What should teachers of physical education keep in mind to respond to the demands of the focus based on competences? How can competences be translated into a practical field? Which is the contribution of physical education to the system of competences? The focus based on competences is of recent adoption in the school curriculum and corresponds to a more extensive approach promoted by the international educational agencies. Education should contribute to reinforce competitiveness and dynamism, as well as social cohesion. Educational legislation establishes basic competences as a new component of the curriculum. It defines, at the same time, eight basic competences that all and each one of the school subjects should contribute to its development and acquisition. Teaching for competences in physical education tries to prove that the focus on competences is not just a fashion. According to the needs of the physical education teaching staff, this publication gives ideas of great interest and tries to clarify the content of the pedagogical and “official” speech that comes from the current educational approach.