On 1st of September, the Play to Train representatives met in Sofia (Bulgaria), for the very final step pf the project. After two years, it was time to talk about the path done and its results. And why not, it is also time to look forward and start thinking about next steps.
The Play to Train project started in January 2019 with the aim to fight for gender equality by increasing the number of women athletes and coaches in sport while also raising awareness to male coaches the importance of gender equality in sport.
Since the first meeting in April 2019 in Rome long time has passed and many things happened. The Training Course in Rome in October 2019 created a team of 30 people among coaches, trainers, managers, volunteers, motivated to become mentor and work on promoting equal opportunities starting from their context where sport has a crucial role.
The high motivation in Rome led the group to start planning local activities and start implement them from the time in which they went back home with a luggage full of practices, connections, ideas and motivation.
Activities started but the pandemic affected their implementation, bringing the partners to follow the event and re organizing everything.
After a long period of stop activities started again, gyms, courts, pitches, rings, reopened also to grassroots sport. Gender equality promotion which never have stopped started again also in the field and local activities were finalized.
The possibility to travel led the Play to Train team to meet again in presence and one month ago the evaluation meeting could happen in Ljubljana, the hub where participants motivation, feedbacks and joy to stay together met and started to build the last part of the project.
The road led a representative of the team to the National Sport Academy of Sofia, where 18 people met to discuss about gender equality in sport. The team presented the results of the project and, in particular, the toolkit, containing practical advices for people interested to work in the field.
The project has officially come to an end but taking stock of the path done and its achievement, partners recognize their motivation to continue. Sofia meeting was not the end but a new beginning for a cooperation always stronger which step by step may contribute to the main big and necessary aim: equal opportunity for the benefit of individuals and society.