Digital transformation of youth physical and wellness activities: trends and an example of a VR application

The purpose of the study is the development and implementation of VR applications for training in popular sports, specifically table tennis. Research methods. Comparative analysis of software tools; study of the software implementation of table tennis game rules, the functionality of various software instruments for modeling the three-dimensional game environment and sports equipment, as well as for creating scenarios for a VR application, enabling the writing of scripts to implement the physics and mechanics of table tennis. Research results. A fully immersive VR application, "Table Tennis Training," has been developed and partially tested within the framework of student education and socio-cultural activities with youth at Murmansk Arctic University. The novelty of this development lies in the VR application's training mode, which implements various sports methodologies for learning table tennis and enables beginners to master the fundamentals of gameplay techniques. Conclusions. The presented VR application "Table Tennis Training" reflects the modern trend of digital transformation in physical education, wellness, and sports activities, which aligns with the strategic direction "Physical Culture and Sports" in the Russian Government's 2024–2030 Directive, which emphasizes the need for the use of domestic software in various areas of activity, including the field of physical culture and sports.