Sports and recreational activities of young people in rural areas of RS

This paper aimed to examine the participation of young people in sports and recreational activities in rural areas of the Republic of Serbia. A total of 539 respondents participated in the study, of which 265 were female and 274 were male aged 15-30. All project participants were directly involved in the survey process using a questionnaire containing eleven questions. The results of the study showed that 79.2% of young women and 61.7% of young men in rural areas were not actively involved in sports. About 25% of young people do not participate in any sports and recreational activities at all. 59.2% of young women and 29.2% of young men in rural areas have never participated in sports and/or sports and recreational competitions. 11.3% of young women in rural areas and 10.2% of young men in rural areas are unable to swim and 5.3% of young women in rural areas and 3.3% of young men in rural areas are unable to ride a bicycle. On the whole, the development of sports and physical culture in the countryside lags behind the general development of this activity in relation to the narrower area of Serbia (especially in relation to urban areas), as well as in relation to the objective and subjective needs of the rural population in this area. This is, first of all, reflected in the fact that the current rural population participating in the sports system and physical culture is not at a satisfactory level.