Balls, but another kind

Sports as a public policy demands creativity to change, adapt and include.

By ChulucanasGym. Photos by La Unión District Municipality.

When local administrations promote sports activities, the same ones are almost ever chosen: soccer and volley, becoming a gender role segregation.

Then, somebody decides to break up this circle (not vicious because it’s sports, neither virtous because it forces polarizations) and bets for something not to segregate, to be the same old thing neither. But, what happens if existent understructure is only thought for soccer and volley, and much for soccer?

That’s the La Unión (pronounce “La Oonion”) local government’s dilemma, in Lower Piura Valley, which officers had the chance to stay freeze, or make the cow jumping over the moon such as any sportsperson would do.

La Unión District Municipality is launching sports academies for this year. It left soccer and volley outside and began to explore another disciplines like athletism, but its actual understructure is not adequate for practicing it.

“We have a 4-lane athletic track when the mandatory is 16,” municipality’s social and touristic vice manager Teresa santos tells us.

They tried another options as table tennis and basketball.

As there are not adequate spaces for practicing table tennis, the municipality set up a library’s room for put on two game tables and start up the calling and selection of 8-10 year-old 59 boys and girls.

Peruvian Institute of Sports support them on this effort.

About basketball, things were pretty easy because there are actually .set-up fields for playing it, and calling is going to be open for 11-12 year-old boys and girls.

Table tennis academy was launched last June, and basketball’s one is scheduled to begin this July. The intttention is discovering and promote new local sports talents, and getting good scores in School Sports Games.

Inclusion and health

The challenge of this municipality will be keeping its inclusion standards, those made it 2016 Municipal Seal national winner. As they say, they were implemented integrative policies for children, teenagers, youth and seniors, as well as disabled people, which they will have to preserve for incorporate them academies management and creation of healthy spaces.

Regarding, they also will have to work investment projects for building, fixing alternative sports spaces. Why not thinking of benefits for private places with access to public keeping the same inclusion criteria and standards?

Parallelly, the municipality has to set this achieve to prevention of bullying, domestic violence and teenage pregnancy, what seem to be working isolated initiatives about.

The another issue what it must solve is the access to basic services as current water, about there is a Peru’s Ombudsman Office’s report denouncing its apparent pollution, that affects around 10000 people at least. District’s mayor Walter Ayala says the issue is his priority, and concrete sustainable actions are expected.

Since sports are part of physical and mental health, all those points must be solved methodically to guarantee spaces and moments of formation, amusement, and evolution for everybody.

 Tell us if your public or private organization  has an alternative approach to sports. Write us down at chulucanasgym@gmail.com

Post-produced by Sheyla Benavente.