Abstract

In the current period of Lithuanian society development, when there is still no consistent system of continuous adult education available and people suffer from poverty and are, first of all, concerned with the immediate material matters of life, the process of personality improvement is rather problematic. Certain conditions are needed for people to be able to strengthen their health and exercise independently; therefore the goal of this research is to analyze the demand of sports facilities’ infrastructure in Klaipeda as well as the need of people of different ages and sexes for physical education in order to improve their healthy lifestyles. During the research carried out in 2004 an anonymous questionnaire was given to the pupils of Klaipeda secondary schools, their parents and teachers. The questionnaire was composed of six questions with possible answers. 300 questionnaires were distributed and it was explained how to fill them in. 271 of respondents answered the questions. 73 males and 198 females filled in the questionnaire. The research showed that the sports facilities infrastructure in Klaipeda city does not meet the needs of the citizens. The lack equipped stadiums close to the educational institutions, cycling paths; they also indicated the problem of skaters. During the colder season people lack swimming pools and skating rinks in winter, where they could actively spend their leisure time and strengthen their health. Evaluating sports facilities, Klaipeda citizens indicated timidness, quality of the sports equipment, price and a qualification of the coaches as very important criteria. Age and sex have an influence on choosing the sports facilities. Younger people are more interested in karting, football, basketball, rowing, beach volleyball; elder people choose tennis, skating, cycling, and dancing. Swimming was popular among both males and females. Basketball, football and karting were most popular among male respondents; rowing and table tennis were more popular among female respondents. Verf.-Referat