The Physical section is about doing a sport or aerobic activity regularly that works your body and “puffs you out” (which distinguishes it from a skill).

Your sport can be something organised by school, like regularly playing for a team and attending training (but it can't count things that you do during curriculum time) or it could be something you follow outside school, in a team or on your own.

This page explains what you can do for your Physical, what doesn’t count, how to get started, how long you need to do it for and how to finish.

How to start your Physical Section

• First, find an adult to be your Assessor. Usually this is a Coach or trainer or it could be an adult known to you with an  interest and understanding of the activity.
• Ask them if they are willing to be your Assessor.  So many students in Guernsey take part in the DofE Award, your Coach will almost certainly have assessed other DofE participants.
• Talk to them and agree your dates, times and goals.
• Submit details on eDofE, including your Assessor contact details and agreed goals for approval on eDofE so that they can be checked before you start anything.
• Keep evidence as you progress. This should be a log of dates or briefly updated diary of your progress. If possible add further evidence to show that you are making progress e.g. photo evidence or Awards.
• Remember you can be an expert or start a new sport as a beginner. It is progress that counts and this means setting appropriate goals with your Assessor.

What activities can I do for the Physical Section?

You can choose almost any sport for your Physical activity.  It can be a team sport (e.g. rugby, netball, hockey) or an individual sport (cycling, running, dancing).  If you do something on your own you can use an app such as Strava to log your activity.

There are lots of ideas for the Physical section on the DofE resource pages: www.dofe.org/do/ideas/

You cannot choose activities that do not work up a sweat.  For example shooting, snooker and darts would all count as Skills and not Physical activities as far as the DofE is concerned.

You need to spend at least an hour a week on your activity for 3 or 6 months (depending on the time scale you selected).  If the season ends before you have finished your activity, talk to your leader and/or your Assessor.  You can either set goals that you can continue out of season (such as strength and conditioning training in the gym) or you can take a break and add some more time on at the start of the next season.

A SHORT intensive period of sport squeezed into a few days does NOT COUNT e.g. an intensive four day training course at a rugby camp or hockey event does NOT count for DofE Physical activity by itself. You will need to add further regular hours every week.

How do I finish my Physical Section?

• Make sure you have completed the correct timescale, including adding any gaps for breaks and holidays so that your total time adds up to the total required to pass.
• Get your evidence together to show your Assessor and upload it to eDofE. 
• You can now ask your Assessor to sign up your eDofE report card (which is in the Welcome Pack you received when you signed up).  They should write a report on your participation, commitment, progress and achievement. Upload their report to edofe and mark as Assessor Report.
• Alternatively, ask your assessor to use this website www.dofe.org/assessor to type in their report direct to your eDofE account.  They will need your eDofE number.