From 1 January 2027, Jugend+Sport (J+S, Switzerland's federal youth sport programme) will no longer distinguish between children and young people: one single age group from 5 to 20 for every J+S sport. If you are your club's J+S coach, the person who registers its courses, or sit on the committee, J+S 2027 already concerns you. The sport you register your courses under, your instructors' recognitions and the courses that run over New Year all need preparing before December.
The official information is spread across two Federal Council press releases and two J+S web pages. I have brought it together here in plain language, with a link to each text at the end of the article. I am not a J+S expert: for a specific case, your cantonal sports office has the final word.
What changes on 1 January 2027: one age group from 5 to 20
Until the end of 2026, J+S has two target groups: children aged 5 to 10 and young people aged 10 to 20. On 29 October 2025, the Federal Council decided to merge them by amending the Sport Promotion Ordinance. The other changes in this revision have applied since 1 January 2026. The merger itself takes effect on 1 January 2027.
In practice, for your club:
a J+S instructor can lead the whole 5 to 20 age group;
Allround, so far limited to 5 to 10 year olds, opens up to everyone aged 5 to 20;
all J+S sports share the same age group.
Which sport to register your courses under in 2027
Many clubs will ask this, since Allround is opening up to older children. The J+S rule is clear: a club that belongs to a national federation of a J+S sport registers its courses and camps in that sport. Even when training for the youngest is very varied.
Take a basketball club affiliated to its federation. Its courses for 6 to 8 year olds are registered as basketball, even if the children mostly play ball games and work on coordination.
Allround is reserved for genuinely multi-sport offers. A club focused on a single sport that is not a J+S sport cannot use Allround instead. A multi-sport camp, organised by a municipality for example, can be registered as Allround if J+S sports dominate and the other sport is only an additional block, with no special safety rules.
One last point: to save money, J+S is not adding new sports for the time being.
Do your instructors have the right recognition?
This is the first thing to check, because it decides whether your courses receive contributions (more on that below).
What happens automatically. An Allround instructor who, since 1 January 2023, has led a sport-specific activity in a sport that is not safety-sensitive automatically receives a recognition for that sport. The update is made directly in the NDS, the national J+S database (BDNS in French).
What does not happen automatically.
An instructor with no activity in a specific sport keeps the Allround recognition.
Multi-sport courses combining several J+S sports do not count towards this.
In safety-sensitive sports, no recognition is given automatically. For children's courses in these sports, skiing for example, a sport-specific recognition was already required anyway.
An instructor who has never been active in a sport takes an instructor course or an introductory course to be allowed to lead it.
If a recognition is missing or wrong. A multi-sport club that the NDS assigned to the wrong sport, or a well-justified case, for example an instructor used as a specialist for a J+S sport in multi-sport courses: the request goes through the canton, until the end of 2027.
Stricter rules in a few sports from 1 January 2027. J+S has tightened the rules on deploying instructors in a few sports, in agreement with the federations concerned. According to J+S, about 150 people are affected, in particular in triathlon, judo, ju-jitsu and trampolining. The full rules are in Annex 3 of the J+S Ordinance of the Federal Office of Sport. For these four sports, J+S suggests the following to coaches:
Triathlon: swimming, athletics or cycling instructors who are active in triathlon take an introductory course in triathlon.
Judo and ju-jitsu: an instructor recognised in one of the two and active in the other takes the corresponding introductory course.
Trampolining: instructors of trampolining courses and camps train through the introductory courses in trampolining.
Good to know: a J+S coach can register a course in several sports, for example a triathlon course as triathlon and swimming.
Courses running over 2026 and 2027
Nothing obliges you to finish your courses before 31 December 2026. The change has no effect on courses already running. Two things do change along the way, though.
In Allround, the subsidised age range widens. Until the end of 2026, only participants aged 5 to 10 are subsidised. From 1 January 2027, older participants are subsidised too, automatically.
The NDS checks instructors when a course closes. When a course ends, the NDS checks that every instructor involved has the required recognition at that moment. A course that ends in 2027 must therefore take the new requirements into account from the planning stage.
The example J+S gives speaks for itself. A ju-jitsu club uses as its only instructor someone recognised in judo, for a course that ends in February 2027. The ju-jitsu recognition is missing: this course receives no J+S contribution.
J+S provides an exception: if the minimum conditions are met by 31 December 2026, the contributions for the 2026 activities are still calculated and paid. The page does not detail these minimum conditions. If one of your courses is affected, ask your canton now.
J+S contributions in 2027
The good news first. On 27 May 2026, the Federal Council decided to increase the J+S budget so that current rates stay the same from 2027 to 2030: CHF 1.30 per participant hour for courses and CHF 16 per participant day for camps.
Two caveats to keep in mind:
these rates hold if Parliament approves the amounts;
if participation exceeds the budget in a given year, that year's contributions can be cut by up to 5 percent, through lower final payments.
For the record, the Federal Office of Sport announced a 20 percent cut from 2026 in July 2025. It was dropped in September 2025.
For the 2027 budget your treasurer will present at the general meeting, I would count J+S contributions at current rates, with two caveats: Parliament's decision on the amounts, and a possible 5 percent cut if participation exceeds the budget.
The J+S coach's checklist before December
Check in the NDS that every instructor holds the recognition for the sport they actually lead.
Choose the sport for each 2027 course: your federation's sport, and Allround only for a genuinely multi-sport offer.
Identify the courses ending in 2027 and check their instructors now, not when the course closes.
Sign up the instructors concerned for an introductory course, in particular in triathlon, judo, ju-jitsu or trampolining.
Report wrongly assigned recognitions to the canton. You have until the end of 2027, but the sooner you do it, the lower the risk of a course without contributions.
Let your instructors know: from 1 January, the age 10 boundary no longer matters for J+S.
Give your treasurer the 2027 rates for the budget, with both caveats: Parliament's decision and the possible 5 percent cut.
Attendance and J+S export with GestiClub
One thing does not change in 2027: your contributions depend on the attendance you report. And that is often where the end of the season gets stuck, with paper lists or a spreadsheet to copy into the NDS.
In GestiClub, the coach records attendance in the calendar at every session. The record stays linked to the session and to each member. Attendance can be printed, exported to Excel and, for Swiss clubs affiliated to Jugend+Sport, sent to the NDS. No second round of ticking boxes at the end of the season.
You will find the details in the calendar and attendance guide.
If you would like to see it with your own club, the trial is free for 30 days: start my free trial.
Frequently asked questions about J+S 2027
What changes in Jugend+Sport in 2027? From 1 January 2027, the children (5 to 10) and youth (10 to 20) groups merge into one age group from 5 to 20, for all J+S sports. Allround opens up to everyone aged 5 to 20, and the rules on deploying instructors become stricter in a few sports, in particular triathlon, judo, ju-jitsu and trampolining.
Can a J+S instructor lead participants aged 5 to 20? Yes. From 1 January 2027, a J+S instructor can lead the whole 5 to 20 age group.
Can our club register its courses as J+S Allround in 2027? Only if the offer is genuinely multi-sport. A club that belongs to a national federation of a J+S sport registers its courses in that sport, even for the youngest.
Do our Allround instructors need to retrain? Not necessarily. Those who have led a sport that is not safety-sensitive since 1 January 2023 automatically receive that sport's recognition in the NDS. The others keep Allround. An instructor who has never been active in a sport takes an instructor course or an introductory course.
Are J+S contributions going down in 2027? The Federal Council wants to keep CHF 1.30 per participant hour for courses and CHF 16 per participant day for camps from 2027 to 2030, if Parliament approves the amounts. Even then, a cut of up to 5 percent remains possible if participation exceeds the budget.
Sources
Federal Council, 29 October 2025: press release on the revision of the Sport Promotion Ordinance (in German, also available in French and Italian)
Jugend+Sport, 25 August 2026: Allround ab 2027 (in German)
Jugend+Sport: Leitereinsatz ab 1. Januar 2027 (in German)
Federal Council, 27 May 2026: press release on J+S contributions from 2027 to 2030 (in German, also available in French and Italian)
Blick, 12 September 2025: planned J+S cuts dropped (in German)
Swiss hosting