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INTRODUCTION: The viewpoint of embodied cognition holds that cognitive processes are rooted in the body’s interactions with the world aimed at gathering and collecting as much information as possible: cognition is situated, body based and for action1. Therefore, embodied education research may have important implications for education because it highlights an approach to learning through whole-body engagement2. To date, there has been little agreement on the positive effect of classroom-based lessons integrating mathematics/geometry and physical activity3,4. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of embodied education on mathematical achievement and physical fitness (PF) level. METHODS: The study was designed as a school-based controlled trial targeting primary school children and was carried out between October 2020 and May 2021. Pupils were divided into the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG), involving 82 children in the first and 39 in the second group. The intervention lasted 8 months, with two 50-min lessons per week, for a total amount of 30 lessons, carried out in the gym or in an open space. The CG did traditional physical education (PE) lessons, whereas EG, through practical activities during curricula PE lessons, learned geometrical and mathematical concepts. The assessments, performed twice, at the beginning and at the end of the project comprised: a mathematical achievement evaluation with the “Test for the evaluation of calculating and problem solving abilities” (AC-MT 6-11)5; three PF measurements by the six min walking test (6MWT)6, the 4x10m shuttle run test (4X10m SRT) and the standing broad jump test (SBJ)7. RESULTS: Mathematical skills significantly improved throughout the sample with a greater achievement in the EG compared with CG (EG: X2=27.88; p<0.05; CG: X2=12.11; p<0.05). Children in the EG were significantly more successful in problem solving ability in maths than the CG (p=0.0120). Children in both groups

INTRODUCTION: The viewpoint of embodied cognition holds that cognitive processes are rooted in the body’s interactions with the world aimed at gathering and collecting as much information as possible: cognition is situated, body based and for action1. Therefore, embodied education research may have important implications for education because it highlights an approach to learning through whole-body engagement2. To date, there has been little agreement on the positive effect of classroom-based lessons integrating mathematics/geometry and physical activity3,4. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of embodied education on mathematical achievement and physical fitness (PF) level. METHODS: The study was designed as a school-based controlled trial targeting primary school children and was carried out between October 2020 and May 2021. Pupils were divided into the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG), involving 82 children in the first and 39 in the second group. The intervention lasted 8 months, with two 50-min lessons per week, for a total amount of 30 lessons, carried out in the gym or in an open space. The CG did traditional physical education (PE) lessons, whereas EG, through practical activities during curricula PE lessons, learned geometrical and mathematical concepts. The assessments, performed twice, at the beginning and at the end of the project comprised: a mathematical achievement evaluation with the “Test for the evaluation of calculating and problem solving abilities” (AC-MT 6-11)5; three PF measurements by the six min walking test (6MWT)6, the 4x10m shuttle run test (4X10m SRT) and the standing broad jump test (SBJ)7. RESULTS: Mathematical skills significantly improved throughout the sample with a greater achievement in the EG compared with CG (EG: X2=27.88; p<0.05; CG: X2=12.11; p<0.05). Children in the EG were significantly more successful in problem solving ability in maths than the CG (p=0.0120). Children in both groups

INTRODUCTION Recent study displayed significantly lower mean resilience of athletes with a physical disability than those reported in other studies with the general population(1). This study aimed to analyze whether there are differences or/and similarities between wheelchair tennis players (WTP) and able-bodied tennis players (TP) and to investigate about the characteristics of resilience. METHODS 80 participants: 39 WTP and 41 TP. Several tools have been used: a personal data collection form and 6 self-report questionnaires (1: Italian Adaptation of Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC; 2: Trait Sport-Confidence Inventory, TSCI; 3: Italian Adaptation of the General Self-Efficacy Scale, GSE; 4: Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, ERQ; 5: Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, MSPSS; 6: Inventory of Stressful and Traumatic Life Events, STLE). The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS 16 statistics program. RESULTS The analysis of CD-RISCs showed: 18% of WTP had a level of resilience beneath 30 compared to 46% of TP; 82% of WTP had a good/excellent ability to manage stress compared to 54% of TP. Through the analysis of TSCIs, no significant differences of confidence emerged between WTP and TP. GSEs showed: 78% of WTP had a self-efficacy of more than 30 compared to 64% of able-bodied players. The analysis of ERQs showed that TP controlled emotions slightly better than WTP and that WTP suppressed emotions more than TP. MSPSSs showed that TP perceived social support slightly higher than WTP. Through the analysis of STLEs, it was noted that 15% of WTP had suffered a high level of traumatic events during the life compared to 8% of TP. CONCLUSION The majority of WTP of this study have a higher level of resilience than the majority of TP. The most significant result concerns the self- efficacy which was higher in WTP. Further research is needed to study any correlations between the different aspects of resilience. The strength of this study is its inno

INTRODUCTION: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is a simple assessment tool to evaluate exercise capacity. The result of the test is the distance that a subject can walk at a constant and normal pace within 6 minutes (6MWD) and reflects walking function at a submaximal level (Crapo RO et al., 2002). Use of 6MWT on healthy children has been relevant to assess exercise tolerance (Rostagno C., 2003) and to compare it to pathological conditions (Paridon SM et al.,2006). Our aim was to find reference values for the 6MWT in healthy Italian chil- dren. METHODS: The 6MWT was performed by 5614 children between 6 and 11 years, following the instructions outlined in the ATS guidelines (Crapo RO et al., 2002). Summary statistics are expressed as means and standard deviations or percentages, as appropriate. Age- related percentiles (mean±SD of 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th and 97th centiles) of the 6MWD were developed for males and females. Pearsons correlation coefficients were calculated between 6MWD and demographic data. A multiple linear regression model was as- sessed to predict expected 6MWT performance. All analyses were conducted using STATA/SE, a p-value of less than 0.05 was consid- ered significant. RESULTS: Males walked longer distances than females, respectively 598.8±83.9 m vs 592.1±77.6 m (p=0.0016). Values ranged between 513.3±60.4 m for 6 years old children to 656.1±71.6 m for 11. The 50th percentile values resulted in 511 m, 554 m, 603 m, 624 m, 649 m and 670.8 m for boys aged 6 to 11 years old, respectively. Differently, the 50th percentile values resulted in 512 m, 543 m, 597 m, 620 m, 643 m and 655 m for girls aged 6 to 11 years old. A moderate correlation was found between 6MWD and age, weight and height (re- spectively rho = 0.58; 0.32; 0.52; p < 0.0001). In regression analysis, we found that age, gender and height were positively related to 6MWD, while weight was negatively related with 6MWD [6MWD = 107.91 + 25.02× age (years) +7.52× gender (M) +2.62×