A healthy spirit in a healthy body-this old piece of wisdom was written on every Bulgarian school gym in the past. Unfortunately, people forgot about this phrase after the transition from socialism to democracy. The vaulting horses, the parallel bars, the horizontal bars and the still rings have gradually vanished from the school gyms. Moreover, the interschool competitions in sports gymnastic, athletics and other sport disciplines have become less popular, too. Perhaps, football is the only sport in this country which is still fairly popular amidst the young Bulgarians. 

The authorities wanted to open a new page in sports, but unfortunately some traditional sports were affected by the change as well. Each new cabinet initiated new changes in this sphere, in order to make reforms in sports and make it look modern and European. What is the current situation some 25 years after the beginning of the transition period? Here is what the Physical Education and Sports Act reads: according to Chapter 10, article 47, paragraph 5 (4), Schools without any sports facilities and grounds suitable for physical education and sports can not be placed in service. However, things look different and the current situation contradicts to the legislation. A recent survey of the Education Syndicate with the Confederation of Labor Podkrepa shows that only half of the state schools are equipped with gyms and sports halls and most of the existing ones are not heated well in the winter period. Moreover, they have not been renovated for a long time due to the meager school budgets. In fact, the physical education classes are often used by the students and the pupils for rest.

That is why, the latest data of a study made by the National Center of Public Health and Analyses, announced by Bulgaria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Krasen Kralev during the national conference entitled Reforms in Education and Science-Reality and Perspectives, did not surprise anyone. Over 60% of the young Bulgarians have spinal malformations, 18.9% of the boys and 16.5% of the female pupils between the 1^st and the 4^th grade are overweight and 10.7% of the boys and 10.9% of the girls in this age are obese, Minister Kralev said. “We are ready to start a battle against this trend, in order to help children stay healthy”, Krasen Kralev added. That is why the Ministry of Youth and Sports initiated amendments to the current Preschool and School Education Act.

In line with the latest and most efficient trends in Europe, the schools in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland employ professional coaches for their physical education classes, thus making them more interesting and attractive to young pupils, Minister Kralev explained and added that the Bulgarian sports federations welcomed gladly this idea, too.

The initiative of the ministry is admirable, but also raises a series of questions such as: are there enough sports facilities which can host the classes of the professional coaches, how much these coaches will get paid, are those classes going to be held only in Bulgaria’s big cities, or they will be held in most of the small towns and villages, too? Is this a conception about the development of the mass sports, or the authorities are merely trying to pull wool over the peoples’ eyes? Isn’t it better to try to renovate the old infrastructure with little money and stop the bad practice to use mathematics and music teachers in the physical education classes? The authorities have to start looking for physical education teachers who would be entirely devoted to their profession. For a start, the experts from the Ministry of Youth and Sports should perhaps look for advice regarding the necessary reforms in this field, if they are really worried about the physical education of the coming generation.