Project News
Presentation of Current Results in Cologne (September 2026)
At the dvs Conference in Cologne, the presentation “Motor Fitness of Primary School Children: Effects of Social Disadvantage as Indicated by the School Social Index” was given. The presentation focused on the significantly lower motor fitness of children attending Startchancen Schools, as well as their participation in school-based sports programs over time.
Presentation of Current Results in Lindow (September 2026)
The latest EMOTIKON data were presented at the School Sports Advisory Meeting in Lindow, with a particular focus on the relationship between the school-specific Social Index, Startchancen School status, and motor fitness, as well as participation in school-based sports programs and sports clubs.
New Testing Period (August 2026)
The testing period for the 2026/2027 school year will take place from September 28, 2026, to November 14, 2026. Further information on the testing period, the test administration procedures, and the current norm values can be found here.
Brandenburg cooperates with Thüringen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
BeKiGeKi ("Bewegte Kinder = gesündere Kinder", "Active children = healthier children") in the Federal State of Thürigen, Germany, and BewegungsCHECK in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, are the sister projects of EMOTIKON (Brandenburg). All three projects annually assess the physical fitness of third-graders using the same six fitness tests.
Researchers from the Universities of Potsdam, Erfurt, and Rostock investigate social and regional differences in physical fitness (socio-economic status, child poverty, urban-rural differences), and the effects of the Covid pandemic and body constitution on the physical fitness of children.
You can find our research on ResearchGate.
Physical fitness is a powerful marker of health in children and adolescents. Previous research has established positive associations between physical fitness, psychological and emotional traits, cognitive function (e.g., attentional capacity), and academic achievements (e.g., grade in mathematics) in youth. Furthermore, there is evidence indicating that low levels of physical fitness during childhood and adolescence are associated with an increased risk for overweight/obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
The negative effects of increased sedentariness, declines in physical fitness and concomitant increases in time spent with media intensified public, scientific and political discussions. Various professional organisations (e.g., Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, Germany; German Olympic Sports Confederation) recommended to continuously monitor and assess youth physical fitness. In accordance with these recommendations, the Federal State of Brandenburg decided to establish the project EMOTIKON which is a German acronym for the “Assessment of physical fitness in third-graders in the Federal State of Brandenburg to continuously evaluate physical education and promote physical activity and fitness”. EMOTIKON is a collaborative project between the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport, Federal State of Brandenburg, the University of Potsdam, and the State Sports Association, Federal State of Brandenburg.
The primary purpose of EMOTIKON is to assess and evaluate physical fitness of all third-graders in a state-wide effort and to deduce recommendations for the promotion of physical activity and fitness. The test battery is easy to administer and includes six different tests for the assessment of cardiorespiratory endurance (i.e., 6 min run test), coordination (i.e., star run test), speed (i.e., 20-m linear sprint test), balance (i.e., one legged balance test), a proxy of lower limbs muscle power (i.e., standing long jump test), and a proxy of upper limbs muscle power (i.e., ball push test).
You can find publications from the EMOTIKON project here:
EMOTIKON project reports:
Read more about EMOTIKON in the project reports from years 2022 and 2023.