Antoinette Laan. Alderman for sports and recreation, art and culture.

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1 More Rotterdammers than ever that exercise. This doesn t just make Rotterdam a healthier place, it also stimulates talent and introduces people to one another. We have been using the Implementation Program Sport - in collaboration with Rotterdam Topsport and Rotterdam Sportsupport - since Our goal is to live up to our reputation as Rotterdam city of sport even more in I don t hesitate in saying that because there are lots of initiatives. Projects in neighbourhoods to get the elderly exercising. Schools are joining in to help introduce children to sports. Initiatives to help families on a low income to still join a sports club. Everything we can do to achieve our goal: Everyone in Rotterdam who wants to exercise should have that opportunity. We need to get more Rotterdammers exercising. Our primary focus is young people, people with a disability and the elderly. This is not a stand-alone goal. Sports and exercise are a means of achieving other goals. It contributes to the development of talents. This is one of the executive s key goals. Sports are an excellent field to do this in: you can discover your talents and explore your boundaries. You can excel at gym at school and can even end up on a podium. Sports and exercise are beneficial for your health, school achievements and can make a neighbourhood a more attractive place to live, work and stay. A sports project may, for example, help troubled teens find a new outlet. Help take them off the streets and get them into a sports club. It can make a city more attractive. We can demonstrate this on both a national and an international level using our professional sports facilities and by hosting events like the start of the Tour de France in 2010, the ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam, the World Championship gymnastics in 2010 and the World Championship table tennis in Antoinette Laan Alderman for sports and recreation, art and culture. The best thing about this program is that it is a collaboration: sportspeople, pupils, boroughs, schools and businesses. I am proud that we are doing our best, with the help of various parties in Rotterdam, to get the city moving. This brochure demonstrates this. It makes one thing incredibly clear: Rotterdam is a city of sports. Become acquainted with the themes in which we work as well as a number of projects which contribute to a sporty Rotterdam. 1

2 SPORTING VALUES AND EDUCATION Sport and education are inextricably linked. Both contribute to the development of a young person s talent. Furthermore, there are also similarities between what children learn at their sports club and what they learn at school. This includes things like learning how to cope with winning and losing, showing respect for each other, how to cope with physical (dis)abilities, accepting authority and how to work together. Research by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) highlighted the fact that children who get more exercise and participate in sports perform better at school. This is why there are close collaborations between the fields of sport and education. The implementation Program Sport wants to intensify this collaboration. It is in this way that the program contributes to the executive s goals: improving school results, more children participating in sports and better health. 2

3 ROTTERDAM FIT! The Rotterdam Fit! program ensures children live active lives and launches an attack on obesity. Children in participating schools, both primary and secondary schools, receive three to five gym classes a week from a specially trained instructor. A version for preschoolers aged 0-6 and their parents was launched in SPORTS CLUBS AT SCHOOL Sport clubs in schools have been launched in areas with few or no sports facilities. These collaborations between schools and sports clubs mean that classes are given outside of school hours by a club s trainers. 2,000 children use these facilities. It is good for their general development and it is good for the atmosphere in the neighbourhood. It also improves a club s membership. 3

4 SOCIAL THEMES Sport is fun and healthy. However, it is also good for society. Exercising and participating in sports together can promote contact in a community. Sports can also reduce trouble caused by teens and contribute to the economy. Large sporting events can provide a huge economic stimulus. Rotterdam uses sports and exercise, and sports clubs more and more often to help achieve goals in other areas. We link them to themes like safety, education, labour, health and participation. We can do this, for example, by stimulating sports clubs to sell healthy snacks or to prevent alcohol abuse within their club. We can also see opportunities for troubled teens. They can, for example, gain work experience in a safe environment like a sports club. 4

5 SPORT CLUBS PLUS Thirty sports clubs have been designated important links in the city s sports network. They focus on other social goals - with professional assistance - as well as on sports. They focus on things like creating a healthy canteen at their club or collaborate with reintegration bureaus. They also help people find paid employment following volunteer work. POWER TO EXERCISE Goal is at least four exercise options of sports in boroughs with people of a low social-economical status. They also help people suffering from depression or psychosomatic symptoms. The program reaches out to people who get very little to no exercise. This project encompassed 2,000 people in 25 different locations at the end of BUDDY PROJECT Challenge Sports uses the Buddy project to motivate teens in disadvantaged areas to participate in sports. One way of doing this is by linking star basketball players to unemployed teens. The goal: sport is a motivator and it can motivate you to find work. We aim to get 750 teens involved with sports each year. 5

6 AMATEUR SPORTS AND DEVELOPMENT Each borough should have a vibrant sports and exercise movement. This includes a range of options for people who don t exercise much. Sport clubs play a vital role in this and are, naturally, supported by the council, boroughs, schools and other sports establishments. Sports don t need to be organised. Our collaboration also focusses on unorganised sports like skating, break dancing and street football. We can help the borough develop local sports clubs or execute pilot projects using a separate budget. We would like to do this in collaboration with the locals to help really lift sports participation to the next level. 6

7 SPORT AND EXERCISE FOR THE ELDERLY. 41 percent of Rotterdam s senior (65 year and older) citizens exercise (2009). We want to raise this percentage to 50 percent by Sports and exercise don t just contribute to the elderly s physical health; it also contributes to their mental health and independence. This is the reason why we try to familiarise senior citizens with sports and exercise programs which meet their needs. We are creating a new range of options by collaborating with network partners. DISABLED SPORTS The counter for disabled sports has been introduced to help increase sports participation amongst the disabled. This counter brings together the desire for sports and exercise, and the sports range on offer. It advises people with a disability and improves the knowledge of trainers. They support at least 300 disabled athletes per year. Information about the counter is provided to 10,000 potential athletes. YOUTH SPORTS FUND The Youth Sports fund provides children from low income families with the means to participate in sports and exercise; the fund pays the membership fees. 2,400 children were helped in 2010 and this number will continue to increase. This is why we are going to contribute more to the fund. The fund will also look for other sponsors to help raise money. 7

8 EVENTS AND ACCOMMODATION Rotterdam is a popular city for international events. This includes sporting events. These events are also our sports policy s calling card: they demonstrate the fact that Rotterdam thinks sport is important. Aside from the large international sporting events, we also organise small and public events which add to Rotterdam s image as a city of sport. A good basic infrastructure of sports accommodation is an important part of this. It is also something that the Implementation program Sport focusses on. Both at city level and in the various boroughs. 8

9 SIDE EVENTS Rotterdam s track-record, its organisational skills and its network mean that more and more events are drawn to the city. We always combine these events with what is known as a side event. Examples are the gymnastics clinics for kids during the World Championship Gymnastics in 2010 and the baseball tournaments in the boroughs prior to the European Championship Baseball in These side events mean that all Rotterdammers can become acquainted with the sport. This allows us to combine professional sport with amateur sports, education and public events. PROFESSIONAL SPORTS FACILITIES The fully refurbished Topsportcentrum Rotterdam was reopened in It includes a second professional sports hall and a hall for amateur sports. The Willem-Alexander Baan in the Eendragtspolder means we also have access to an international rowing course. The city has gained another professional sports facility. This means that Rotterdam has access to high-quality and varied infrastructure for professional sports. 9

10 PROFESSIONAL SPORTS Professional sports are sport s calling cards. It is the catalyst for sports participation, economic spin-offs and the city s image. However, there would not be professional sports without amateur sports. This works both ways. Professional sports contribute to the link between amateur sports and education. One reason for this is that professional athletes function as examples to Rotterdam s children and teens. In other words, professional sports are important to Rotterdam. However, it does require the right sporting environment. With support for talented youngsters, support for professional sports clubs and high-quality match and training facilities. These elements are crucial to Rotterdam as a city of sports. 10

11 PROFESSIONAL SPORTING EVENTS With its organisational prowess, good accommodations and large network, Rotterdam is able to draw in lots of professional sporting events. This has sporting, promotional and economic advantages. An intensive focus on professional sports means we want to retain recurring events and benefit from new opportunities. In collaboration with sports associations and the Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation. TALENT CENTRES Rotterdam Topsport, in collaboration with the sports associations, has developed nine regional talent centres. These centres are for judo, horse riding, baseball, volleyball, table tennis, rowing, basketball, handball and athletics. Talented young athletes receive professional support. This allows them to progress to the highest levels within the professional sports associations in Rotterdam and even national teams. 11

12 MEDIA AND CITY MARKETING Sport is in this city s genes. It is also Rotterdam s image. We want to make sure it stays that way and simultaneously strengthen our position. We want to do this locally, nationally and internationally. This requires lots of effort when it comes to communication and city marketing, using various means to reach each target group. It starts with communication from the individual projects, which is local and contributes to increasing sports participation. This is followed by communication about the program. This allows us to demonstrate what has been achieved by the projects as a whole. Aside from communication contributing to Rotterdam s profiling, communication is also necessary to provide information about sport. This will allow citizens to find useful information about the sports facilities or sporting events in their neighbourhood and to get more Rotterdammers participating in sports and exercise. 12

13 AMBASSADORS Famous (retired) athletes and (retired) coaches from Rotterdam have been fulfilling a role as Rotterdam, city of sport ambassadors for the past seven years. This includes former racing cyclist Leontien Zijlaardvan Moorsel and baseball player Robert Eenhoorn. They support sports and highlight the city s sporting ambitions, during sports clinics for example. SPORT AWARDS City of Rotterdam, Rotterdam Topsport, Rotterdam Sportsupport and RTV Rijnmond organise the Sport Awards Rotterdam-Rijnmond. They award awards to Sportman, woman, team, coach and talent. They also hand out an award for sports volunteer work and disabled sports. They also honour the champions of the amateur sports. WEBSITE People from Rotterdam can find more information about sporting activities in their area, sports clubs, swimming pools and professional sporting events on Partners and other interested parties can visit This page contains more information about various projects, events and results. 13

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15 This is a publication by City of Rotterdam in collaboration with Rotterdam Sportsupport and Rotterdam Topsport. Implementation program Sport Text: Leene Communicatie Design: Proforma visual identity Rotterdam Photography: Ferdy Collewijn, CHIO Rotterdam, KNLTB Masters, KNGU December

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