Exercise course
An exercise parcours (also senior playground , multi-generation area or exercise park , sometimes with the addition of the name for senior citizens or for all generations ) is a leisure activity with elements of a fitness trail (Switzerland: Vitaparcours ) and playground. The systems are often designed in the form of several coordinated installations in public spaces and, as an integral part of parks or green spaces, complement the rest of the public leisure facilities. They are specially geared towards the activities of older people with appropriately designed play and training equipment.
Discussion of terms
The French term parcours [ ˌparˈkuːr ] (from fr . Parcourir : run, run through) was originally used primarily in equestrian sports , later also in dog sports . It generally referred to a route with prepared obstacles that had to be overcome.
The old, more appropriate term “senior playground” is nowadays often only used as a working title when setting up the squares, as associations with children's playgrounds, with sandpit or slide, are aroused here. However, the original term illustrates the idea of equipping a demarcated area in public space with senior-friendly exercise equipment for active leisure activities, particularly well when compared to a children's playground . There are other names for it, such as seniors activities Square , motion space , motion course (for seniors / multigenerational). These names take into account the development that grandchildren and middle-aged people also use and should use the offers available there as part of their leisure activities.
origin
The idea of offering older people an opportunity to exercise in public green spaces has existed for a long time in the People's Republic of China . More than 20 years ago, exercise facilities (“fitness parks”) were set up there for adults in the outdoor area to encourage them to train their bodies together in the spirit of traditional Chinese medicine . Older people in particular were interested in the various sports and relaxation offers. These parks are now an integral part of the cityscape in China. Visitors of all ages meet here for sporty and playful activities.
Distribution and concepts in Germany
This concept also came to Germany in the late 1990s . In 1999, the first German facility for a senior playground opened its doors in Schöningen, Lower Saxony . More places followed u. a. in Berlin (Preußenpark) and Nuremberg, sometimes with different names ( action parcours or "Garden of Generations"). In the meantime, almost all major German cities are thinking about building exercise areas that are specifically intended to appeal to senior citizens, including Hamburg and Munich .
The concept of a senior playground consists of motor fitness offers in outdoor facilities, taking into account the special abilities and deficits of older people. The offer therefore includes specially designed sports or training equipment, for example for leg training or balance training. There are also various leisure activities such as bowling green or chess fields . The individual sports facilities and offers in the parks vary greatly. The location of the facility is taken into account, for example in the catchment area of a senior citizen's center (possibly on its own property), a clinic, in the city center or in a park (also a health resort park of a health resort). Some facilities are combined with children's playgrounds.
Seniors' playgrounds contrast with the sports and fitness offers for seniors offered by sports clubs or adult education centers, which mostly take place in sports halls and can rarely be visited spontaneously and free of charge. There are also many facilities that are more of a meeting point than a fitness facility. In addition to shady resting places in the open air, they offer a boules pitch and outdoor chess (see picture Puiseauxplatz in Rodgau).
The city authorities are trying to meet the increasing importance of recreational activities for seniors through the establishment of senior playgrounds bill. Similar to the multi-generation house , the senior playgrounds are also intended to promote cross-generational activities and create additional meeting places for young and old.
Exercise course as a test instrument
With a different objective, the form of the exercise course was established as a scientific test instrument much earlier, since the middle of the 20th century . For example, the Vienna coordination course has been used since the 1960s to measure the mobility and coordination skills of applicants in the aptitude tests for sports studies at universities or sports high schools. In contrast to the senior playgrounds, this is not a playground for playing and fitness exercises for children or senior citizens, but a scientific testing instrument with standardized requirements and the possibility of a differentiated performance analysis. Other exercise courses test specific technical skills in sports games or gymnastics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Article in the online portal of nuernberg.de
- ↑ Nuremberg online: Exercise park instead of senior playground (accessed on February 28, 2010)
- ↑ a b Hamburger Abendblatt http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2007/05/19/742622.html
- ↑ " Finding the future" ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ heute.de ( Memento of the original from November 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- Schoeningen senior playground project
- List of existing systems ( memento from September 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (in Germany)
- Multi-generation playgrounds in Germany
- List of rated multi-generation playgrounds