Izmir Metropolitan Municipality touched the lives of 8 thousand children in three years with the "Sports Talent Measurement and Orientation to Sports Program", which was implemented in order to discover the sports abilities of children aged 10-5 and direct them to the branch that suits them. In 2019, Kuzey and Rüzgar Bostancı brothers, who were guided to ice skating with the measurement of sportive talent, achieved international success as well as being the champion of Turkey.
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç SoyerWork continues in line with the goal of transforming İzmir into a sports city and the principle of equal opportunity. The "Sports Talent Measurement and Orientation to Sports Program" carried out by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Youth and Sports Department in order to discover the sports abilities of children aged 8-10 and direct them to the branch that suits them, touched the lives of 5 thousand children in three years. In 2019, Kuzey and Rüzgar Bostancı brothers were selected for the infrastructure of figure skating after a 1-month free course within the scope of the program. Trained by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality figure skating trainers, the Bostancı brothers won the Turkish championship in two years and managed to be among the top 5 athletes in international competitions.
Mobile talent measurements will begin in 30 districts
Hakan Orhunbilge, Head of Youth and Sports Department of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, emphasized that the measurements were made in the presence of expert trainers and said, “We will measure in 30 districts, starting from Kemalpaşa, in order to reach more children and to discover children who are talented in sports.” Orhunbilge continued: “If our child is engaged in a branch in which he cannot be successful, after a while he becomes unhappy and leaves the sport. We don't want this. When we direct our children to the right branch, we ensure that they do not break away from sports. The competence of the child is more important than the wishes of the family. As a matter of fact, we have children who are very successful in ice skating, and the success rates of the children who come out from here are increasing. This project is especially important for Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor. Tunç SoyerIt is a project closely followed by . We want to spread the sports culture to the society. For this, it is necessary to start with the children. We think that the more measurements we can make, the more we will contribute to the sports culture of İzmir.”
“A huge advantage for us”
Gülfem Kaymak, one of the parents who brought their children to the talent measurement, said, “My daughter is 8 years old and I want to direct her to a sport. I think sports are very important for children. We saw this as an opportunity as well. Instead of carrying our child from course to course, we wanted him to be discovered if he has a certain talent and to concentrate on it. This offered us an important opportunity and we evaluated it. This is a great advantage for us, both financially and in terms of time. As a result of the guidance to be made here, I will direct my child to the branch in which he is talented and I will do my best to professionalize him.
Another parent, Seval Çöllü, said, “I brought my 8-year-old daughter for talent measurement. We are interested in various branches, but such an opportunity has been presented. We were also very pleased with the interest and relevance of the trainers.”
“We want to represent Turkey in the Olympics”
Continuing their work at full speed, Kuzey and Rüzgar Bostancı said, “We were doing gymnastics. We turned to ice skating with the measure of athletic ability. We are very happy to have ice skating. We want to represent Turkey in the national team by entering the Olympics in the future," he said.
“We are raising our children in the light of our ancestors”
The mother of Kuzey and Rüzgar, Ayşe Bostancı, said, “The founder of the Turkish Republic, the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, considered dealing with every activity in sports as the main element of the national upbringing of the Turkish youth. We are raising our children in this way, following the advice of our Father. After the sports talent measurement of the Metropolitan, my children switched to ice skating with the guidance of our teachers. Good thing we're past. First of all, they achieved great success by following the whole program, listening to their coaches and devoting themselves.”
Talent data reported to families
Within the scope of the program, children who come with their families to the Ice Sports Hall in the Bornova Aşık Veysel Recreation Area participate in the talent measurement practice accompanied by expert trainers. In the one-and-a-half-hour free tests conducted in cooperation with Ege University, children's fat is measured first, and then balance and flexibility are checked. The data on the abilities of the children, who are tested such as long jump, hand-eye coordination, arm strength, sit-ups, 5 meters agility, 20 meters speed, vertical jump, are calculated as percentages and presented to the parents as a report. Thus, families have the opportunity to evaluate their children's abilities and tendencies instead of trial and error method.
It is necessary to make an appointment via sporyetenek@izmir.bel.tr for the measurement of sportive ability. For detailed information about the aptitude measurement test, you can call 293 30 90.
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