This presentation will discuss the results of a qualitative study (interviews and participating observations) done in Germany focusing on the meaning of sports for children aged eight to ten. It will show how girls and boys see sports as a social phenomenon, which body images based on sports dominate their thinking, how they see sports as a leisure and social activity and how important children consider sports to be for their lives. Special emphasis will be placed on the perspective of children who are considered being poor athletes and who regularly experience negative feedback in this context ( e. g. due to being overweight or having motoric problems). The results drawn from this study show that important aspects for the meaning of sports for children depend on their individual athletic experiences or their success in athletics. Frequently mentioned functions of sports were its relation towards health, and sports as a means to earn money later in their lifes. This indicates that children have alreqdy acquired an inner social habitus. Children not only associate these funtions with sports, they also try to "model" their body through sports (e. g. loose weight), and also accept hard training to reach their goal. Here it becomes obvious that children, just like adults instrumentalize sports. Thus the border line between adult sport and the sports of children is diminishing.Keyword(s): elementary education, gender issues, youth sports