Polyfest is a Secondary School cultural dance festival in Auckland, New Zealand that enables young people the opportunity to engage with their cultural identity, values, and practices. A key objective of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Pacific youth participants in Polyfest to better support their modes of movement and development. A secondary objective was to explore whether cultural dance is physical activity and/or sport. Methodology: Kakala and Talanoa were used to weave together the young Pacific voices and lived experiences. This framework acknowledged the collectivism and Pacific cultural nuances that evolved from the talanoa (conversations). Talanoa were engaged in with young people through various mechanisms (i.e., interviews, kava bowl) at each Polyfest site across NZ. Summary of results: The reason for participating in Polyfest has nothing to do with the value or benefits of physical activity. Young Pacific people will not engage in activities that are not community, culturally or collective-oriented. Meaningful participation is dependent on the value that is placed on culture and identity. Young Pacific people believe that cultural dance is the equivalent of being physically active. Conclusion: Overall, these findings underscore the need to prioritize cultural inclusivity, community orientation, and the provision of opportunities like Polyfest for young Pacific individuals to express themselves authentically. By recognising and embracing cultural heritage, practitioners, policymakers, and sport organisations can foster an environment that not only values their identity but also promotes holistic well-being.

Purpose: Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are foundational to sport participation and recreational physical activities. Community-based programs may be key in facilitating sport participation, thereby improving FMS among children, especially in smaller, rural communities where cost, and access, are often prohibitive. This study explored the impact of 5–8-week community-based sports programs on the FMS of 5-12-year-old children in a smaller Canadian city.
Methods: Participants were recruited from children enrolled in 5–8-week community sport programs designed to improve physical literacy. The study followed a pre and post intervention design. Sport for Life’s validated PLAY Basic instrument was used to evaluate five (run, hop, kick, overhand throw, balance) FMS. After obtaining consent and participant assent, data were collected at baseline and post intervention by two trained research assistants who independently scored each participant on the five FMS. Research Assistants’ scores on each skill were averaged to obtain a final score. Of the 163 participants who completed baseline assessments, 145 (89%) had complete data for the five skills at post-intervention assessments. Paired t-tests comparing baseline and post-intervention scores were used to evaluate program effectiveness. Statistical analyses were performed in R Studio with significance level set at alpha=0.05.
Results: The average age for the sample (n=145; 66% male) was 8.3 ± 1.8. There was a statistically significant change in the overall FMS score from 28.9 ± 7.9 at baseline to 30.9 ± 7.6 after the intervention (t=4.7; p < 0.0001). Except kicking (baseline p=0.003; post-intervention p=0.03), there were no other statistically significant differences in individual or total FMS scores by sex. There were statistically significant improvements in scores for each of the five FMS skills between baseline and post intervention: balance (t=2.2; p=0.03), overhand throw (t=3.6; p=0.0003), kick (t=2.4; p=0.02), hop (t=3.0; p=0,003), run (t=3.3; 0.001). Older children (> 8yrs) had higher baseline and post intervention scores on each of the five skills compared to younger children, but the overall change scores did not significantly differ by age group (p = 0.2).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that short-term community-based programs could contribute to improving key FMS among children in a small city.