The rector of Unicamp, Paulo Cesar Montagner, met on Tuesday afternoon (24) with representatives of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC), as well as members of the Faculty of Physical Education (FEF), to advance discussions on the creation of a postgraduate course in Sports Science, unprecedented in the country.
The goal is to provide broader, more solid, and continuous training, primarily for teachers, technicians, and trainers from all regions, with the support of research centers linked to the field. With a more varied and humanized vision, the aim is to train professionals with a more complete spectrum of experiences and skills.
At the end of the meeting, Montagner pointed out that the most valuable material for forging a medal is, in fact, education. “It’s very common, when we are close to the Olympic Games, for people to be expectant about how many medals Brazil might win. I think this is a mistake, because we should transform the country into a place that doesn’t just chase medals, but that practices sport continuously and invests in the real training of professionals who will prepare our athletes,” he stated. “The problem is that we still have a very fragmented and often discontinuous sports practice. The development of athletes, especially in the formative phase, is restricted to large regional centers. Ideally, we should multiply training and transform sport into an alternative for human development for the whole society, and from there, talents will emerge naturally,” he added.
Integration
According to Sebastian Pereira, Executive Manager of Education, Promotion and Infrastructure at the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee), Unicamp possesses fundamental scientific knowledge to collaborate with agencies that promote sports. “This is, in fact, a first step that the COB is taking together with the CBC (Brazilian Olympic Committee) towards a partnership with an extremely strong and respected educational institution like Unicamp. We are working in an integrated way so that our actions are lasting and effective for the reality of Brazil.”
According to Pereira, in addition to creating a system that can impact the long-term development of athletes, this union between academia and sports organizations can also fulfill the desire to implement a sports culture in society in general. “It’s important that the whole of society is impacted, so that we have more and more people who want to contribute to this movement. We’re not just talking about competitions, but about the practice of sports in everyday life. People defending, consuming, and thinking about sports can also generate transformations in the areas of health, education, and the economy.”
Difference
The importance of systematizing knowledge was highlighted by Gianna Lepre, executive superintendent of the Brazilian Club Committee. “We often say that the club is the…” stem cell "In sports, in a country where this system isn't organized by schools, it's in the clubs that this happens. It's there that the child begins their journey and develops, potentially becoming a talent in the future. However, in clubs there isn't the same production of knowledge as in universities. That's why we want to structure these courses we're developing, starting with specialization. Bringing Unicamp and the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) into this initiative is very important," he emphasized. "The investment in training, with the endorsement of Unicamp, gives us the certainty that we can make a difference," Lepre explained.
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Meeting discusses proposals for public policies to promote sports.
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