According to new figures from the Swedish Sports Confederation, which SVT received, sports among children and young people decreased by 10 percent in 2020. Among boys aged 17-20, it decreased by 17 percent, compared with 10.1 percent for girls of the same age.
18-year-old Anton Magnusson from Skara has decided to take a break from ice hockey.
He loves the sport, but when the restrictions put an end to indoor sports and the training was moved from the rink to outdoor fitness training, he began to get tired.
- Playing hockey was almost the meaning of my life.
But when the ice rink closed, I felt that it was on the ice I wanted to be.
In the beginning, I trained myself while I waited for it to start.
Most of all, he missed being on the ice and with his teammates.
Even if Anton walks, runs and exercises instead of practicing hockey, there is still something missing.
- All my focus was on hockey.
They longed for the training with the boys and to play a little.
It's the cohesion, to be able to skate and the melee game and all that.
Do you understand why people your age quit?
- People want to be on the ice and play hockey.
That thing with physique is certainly great fun, but that's not why you play hockey.
I think it's that you can not be on the ice and that you lose a lot when you come back.