The Fundamental Motor Skills Performance of Children in Kapit, Sarawak

Abstract

Children’s physical activity (PA) is determined by their motor skills, with increased fundamental motor skills (FMS) allowing them to participate in a wider range of PA, games, and sports. The purpose of this study was to examine the FMS in children aged 10 to 12 years old using the Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment (CAMSA). The participants were in years 4, 5, and 6 (N = 487; male = 241; female = 246) from two primary schools in Kapit, Sarawak. CAMSA was used to measure children’s FMS performance (jumping, sliding, catching, throwing, skipping, hopping, and kicking). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. The results showed that 99.6% of the participants were unable to achieve the recommended level of the total CAMSA scores based on the Canadian norm. Given the positive correlation between children’s FMS performance and PA, it is recommended that FMS intervention can be implemented to improve their FMS performance as well as sustain their engagement in PA.