Climbing is a sport that can positively effect strength, flexibility, coordination and balance. Accordingly, climbing can be an excellent tool of motor development in children. In Slovenia, 83 primary schools are equipped with climbing walls, which represents good potential for including climbing-related activities in the framework of physical education and extra-curricular sports activities. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between physical fitness development in primary school pupils and the inclusion of climbing-related activities during physical education, as well as to develop a sample physical education (PE) curriculum for climbing contents to be implemented during the last three years of primary school. We also verified how many primary schools in Slovenia offer the possibility of climbing-related activities in their PE curriculum, checked what the reasons for including or not including these activities were, as well as their contents and difficulties with which the teachers cope whilst carrying out these activities. The results show that boys and girls, who are attending primary schools where climbing-related activities are part of the PE curriculum, achieve higher levels of the arm and shoulder girdle strength as well as flexibility, while no differences were observed in the trunk strength. In terms of motor efficiency, no statistically significant differences were noted between schools, which do or do not offer climbing-related activities in their PE curriculum. On average, primary school PE teachers have insufficient competencies in climbing-related activities, which is one of the key reasons underlying the lack of these activities in their curriculum. The sample teaching sheets – which are based on the use of a small and simple climbing wall that could be integrated in any primary school – could be of assistance to teachers for future inclusion of climbing-related activities in primary school physical education.
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