Downhill skiing evokes many emotions. In more experienced skiers, they manifest themselves primarily in a positive form, in beginners often in a negative form, in the form of apprehension or fear, mainly due to an unfamiliar way of moving - sliding and moving on skis. In the school environment, we encounter these phenomena quite often on ski training courses. The aim of the paper was to find out through a survey among teachers of lower secondary education (n=105), the fear and apprehension of pupils during ski courses, as well as the use of playful activities during their teaching. We analysed the results from the aspect of intersex differences using the chi-square test on the significance level of p<0.05, resp. p<0.01. We carried out the survey itself from January to March 2023. The results of our study showed that after the completion of ski course, the fear and anxiety of primary school pupils showed a clear trend of decrease. The use of games as one of the forms of warming up, practicing and perfecting selected elements of methodological series of skiing, but also at the end of daily job, is significantly (p<0.01) used to a greater extent by women. During the entire duration of the course, teachers make the most use of movement games of traditional nature - chases, relays, etc. therefore, we recommend that when teaching downhill skiing, movement games with the use of non-traditional aids (skis, poles, etc.) are included to a greater extent, but also games that require the cooperation of pupils, the so-called cooperative games. The results of our study also pointed to the fact that, according to teachers, students' fear of skiing is dominantly caused by an unfamiliar way of moving, when students lose their balance, which they cannot control (p<0.01).

Team sports are an important component of physical education (PE), and teachers’ instructional decisions shape students’ learning experiences and outcomes. This study examined associations between teacher age and didactic preferences in team sports pedagogy among 1856 Slovak PE teachers. A cross-sectional survey design was used, and participants were categorized into three age groups (≤30 years, 31–50 years, and ≥51 years). Associations between age and didactic preferences were analyzed using chi-square tests, adjusted standardized residuals, and ordinal and multinomial logistic regression models. Significant age-related differences were identified for didactic approach (χ²₍₄₎ = 14.67, p = 0.005, V = 0.063), teaching style (χ²(4) = 15.25, p = 0.004, V = 0.064) and methodological-organizational form (χ²(8) = 21.71, p = 0.006, V = 0.076), although effect sizes were small. Teachers aged ≤30 years had higher odds of preferring a technical rather than combined approach than teachers aged 31–50 years (OR = 1.958, 95% CI = 1.344–2.852, p < 0.001) and teachers aged ≥51 years (OR = 1.563, 95% CI = 1.019–2.399, p = 0.041). Teachers aged 31–50 years showed stronger preferences for practical rather than command teaching styles than both younger (OR = 1.455, p = 0.018) and older teachers (OR = 1.386, p = 0.023). Pearson’s chi-square test did not identify significant associations with teaching-unit duration (p = 0.052); however, ordinal logistic regression indicated significant overall age-group effects (p = 0.022). No significant age-related association was observed for preferred game activity (p > 0.05). The findings indicate that teacher age is associated with selected didactic preferences in team sports instruction. Although the observed associations were small, they may reflect variation in professional socialization and teaching experience and may have implications for PE teacher education and professional development.