At a time when the world has been forced to sit back, slow down and take stock, the FISU President Oleg Matytsin believes the time may be right for university student-athletes worldwide to also reflect on their holistic development and their dual career pathways.
“Just like everyone else, we at FISU are very disappointed about having had to cancel events due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said Matytsin during an Instagram live interview that reached out to the student community.
“Not just FISU, but all international sport is in a crisis. However, we have to be optimistic and look at the silver lining.”
“Even as they stay fit at home and continue their preparation for sports events, athletes may have the time right now to focus a little bit more on their academics and education and think about their dual career.”
Matytsin also stressed upon the important role that universities play at a time like this. Even though campuses around the world may be shut, the universities can play a leading role in keeping their student population informed and optimistic.
The University of Lausanne (UNIL) was one of the first two institutions to sign up for the Healthy Campus pilot phase of the programme“Universities have to play the most important role,” continued Matytsin. “And FISU is working closely with some of them on a very far-reaching project called the Healthy Campus project, which will be launched next month.”
“Through this project FISU will provide a unique and very important tool to universities around the world to promote the values of physical activity, health and nutrition among their student community.”
“This project is really like a bridge between elite sport and the larger student community,” the FISU President added. “Every year, there may be 10,000 or 20,000 athletes who participate in our events but there are more than 150 million university students across the globe. Through this project we have a chance to unite this vast community and give them a common platform to share positive examples and best practices.”
Finally, Matytsin said “This will also allow us to have a direct dialogue with universities and students. We are working with seven pilot universities right now, but the aim is to eventually take it to all.”
“With this Healthy Campus project FISU is going several steps ahead from being an organiser of sports and education events to actually taking social responsibility for universities and students.”
More details about the FISU Healthy Campus project can be found here.
