NEWS

On September 1, 2021, the President (Laura Capranica) and the Treasurer (Mojca Doupona) of EAS were invited to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Oulu region academy of sports (ORAS) established in 2001, which has a leading role in a new approach of dual career not only in Finland but also in and beyond Europe. Thanks to the vision of Risto Keskitalo, Head of coaching at the Kastelli Upper Secondary Sports School of Oulu (established in 1986), initiator of the first sports academy ORAS and EAS founder, the term dual career entered the European sports vocabulary, later adopted worldwide. Furthermore, with the help of Bengt Nybelius (Falun, Sweden), he organized the first European meeting on dual career and our Network was established.

During the past 20 years, dual career grew stronger in Finland, and the Oulu Sports Academy is leading the Finnish Sports Academies. The relevance of this event was testified by the participation of 60 distinguished guests from the city of Oulu (the Mayor Mrs. Päivi Laajala and the Chairman of the City Council Mr. Juha Hänninen – former Olympic athlete), the Finnish Olympic Committee (Antti Paananen and Jarno Parikka), the Rectors and study guiding persons of sports school from all over Finland, the Finnish baseball federation and local club Oulun Kärpät, and Jussi Jokinen, a former professional NHL ice hockey player who attended the Kastelli Upper Secondary Sports School.

The City Mayor, Mrs. Päivi Laajala informed the guests of the relevance of Oulu for innovative projects, including the designation of Oulu as the 2026 Capital of Culture. Furthermore, past, actual, and future activities in the sports area have been presented.

The President of EAS had the opportunity to thank the founder of our Network for initiating the European dual career adventure and contributing to the development of a European discourse with his dedication as a lifetime member of the EAS Executive Committee. She illustrated the EAS aims, pillars, activities carried out at institutional levels, and its involvement in the ongoing Erasmus+ Collaborative Partnerships EMPATIA for the provision of an online educational programme for parents of dual career athletes (https://edu.empatiasport.eu), SOS for the implementation of physical education at high school level, STARTING 11 for the provision of an online platform to assists institutions in sport, education and the labour market to boost the implementation of dual career services for athletes (https://starting11.eu), DONA for the implementation of dual career for female volleyball players, More than Gold for the implementation of dual career policies at higher educational institutions, ED MEDIA for the promotion of athletes’ dual career through the social media (https://www.lsu.lt/en/project-edmedia/edmedia-online-platform/), BRAVA-DC for the alignment between dual career and brand values, ELCAMP to develop a sports-focused entrepreneurship programme for talented, elite and retired athletes, and Para-Limits to empower dual career para-athletes (https://paralimits.eu). 

At the end of her presentation, EAS invited all the guests to attend the 18 Annual Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, next September 20-22, 2021 (https://eas-lisboa2021.iscte-iul.pt).