• CSU Chairperson
  prof. Donatella Curtotti, Rector’s Delegate for Sports
• CUSI (Italian University Sports Centre) representatives

• Claudio Amorese
  Claudio Genesio D’Agnello

• Students’ representatives
  Desiré Pastore
• Secretary
  Dr. Teresa Romei, Director General

The sports facilities are managed by CUS Foggia and are located at the University Sports Centre: via Napoli n. 109.

• Artificial seven-a-side football pitch
• Artificial five-a-side football pitch
• Synthetic tennis court
• Open multipurpose court with stands
• 8-lane athletics track
• Gymnasium (with basketball court, volleyball court and climbing wall) and Outpatient Clinic
• Secretariat offices
• Rugby field

The European Athlete Student - ‘dual career network’ - was founded as a result of a project during the European Year of Through Sports (EYES) in 2004, coordinated by the Oulu Sport Academy (FIN). The network is named ‘European Athlete Student’, abbreviated as EAS, also known as the dual career network.

The EAS is an international, non-political, non-profit, non-discriminatory membership network. It is of indefinite duration and can be dissolved by its members. Currently, the EAS resides in the UK and is subject to British law, but every four years the General Assembly can establish a new location or renew the current one. The EAS is a large European network of institutions providing ‘dual career’ opportunities for talented athletes in elite sports and education.

Objectives:

• To support and organise an ongoing exchange among institutions and experts from all over Europe working in the field of dual careers
• To create improved opportunities for people working in the dual career field
• To build a digital knowledge database of academic research work and best practices from across Europe in the field of dual careers
• To create a policy environment that responds to the needs of talented athletes pursuing dual careers, by collaborating with partners in the sport and education systems 

The University of Foggia - through the CSU - has created a new model to develop the culture of sports and well-being, in the wake of the memorandum of understanding between the CRUI (Conference of Italian University Rectors) and the CUSI (the Italian University Sports Centre). Under this MoU, new models for the development of university sports policies are being drawn up, to promote not only the integration of the students' educational offer but also new actions of health protection in the entire university world, to overcome disability and all forms of social marginalisation, and to combat ‘deviations’. Through the MOTUS project, the University aims to raise awareness among its students and university staff towards a better and healthier lifestyle by :

• organising free ‘basic’ sports activity courses (table tennis, outdoor gymnastics, tennis)
• entering into agreements with institutional actors involved in the sector, to launch seminars, projects and research in the field of ‘healthy lifestyles’
• improving the quality of food products distributed in the University canteens and cafeterias

The main objective of the TASEM project (Training Athletes for Sports Events Management) - the only Erasmus+ project won in this field - was to promote and support athletes’ dual careers, by creating a transnational network of institutions which can develop a platform where to train athletes in the management and organisation of sports events, thus contributing to their employment.

The project designed and developed the ‘Dual Career Training Programme In Sports Events Management’ (TPISEM) within the transnational partnership composed of 15 partners from 9 countries. The project involved 30 athletes and 15 coaches who also participated in the organisation of the Mediterranean Games in Tarragona in 2017 (30 June-9 July 2017).

Budget

• Requested EU funding   
  € 416.415,20
• Other sources of funding

€ 104.103,80

• Total 
  € 520.519,00

Involved institutions:

• INEFC (National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia)
• Municipality of Tarragona (Spain)
• National Olympic Committee of Portugal (Portugal)
• University of Poitiers (France)
• Spanish Badminton Federation (Spain)
• Italian National Olympic Committee – CONI (Italy)
• Malta Triathlon Association (Malta)
• Cyprus Badminton Federation (Cyprus)
• University of Foggia (Italy)
• Spanish Triathlon Federation (Spain)
• University of Lleida (Spain)
• Hellenic Triathlon Federation (Greece)
• Mediterranean Triathlon Federation (Greece)
• ICSS Europe (UK)
• Badminton Association of Serbia (Serbia)

Implementation of TPISEM for Athletes

The University of Foggia led the athletes’ training activity through the TPISEM modules (400 hours), organised at the different European academic partners, as well as by monitoring and evaluating the TPISEM implementation through the TASEM Teachers' Board (composed of all academic partners).

The Italian University Sports Centre  (C.U.S.I.), with the participation of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, financed a project for the 2018-19 academic year, focussed on activities aimed at fostering the social inclusion of people with disabilities through sports.

The project was drawn up by CUS Foggia, in collaboration with the Students’ Services, Sports Services and Disability Services Area.

The project objectives included the implementation of two project actions, aimed at students with disabilities from the University of Foggia and pupils from primary schools in Foggia and its province. The actions were as follows:

1. Unifg Student Sport - The aim of this action was to bring students with disabilities/Specific Learning Disorders from the University of Foggia closer to sports, by placing them in a non-competitive sports context which favoured interaction and socialisation with able-bodied students. The sports suggested for the implementation of this programme were sailing, orienteering and baskin.
2. Summer Camp 2019 - As part of the summer camps organised annually by C.U.S. Foggia, the aim was to allow children with disabilities to participate, through the involvement of specialised professional figures (sports trainers, psychologists, professional socio-pedagogical educators, etc.). This was done to enable them to have a positive experience of socialisation, participation and inclusion in a playful as well as educational dimension. The initiative aimed to offer and create opportunities for meaningful growth, so that each child could implement their skills and aptitudes and have the chance not to interrupt those learning processes and paths acquired during the school year. The summer camps were organised at the multi-sports complex of C.U.S. Foggia, hosting a facility with ample space to accommodate children and to organise indoor and outdoor activities.

The cusisportinclusivo.it portal has been created to collect and enhance the inclusive sports and physical activities promoted by the CUSs throughout the country. It is a documentary archive which includes scientific articles, publications, theses, books, grey literature, videos, interviews and information material in general, concerning the topics of sports and inclusion. The Centro Documentazione Sport Inclusivo (Inclusive Sports Documentation Centre) stems from the commitment taken over the years by the CUSI - Centro Universitario Sportivo Italiano (Italian University Sports Centre) - with the aim of promoting social inclusion activities through the practice of sports and physical activities at a national and territorial level.

The University of Foggia contributed to the drafting of the CUSI publication entitled ‘Indagine sulla diffusione e il valore sociale dello sport tra gli studenti universitari con disabilità’ (i.e. ‘Survey on the dissemination and social value of sports among university students with disabilities’). Prof. Curtotti, as the Rector's Delegate, and the Right to Study, Sport Services and Disability Area collaborated as supervisors.

This publication is the result of the CUSI project, funded by ‘Sport e Salute’ (i.e. Sports and Health), which involved state universities, the University Sports Centres of the CUSI network, university students and other privileged witnesses, with the following objectives:

• to quantify and qualify university students with disabilities practising sports and physical activities;
• to identify the motivations and barriers to access to sports and physical activity among university students with disabilities;
• to identify and disseminate good practices concerning access to sports and physical activity for university students with disabilities;
• to report the social value of sports and physical activity for university students with disabilities in terms of physical, psychological and social well-being, social cohesion and inclusion and the development of personal skills.

Download the final survey publication from the CUSI Documentation Centre - Inclusive Sports