COME TOGETHER YOUTH - EWOS 2016

Sportforall for health promotion in Europe

Duration: 12 months: 1^st May 2016 - 30^th April 2017

Location: The project has a European scope and takes place in Italy, France, Slovenia, Spain, Poland

Applicant / Coordinator: Uisp - Itaian Sport for All Association (Italy)

Partners:

• Sportno Drustvo Partizan Skofja Loka (Slovenia)
• UFOLEP (Union Française des oeuvres Laïques d’Education Physique) (France)
• Red Deporte y Cooperación (Spain)
• Fundacja V4Sport (Poland)
• Uisp - Comitato di Bologna (Italy)

Funding body : UE Erasmus + European Sport Events / EWOS 2016

SUMMARY:

Main objective of project COMEWOS is to organize an EWOS event in 6 EU countries to promote the slow exercise for health and raise awareness of young Europeans (aged 16-18 years) on HEPA (Health-enhancing physical activity) focal points and WHO (World Health Organisation) Global recommendations on physical activity for health.

Main project’s components are training of sport organizations’ operators and Physical Education school teachers, elaborating of education modules in schools, and organisation of a EWOS SPORT EVENT at the same time in each partner country.

Come Together Methodology:

Come Together is a Slow Sport Event which consists of walking quickly or running slowly. It is a sort of ‘reversed match’ with a highly symbolic meaning because the teams, constituted by little groups with the same foot speed, doesn't leave so closely but arrive all together, contrasting the traditional idea of one winner.

The sport event consists of a slow run/fast walk of teams that follow its own speed, previously tested by the mean of the test of the pitch speed in the ‘yield health’.

In order to transmit the methodological knowledge and effectuate the tests to form the teams during the sport event, a training course for sport organizations operators is provided in the first phases of the project implementation by UISP in Italy (Bologna) and several Education Modules are carried out by trained operators and school teachers in 6 schools in respective countries.

In synthesis, Come Together  methodology is characterized by the following components:

• Test of the pitch speed in the ‘yield health’
• Counter products
• Homogeneous teams by speed
• Reversed competition (starting staggered and arriving together)
• Reward system (Active T-shirts, certificate of attendance and prizes for new walking/running groups established by students thanks to the sensitization received by the project running)

OBJECTIVES:

General Objective

• Support the implementation of the EU guidelines on physical activity for health (HEPA)
• Contribute to the implementation of the European Week of Sport (EWOS) 2016

Specific Objective

• Organize a EU-vide sport's event within the European Week of Sport (EWOS) 2016 based on the slow run/fast walk “Come Together” methodology
• Increase the level of weekly exercise in young participants in order to reach the minimum level indicated by the World Health Organization
• Transmit, spread and consolidate  the culture of the slow and regular exercise for health

PROJECT ACTIONS:

• Organization of 1 training course for sport organization’s operators and Physical Education school teachers from 6 EU countries on the Come Together slow run/fast walk methodology, that will take place in Bologna, Italy;
• Realization of a 5 dates education modules for youth (age 16-18 years) in schools from 6 EU countries, in order to transmit to other physical education teachers and pupils the Come Together methodology and arrange school’s participation to the EWOS 2016 sport event ‘Come Together’;
• Carrying out of the pitch speed in the ‘yield health’ test for pupils and other participants to the Come Together sport event;
• Organization of a EU-vide sport's event within the European Week of Sport (EWOS) 2016 based on the slow run/fast walk “Come Together” methodology, to be hosted by other bigger EWOS events in the same town involved in the project, or to be specifically organized by sport organizations participating to the project;
• Produce multimedia materials based on photographs, video and interviews realized to Come Together EWOS sport event participants;
• Elaborate and produce 1 "Come Together Youth" manual in all partner languages
• Update and further implement App for Mobile devices.

PROJECT RESULTS:

• Increased level of weekly exercise in young participants (they reached the minimum level indicated by the WHO);
• The culture of the slow and regular exercise for health had been transmitted, spread and consolidated
• Young people brought the culture of the slow physical exercise to their families (parents, siblings and grandparents);
• 12 sport operators and 12 school teachers from 6 EU countries trained on Come Together methodology;
• Around 1.600 school pupils are aware of the importance of enhancing health trough physical activity and changed their behaviour on participation in sport and physical activity;
• Organized a EU-vide sport's event within the EWOS 2016 based on the slow run/fast walk “Come Together” methodology;
• Consolidate the transition "from performance to prevention through slow exercise" through the re-run of Come Together Youth at local and then at national level in the following years, thanks to the training of sport organization’s operators and the signing of memoranda of understanding with local entities and associations entitled of promoting sport and enhancing health.

For more info: progettazione@uisp.it

Gallery:

Social: