Sports Activities Bridging Community

This year, marking the EYES and its motto "Move Your Body, Stretch Your Mind", the City of Siauliai has submitted the project on "Sports and Community - Manifest of Successful and Targeted Partnership" to the UBC Sports Commission and carried out the so called sporting summer events for the citizens.

The key objective of the project aimed at teaming up forces of education and sports institutions and stimulating -through sports activities - inhabitants of neighbourhoods for the united activities. The main project players - the city, educational institutions including kindergartens, elementary schools, schools for children with special needs, university and representatives of the community centres - participated in five different sports events held in the scattered city regions starting from May till August 2004. The Siauliai citizens entered different sport branches competitions: basketball, volleyball, football, cycling and family fights. Everyone could check their physical fitness performing EUROFIT tests.

By preparing the festivity's events everyone could feel the sports and movement benefit: aspects of the community life precisely through its social competition and solidarity, readiness to perform and the ability of working in team. The influence of sports on the community life has extended far beyond the sporting activities. It extended the interpersonal relationship and was an important factor in the promotion of health. The actions of the project have developed and improved the activities like non-formal education, active and meaningful lifestyle.

The final phase of the project took place on September 11, 2004 during the City Birthday - Siauliai Days - 2004. The winners from different city regions had to compete for the main prize. In addition, in September, the city Sports Schools carried out the campaign "Let's Accompany Summer Going in for Sports" spectacularly presenting different sports branches. At the same time children had a unique possibility to find out and to choose a suitable sports branch, to interview coaches and sportsmen.

In summer 2004, the education and sports specialists strove to demonstrate the values that sports activities represent (equal opportunities, fair play, solidarity etc.) and also to implement the objectives of the European Education Year through Sports.