Abstrakt
In recent years, the topic of physical activity in seniors has received attention in the sport environment. It has been argued that gymnastic exercises (for women accompanied by music) represent very beneficial kind of activity that motivates older people to be physically active.
In this context, the older population (age 50+) has been labeled as the "Golden Age." The physical activity of the "Golden Age" population has been supported for example by international festivals and through educational programs at the University of the Third Age at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University in Prague. An international festival "Golden Age 50+" or "The International Gymnastic Festival 50+" (IFG 50+) have been organized annually by the European Union of Gymnastics (UEG).
As the most important part of these festivals, public performances of group music-movement compositions have been presented allowing comparison of the repertoire and the content of music-movement compositions for seniors. The results of the analysis confirmed that in all festival programs most of the selected aspects have been represented.
The workshops and seminars emphasized positive benefits of the exercises for various aspects of health oriented physical fitness, concentration to optimal movement performance, and shared positive experiences. The results show that the selection of physical activities for the participants of the festival was appropriate for the age group 50+.
We may conclude that the gymnastic programs, exercise with music, and movement compositions support the acquisition and cultivation of physical literacy, the quality of movement expression and bring specific shared experiences with physical activity to the participants.