Campaign during IDUS 2020 celebrations and European Week of Sport at FADU Portugal
The celebrations of the International Day of University Sport (IDUS – DIDU in Portuguese) and the European Week of Sport in Portugal had ‘Sport Yes, Isolation No!’ as the tag line of the campaign this year. This theme is a reminder for the mental health problems of higher education students, which sometimes leads to Burnout and the dropout of physical and/or academic activities. The Burnout theme was also one of the winners in the student program of this year’s edition of the FISU World Forum, which included Fábio Nunes, a master’s student in Computer Engineering and Telematics, at University of Aveiro.
FADU also organized, in collaboration with the University of Aveiro, the online conference ‘Sports and Mental Health of Students’. This conference, broadcast live on FADU Facebook, included 2 specialists in Sport Psychology and national sports personalities such as Susana Feitor (Universiade 2017 and 2019 Head of Delegation), Jéssica Augusto (Athletics gold medal Universiade 2007) and Jorge Braz (head coach of the Portuguese futsal national team), all connected to university sports.
The session started with a statement of the President of FADU, André Reis, who underlined the relevance of highlighting the theme of mental health, especially in times of pandemic, and a special message from president of the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth, Mr Vítor Pataco. Anabela Pereira, Jorge Silvério and Kátia Almeida were the experts who joined the panel and warned about the importance of coordination between the student, the family, the university and all those involved in the student’s sports activity to avoid situations of stress and permanent anxiety.
In October, FADU Portugal also organized a canoeing event in Tejo and Zêzere rivers at Constância city, complying with the guidelines given by the Directorate-General for Health, regarding Covid-19 prevention, that involve more than 60 participants. The ‘canoeists’ took the 5km canoeing course in groups of ten, in the idyllic landscape of the banks of the Tejo river, ending with a visit to Almourol Castle. Representatives of clubs and members of FADU – from the academies of Aveiro, Braga, Covilhã, Coimbra, Évora, Leiria, Lisbon, Porto and Vila Real – were present, which gave a national dimension to this initiative, the first in times of pandemic.
“We understand that it is important to give a sign of confidence, to show that we can gradually return to the practice of physical activity, always having in mind the recommendations of the health authorities, and also appealing to individual responsibility. Physical well- being is fundamental to mental health and our goal with this activity was also to help combat the isolation that the pandemic has aggravated and give that sign of confidence, at a time when the university sports season is approaching,” said Mr André Reis, president of FADU Portugal. Each participant was entitled to a kit that included a bag (made of recycled material), disinfectant, mask, and t-shirt.
At the same time, FADU encouraged its clubs to join the challenges proposed by FISU, under the hashtag ‘LetsIDUS’, as well as participation in the IDUS Dance Challenge, with the aim of unleashing a wave of dance at home among student-athletes from around the world, an activity that in Portugal had the symbolic participation of the Polytechnic of Leiria and a group of rhythmic gymnastics students-athletes.
