Street surfing and Kinball

PGCE and School Direct Physical Education trainee teachers were introduced to the new craze sweeping across the UK when they took part in a street surfing workshop as part of the induction programme.

Many young people are physically active out of school engaging in activity on wheels such as mountain biking, BMX biking, skateboarding, in-line skating, street surfing and micro-scootering. Yet very few schools have recognised this as a means to increase pupils activity levels and tend to ignore the potential of introducing these activities into their physical education lessons.

Watch the students take part in the activities in our short film:

PGCE and School Direct PE route leader Dr Gary Stidder said: “Young people are participating in very different physical activities outside of school compared to the types of activities they are taught as part of the formal physical education curriculum.

“If we want young people to be more active we have to offer them choice and voice when it comes to curriculum decisions in physical education and find out what their activity preferences are.

“Many young people take part in physical activities on wheels in their leisure time and street surfing is just one example of how the physical education curriculum can be more appealing to a broader population of pupils in schools. Indeed, it is claimed that street surfing is the physical education teacher’s secret weapon.”

Trainee teachers of physical education were also introduced to the game of Kinball as part of their induction.  Kin-Ball is a team sport created in Quebec, Canada in 1986 by Mario Demers, a physical education professor. Kin-Ball is played with three teams of four. The team in possession of the ball, shout out “Omnikin” followed by the colour of another team and hits the ball. The team whose colour was called must stop the ball from hitting the ground; if it fails to do so the other two teams get a point. If a team stops the ball from hitting the ground, it has 10 seconds to hit the ball to another team, using the same procedure.

Dr Stidder added: “During these pandemic times it is vital to think of alternative ways of teaching physical education in schools. Kinball could be adapted to comply with Covid-secure teaching.”