Spanish
Santo Domingo.– The National Institute of Physical Education (INEFI) launched the first Community School Sports Initiation Center in the country, a pioneering initiative that marks a before and after in the organization and development of student sports at the national level.
The project was inaugurated with the delivery of the comprehensive remodeling of the Rafael Barias Club, located in the Villa Consuelo sector, an infrastructure that borders the República de Cuba Basic School and which, from now on, will formally operate as part of the National Project of School Sports Clubs, promoted by the INEFI under the model of open and active schools for the community.
The intervention included the installation of a new multipurpose platform for the practice of basketball, volleyball and indoor soccer, as well as the adaptation of three specialized rooms for key disciplines of school sports. Among them, a combat room for karate, judo and taekwondo; an area for table tennis; and a space for chess.
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During the event, the executive director of INEFI, Alberto Rodríguez, highlighted the strategic nature of this initiative, stating that the project seeks to integrate sports in a real and structured way into the Dominican educational system.The center will have the direct participation of renowned figures of the national sport, who will be in charge of the different disciplines. Among them, the immortal of Dominican sports Ana Villanueva, in karate; Blanca Iris Alejo, in table tennis; and José Fortuna (Pancho), in basketball, along with other outstanding coaches. Rodríguez explained that the School Sports Clubs model will allow to offer systematic sports training, technical support and adequate spaces for the integral development of children and adolescents."With this first school club we are taking a historic step by uniting the school with a functional sports facility, organized and directed by professionals, so that sport is part of the day-to-day life of our students, beyond the physical education class," Rodríguez expressed.
As part of the remodeling work, INEFI also completely repaired the perimeter fence of the club and installed air conditioners in the administrative areas, guaranteeing better security and operational conditions."This club is not just a physical structure, it's a model we want to replicate throughout the country, where infrastructure, trained coaches, discipline, and educational community converge, with the aim of shaping citizens through sports," he stated.
