Celebrating sport in school to kick-start a lifetime of health

Ahead of the next edition of the European Week of Sport (25-30 September), we are happy to announce that the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) and the European School Sport Day consortium, the Moving Schools Alliance, are now working together to amplify the European School Sport Day 2020 messaging and to get more children on the move as a result.

This year’s European School Sport Day (ESSD) will take place on 25 September and is expected to be celebrated not only in Europe but around the world. Events can be hosted on school grounds or streamed live online to students who are still attending school remotely under national lockdown restrictions.  

​European School Sport Day is a flagship event of the #BeActive European Week of Sport and last year 9000 schools in 44 countries got over 3 million school children moving at least for 120 minutes on the day. The event has expanded greatly since it began in 2015, and in 2019 schools on four continents took part.

FESI represents the sporting goods industry in Europe and the Moving Schools Alliance represents a network of active schools around Europe, so connecting more schools and children with ways to be active is a common goal for both partners.

“FESI is one of the first partners of the European Week of Sport (EWoS) and we are thrilled to support ESSD for this new edition “, said Jérôme Pero, FESI Secretary General. “Making children more active is one of our top priorities, and we hope that despite the current crisis, celebrating the European Week of Sport and ESSD 2020 will more than ever demonstrate the importance of physical activity for children’s well-being and development“, he concluded.

 “The Moving Schools Alliance is a network of like-minded organisations across Europe, all united in a common mission to increase physical activity in schools. We are delighted to be partnering with FESI and look forward to working together to broaden the reach and impact of ESSD” , said Balazs Radics from The Moving Schools Alliance

Video with the timeline and results: link the latest video  

European School Sport Day in 2020

This year’s European School Sport Day, on 25 September, invites schools to show the world how they are adapting or re-starting their activities by planning in-person (offline) or digital (online) events for the day, or a mix of both.

As studies are revealing the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on children’s social and emotional wellbeing, the European School Sport Day is an opportunity for schools to prepare children and parents to return to physical education in a safe and mindful way. So, we, as the organisers of the day, advise our partners to observe national and local guidelines for school sport and physical distancing and choose to do school-based or online activities. 

European School Sport Day 2020 will see two types of activation of schools and their students:

In-person (offline) European School Sport Day:

• Activities should keep in line with national guidelines/regulations (in a large area outdoors, etc.).
• They do not need to be organised in a public space to be classified as “flagship European School Sport Day events” in 2020; they may be smaller events held within the school setting

Digital (online) European School Sport Day:

• The 120 minutes of physical activity recommended for the day do not need to be done in one session; (they can be divided into 2 morning and 2 afternoon sessions, for example).
• Simultaneous online PE sessions will be streamed across Europe by different countries’ National Coordinators – the live streaming times will be announced in August-September; there will be at least one session running simultaneously on the day.
• Schools can conduct online sessions their own way or follow their National Coordinator’s live streaming sessions.
• Individual schools can also upload their own videos and links on the official website’s registration portal.

European School Sport Day is coordinated by the Hungarian School Sport Federation (HSSF) in cooperation with the European Physical Education Association, Youth Sport Trust International, the International Sport and Culture Association, BG Be Active and V4Sport, and National Coordinators in over 40 countries.

These partners have successfully experimented with digital formats for delivering physical education during lockdown in their national languages. They are ready to share their inspiration with schools that take part in European School Sport Day 2020.

Contact Laska Nenova for more information on how you can join the biggest European Week of Sport event.

About FESI: Founded in 1960 FESI – the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry represents the interests of approximately 1.800 sporting goods manufacturers (85% of the European market) through its National Sporting Goods Industry Federations and its directly affiliated member companies. 70-75% of FESI’s membership is made up of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. In total, the European Sporting Goods Industry employs over 700.000 EU citizens and has an annual turnover of some 81 billion euro.

Contact: Ariane Gatti, FESI Senior Communication & Policy Manager / [email protected]  / +32 274 08 94