Use of phygital technologies in improving the level of school students’ physical fitness in sporting games section classes

Introduction. The increasing number of people keeping to sedentary lifestyles highlights the need for innovative and non-standard methods of maintaining physical health. The physical and the digital merge and create exciting new possibilities, transforming sports into a new epoch. This evolution is continuously changing the paradigm of sports, opening up new realities. The research aims to study the effectiveness of a new methodology – using the phygital sports tools in the educational and training process involving sports games based on the school sporting club. Materials and methods. The sample comprised secondary educational school students of Grozny (Russian Federation) aged from 12 to 14. One control group and three experimental groups (a total of 60 people) were formed to carry out the formative pedagogical experiment. Three training groups were formed by phygital sport type: 1) phygital volleyball, 2) phygital basketball, 3) phygital football in which 2 sessions were held within a weekly cycle based on the developed methodology. The used methods of mathematical statistics involved the Student’s t-test. Results. Significant changes were found in the experimental groups in the following indicators: “Running 60 m, s.” – EG1 t=5.5; p0.05. “Sequential execution of 5 somersaults” – EG1 t=6.5; p<0.05, EG2 t=2.4; p<0.05; EG3 t=3.3; p<0.05; “Leaning forward while standing on the gym bench” – (EG1 t=2.6; p<0.05; EG2 t=2.5; p<0.05; EG3 t=4.4; p<0.05. No statistically significant changes were found according to these indicators in the control group. Conclusion. The research results showed that the experiment participants successfully combined computer sports with traditional classes and physical activity. The new format of integrating computer game technologies with active motor activity generates young people’s increased interest and can positively influence their motivation to perform physical exercises and physical activity.