ABSTRACT
Although young athletes consistently cite fun as the primary determinant of their continued participation, and lack thereof as the reason they drop out, fun has, until recently, been underappreciated in children’s physical activity experiences. The overall objective of this chapter is to provide the research knowledge, understanding, and applied practices for promoting the most fun sport experiences for children. First, we introduce the fun integration theory, a recent scientific breakthrough that is a robust, child-centred conceptualisation of what is fun for today’s young athlete when participating in organised athletics. Second, we use the fun integration theory to dispel common myths about what it means to children to have fun while playing sports. Third, we provide data, along with best practice recommendations and activities as launching points for organising and implementing fun sport programmes.
