Outdoor Sports in Nature for Skills Development (OUTSPO)

Outdoor Sports in Nature for Skills Development (OUTSPO) is a “Partnerships for collaboration ” project to encourage participation in sport and physical activity in nature as well as to promote voluntary activities in sports. Furthermore, in the 2017 Eurobarometer survey (European Commission, 2018) the main motivations for participation in sport or physical activity are improved health (54%) and fitness (47%). Thus, monitoring may also be an efficient strategy to promote participation in physical activity and sport, as it is strictly related to health (more than physical activity) and provides individual perspective on one’s evolution.

This project ultimately aims to encourage participation in sport and physical activity in nature, especially by supporting the implementation of European Union (EU) policy documents in the field of sport and other relevant policy areas such as recommendations, guidelines, policy strategies, and the implementation of the Council Recommendation on health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA).

Objective of the project :

(a) To create a sustainable network of organizations specialized in the usage outdoor sports in nature

(b) To share, develop and create a collection of good practices related to the outdoor sport in contact with the nature

(c) To exchange and share ideas and good practice in the different partner countries related to benefits of outdoor sports in nature

(d) To promote and increase the power of outdoor sport in nature as an educational tool for skills development at local, national and international level

(e) To create a handbook with the benefits and skills get practising outdoor sports in nature in the five broad categories: physical health, mental health and wellbeing, education and lifelong learning, active citizenship and anti-social behavior

(f) creation of a guideline for sustainable sporting events in order to reduce the environmental impact of sporting activities (organization of events, management of facilit, etc)

The project began on June 1, 2022 and will end on May 30, 2024.

All project activities can be followed on the website http://www.sport-project.org/outspo and on the OUTSPO Project Facebook page