On some occasions the practice of athletics becomes quite difficult because the weather conditions of the place are not the best. This is where the idea for this project came from.
Our purpose was that young athletes could discover cross-country skiing and apply it as an alternative that helps to carry out their training when the weather conditions were not ideal for the practice of athletics.
The proposal was carried out for five weeks with a group of endurance specialty athletes, in which it was set the goal that they try to learn the classical technique and that at the end of that time they managed to participate in one of the main local competitions.
Identity concept
Cross-country skiing is a sport that depends a lot on weather conditions for its practice, and those who practice it must learn what are the environmental variables that will lead them to succeed in this sport. Along with other projects that are already being carried out in South America, the idea of transmitting this sport to young people from Tierra del Fuego, and in particular to a group of athletes from Ushuaia, has been to give them the opportunity to take advantage of and learn about the conditions environments in which they live and that snow becomes their main means for a wider motor development.
In turn, transmitting sport using the concept of region gives students an identity that, in the case of the southernmost city in the world, is essential. The population that lives in these latitudes often fails to appreciate the potential of being able to live there and the opportunities that this offers them.
Therefore, cross-country skiing as a means of learning to know the place where they live, its nature, and the possibilities that exist to practice sports on snow or ice is essential, and the project was based on this framework.
The benefits of athletics in cross-country skiing
The most important objective of the project was that the athletes could learn the basic notions of the classic technique of cross-country skiing and, in this way, get to participate in one of the most important races on the South American calendar, “La Marchablanca”.
This project carried out a five-week planning especially oriented to technical work, which in turn was complemented with race training. The planning could be followed quite well since our athletes had very well established the bases of training and daily organization on what should be done in each session.
On the other hand, the athletes had good aerobic capacity, a determining factor in both endurance athletics and cross-country skiing. Thanks to this great base of general physical work, the learning of the technique was quite fast and they managed to far exceed the goal set.
It is essential to bear in mind that many of the athletes already had a well-developed motor background since they had previously gone through several tests within their sport, this helped them when putting on their skis for the first time.
Why is this project important?
This project was carried out with the idea of continuity, ensuring that it be carried out again with more young people in the next winter seasons, that they return to participate in more competitions each year and that they achieve even greater objectives .
The three objectives that we intend to convey to the athletes who participate in the next projects are:
- That they can fully enjoy the place where they live.
- That they can practice a sport that can only be done in places with snow.
- May it help them positively in their training .
Therefore, this project has proven to be of great value, both sporting and human, as it has had a very positive impact on the lives of these young athletes. Having personally worked with these young people who were already doing another sport has not only been a very rewarding experience for the teachers, but it has also opened the doors to the world of cross-country skiing for them. Taking this point into account, offering them the possibility of knowing this sport opens up a larger field for them to develop their potential , as well as to compete and have other sports possibilities in addition to athletics.
Conclution
Offering the possibility of learning about winter sports is a very important objective and should be a fundamental goal of public institutions. These young athletes, like so many others, live in a magical place where snow, mountains and cold are part of their daily lives.
For this reason, physical training must be aimed at learning to move in a different environment from many others, taking advantage of the great privilege of living in that wonderful place.
