Six year follow-up of a community-based fundamental movement skill intervention in Belgian children

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the long-term effectiveness of the ‘Multimove for Kids’ program, a fundamental motor skills intervention for typically developing children between 3 and 8 years, and to determine the influence of participation in organized sports on motor competence (MC) six years after the intervention. Method: Of the 992 children who took part in the ‘Multimove’ program, 399 (intervention group: N=228, control group: N=171) were tested again at 6-year follow-up. MC was measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development, 2nd Edition. To examine the long-term impact of ‘Multimove’ on MC and the effect of participation in organized sports a latent growth curve analysis was conducted. Results: After the 30-week intervention, the intervention group outperformed the control group (=5.57, p<.001). However, when the entire study period, including the 6-year follow-up, was considered, the intervention group made less progress in MC than the control group (=-0.41, p<.05). Looking at the engagement in organized sports, it was found that years of experience before the intervention had no significant influence on the evolution of MC, whereas a positive effect was observed for children’s average sports participation (h/week) during the 6-year retention period (=0.14, p<.001). Finally, children practicing predominantly object control oriented sports during retention, obtained better MC scores at follow-up (=0.01, p<.01). Conclusion: The effect of the ‘Multimove’ intervention does not have a long-term effect on MC. However, participation in organized sports has a positive influence on MC evolution over time. Implications: More longitudinal evidence is needed to determine the optimal characteristics of effective interventions in order to expose children to positive sports experiences, allowing them to develop MC, which is a key factor in improving the likelihood for long-term engagement in sports and other forms of physical activity.