Stressed? Angry? Confused? Don’t you always feel better after doing some sport? After blowing off that steam through your own physical strength? The endorphins and adrenaline rushing through your blood and making your lungs feel like they could float? That’s the joy of exercise, the joy of sport and the joy of article 31 in the United Nations children’s rights convention promoted by UNICEF.

Article 31 recognises children’s right to leisure, rest and recreational activity, a category into which the great world of sport falls, and in effect, to fun. This children’s right underlines above all else the importance of children just being children and its fundamental role in the development of the child.

In my own experience, sport has helped me blossom into an integrated young member of Luxembourgish society, and a more confident and well-rounded individual as a result. As a ‘foreigner’, feeling included in Luxembourgish society was not always the easiest, because of the language barriers, cultural mannerisms different to my own and the resultant feeling that I would never fit in no matter how hard I tried.

Like many young girls, I was an energetic gymnast from a young age, drawn to the high jumps, perfect splits and glittery leotards. I enjoyed being a ‘gymnast girl’ and before I even knew, it became an integral part of my identity as my young brain tried to work out who I was, a natural phenomenon of childhood. When I moved to Luxembourg, I was lucky enough to be able to continue gymnastics in a Luxembourgish club, and this part of my identity was able to develop further and flourish. This self-validation gave me routine and stability in a rather uncertain time and little did I know sport, specifically gymnastics and then running, would help me to find a home here.

In retrospect, the benefits I have gained from my right to sport are not solely exercise and health but fundamental to helping me to adapt to Luxembourgish life and becoming the person, I am today. In joining sport in Luxembourg, I began to socialise in an environment in which I could not always speak the language. My childish need, however, to connect with other young girls with a common hobby forced me to find other ways to communicate such as through random and badly pronounced words or even simply a smile, overall strengthening my social skills and teaching me my first Luxembourgish words.

Naturally, as for every young child, it was daunting to join a new sports club. First, I was standing in a gymnastics room full of girls I didn’t know, and then, when I transitioned into athletics, I was trying to keep up with the others at my first running session. Nevertheless, my love for sport prevailed and as a result I learnt that such small
obstacles shouldn’t stop me from doing what I love, an important lesson in confidence I would remember throughout not only my sport journey but also general life.

I gradually built new friendships which gave me extra support when I needed it and an opportunity to have different perspectives, leading to a healthy state of well-being. Additionally, a team environment creates a sense of belonging that children strive for amidst the struggles of childhood such as isolation and bullying. At least for me, when I see the amount of effort my coaches put into my training programme or the loud cheers from teammates, it makes me feel wanted and so I want to do better in my sport.

The community I found in sport also taught me how to work in a team, be it at a gymnastic competition where we were trying to win the best team overall, or a relay race in running where my teammate would need me to have a steady hand to catch the baton, because in both scenarios I tried my best not to let my teammates down. Any sport can teach a child teamwork, even if it’s not a team sport, because the most important support happens on the sidelines, a pep-talk before a game or a hug after a fall from a teammate.

Insecurities are very common and often damaging in adolescence, however my running has over time increased my self-esteem because of the power I know I have. Seeing how fast or far I can run, similarly to how high or strong a volleyballer can shoot a ball, has made me appreciate the possibilities of human strength. In sport, our bodies can achieve amazing things, which also gives us confidence in our general abilities. This is why equality in sport is so important, because girls may not know how powerful they are if they can’t find out through sport.

Article 31 promises an opportunity for sport for all young children and thus enables girls to be on an on an equal footing with boys. Although not always obvious, the opportunity I have to run and compete as a girl is amazing, considering it was only around 50 years ago that women weren’t allowed to run marathons simply because they were women. This is empowering in my training because challenging the old-fashioned view that girls are weak makes me feel proud.

Every child deserves to feel the delight of movement from Pilates or tennis to swimming or hockey, because every child deserves to step out of their regular body and create some fun and action. If my right to sport wasn’t protected, I would be a shell of myself, because the friendships, memories and passion I have for running have become a huge part of my life.

Unfortunately, not all children have access to sport and the opportunity to grow which is why article 31 and UNICEF’s work are so important. In this increasingly divisive world, we can still bring our children together through movement, because flexibility is ultimately what society will need for the future.