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Background: The Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) accurately and reliably assesses the physical literacy level of young children. However, in preliminary analyses ceiling effects were noted among 183 older children. The purposes of this study were to assess the validity of a modified CAPL designed for older children (CAPL 789) and to offer descriptive results. Methods: CAPL 789 assessed the physical literacy of Canadian children in grades 7–9. Data were collected from schools and recreation facilities in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario (Canada), yielding a new sample of 245 participants (129 girls, 13.7 ± 0.9 years). Descriptive statistics were calculated for all CAPL domains. Age and gender effects were examined to support the validity. Results: Physical competence score (/32) increased with age (F = 4.90, p < 0.05), the means in grades 7–9 being 18.9 ± 3.2, 20.9 ± 4.4 and 21.2 ± 3.4, respectively. Girls scored significantly higher (t = −2.29, p < 0.05) than boys (6.6 ± 1.2 vs 6.3 ± 1.3) in the knowledge assessment (/10). Conclusion: The CAPL 789 was feasible among children from grades 7–9. Additional research is required to establish the psychometric properties in children 12 to 16 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines recommend children accumulate 60+ minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. Currently only 7% of healthy Canadian children meet these guidelines. The purpose of this study, which was in conjunction with the YMCA-YWCA of the National Capital Region, was to investigate the physical activity knowledge impact of the Y Kids Academy, a citywide course aimed at improving the proportion of Canadian children that meet the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. Methods: Grade 6 children were eligible to enroll in the Y Kids Academy, which took place at YMCA-YWCA centres across the National Capital Region. Before attending Y Kids, each child completed the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL), which measured physical literacy motivation, physical competence, knowledge and behavior. CAPL scores were compared to data for 3000 Canadian children to evaluate baseline physical literacy among Y Kids participants. Participants were also assessed using the Y Kids questionnaire, which evaluated course knowledge before (Baseline), after (1st follow up), and five months after completing the Y Kids Academy course (2nd follow up). Results: 163 children (73 female, 45%), 9 to 14 years of age (mean 11.1 years ± 0.82) were enrolled in the study. At baseline, CAPL scores were similar (p=0.99) between Y Kids participants (mean score 62.41 ±11.8) and Canadian children (60.70 ± 11.8). Y Kids knowledge increased (p<0.001) from baseline (mean score 10.39 ± 5.4) to end of course (12.73 ± 6.5). Five months after course completion, knowledge remained above baseline (mean difference 2.69 ± 5.2, p=0.03) and was unchanged from the post-course assessment (0.00 ± 5.7, p=0.5). Discussion: The physical literacy of children enrolled in the Y Kids Academy was not significantly different from Canadian reference data, indicating that the Y Kids Academy was appealing to children with higher and lower physical literacy. The Y Kids Academy effectively increases the physical activity knowledge of older children and young adolescents, an improvement sustained over 5 months, even among those with limited knowledge, motivation, physical competence or daily physical activity behavior. Future research should investigate the impact of Y Kids participation on these other aspects of physical literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]