purpose: To examine the test–retest reliability of student-administered (SA) health-related fitness tests in school settings and to compare indices of reliability with those taken by trained research-assistants. Methods: Participants (n = 86; age: 13.43 [0.33] y) were divided into 2 groups, SA (n = 45, girls = 26) or research-assistant administered (RA; n = 41, girls = 21). The SA group had their measures taken by 8 students (age: 15.59 [0.56] y, girls = 4), and the RA group had their measures taken by 8 research-assistants (age: 21.21 [1.38], girls = 5). Tests were administered twice by both groups, 1 week apart. Tests included body mass index, handgrip strength, standing broad jump, isometric plank hold, 90° push-up, 4 × 10-m shuttle run, back-saver sit and reach, and blood pressure. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients for SA (≥.797) and RA (≥.866) groups were high, and the observed systematic error (Bland–Altman plot) between test 1 and test 2 was close to 0 for all tests. The coefficient of variation was less than 10% for all tests in the SA group, aside from the 90° push-up (24.3%). The SA group had a marginally lower combined mean coefficient of variation across all tests (6.5%) in comparison with the RA group (6.8%). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that, following familiarization training, SA health-related fitness tests in school-based physical education programs can be considered reliable.

Background and aims Examining factors that may explain disparities in fitness levels among youth is a critical step in youth fitness promotion. The purpose of this study was twofold; 1) to examine the influence of school-level characteristics on fitness test performance; 2) to compare Irish adolescents' physical fitness to European norms. Methods Adolescents (n = 1215, girls = 609) aged 13.4 years (SD .41) from a randomised sample of 20 secondary schools, stratified for gender, location and educational (dis)advantage, completed a series of field-based tests to measure the components of health-related physical fitness. Tests included: body mass index; 20 metre shuttle run test (20 m SRT); handgrip strength; standing broad jump (SBJ); 4 x 10 metre shuttle run; and back-saver sit-and-reach (BSR). Results Overall, boys outperformed girls in all tests, aside from the BSR (p < 0.005, t-test, Bonferroni correction). Participants in designated disadvantaged schools had significantly higher body mass index levels (p < 0.001), and significantly lower cardiorespiratory endurance (20 m SRT) (p < 0.001) and muscular strength (handgrip strength) (p = 0.018) levels compared to participants in non-disadvantaged schools. When compared to European norms, girls in this study scored significantly higher in the 20 m SRT, 4 x 10 metre shuttle run and SBJ tests, while boys scored significantly higher in the BSR test (Cohen's d 0.2 to 0.6, p < 0.001). However, European adolescents had significantly higher handgrip strength scores (Cohen's d 0.6 to 0.8, p < 0.001).

Emerging economic and social challenges prompted EU and national authorities to initiate and support localised or area-based partnership approaches to development. Such approaches involve enabling representatives from the state sector, social partners, community and voluntary groups to form collaborative partnership structures with competences in integrated local development in a defined geographical area. In terms of local development in Ireland, the most significant partnership structures that have emerged are LEADER Local Action Groups and Local Development Partnerships. Extensive studies of partnership processes, outputs and limitations in Ireland and throughout the EU reveal a number of limitations in the current degree of synergy between partnership and mainstream approaches. Emerging development approaches to the provision of social welfare and public services increasingly involve new forms of public-voluntary and public-private partnerships.

Objectives: (1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness European children and adolescents aged 6-18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multi-language fitness platform (FitBack); (2) To provide comparisons across European countries. Methods: This study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by: (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data, and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the ALPHA test battery as it comprises tests with the highest test-retest reliability, criterion/construct validity, and health-related predictive validity: the 20-m shuttle run (cardiorespiratory fitness); handgrip strength and standing long jump (muscular strength); and body height, body mass, body mass index, and waist circumference (anthropometry). Percentile values were obtained using the GAMLSS method. Results: A total of 7,966,693 data points from 34 countries (106 datasets) were used to develop sex- and age-specific percentile values. In addition, country-level rankings based on mean percentiles are provided for each fitness test, as well as an overall fitness ranking. Finally, an interactive fitness platform, including individual and group reporting, and European fitness maps, is provided and freely available at www.fitbackeurope.eu . Conclusions: This study discusses the major implications of fitness assessment in youth from a health, educational and sport perspective, and how the FitBack reference values and interactive web-based platform contribute to it. Fitness testing can be conducted in school and/or sport settings, and the interpreted results be integrated in the healthcare systems across Europe.

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