A total of 60,194 students in schools across 9 regions participated in the first edition of the European School Sport Day (ESSD) in Spain on 30 September.

The number of Spanish educational institutions involved in the day reached 114, and were located in the regions of Aragon, Baleares, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Catalonia, Valencia, Madrid, Basque Country and Murcia.

ESSD was held simultaneously in 20 countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Spain, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia and Turkey), with over one million students participating.

Andreu Raya, a NowWeMOVE campaign MOVE Agent who jumped on board as ESSD’s Spanish coordinator this year, praised the warm reception given to the ESSD in Spain, and the great participation in the activities offered in the educational institutions.

“The first edition of any event is always a bit of an experiment, not knowing what impact it will achieve. The response has been great, and especially remarkable because the centres had no previous experiences in our country to guide them. Instead, they used their enthusiasm, imagination, creativity, effort and teamwork, with outstanding results.”

There was also notable diversity in the type and size of the participating educational institutions: “The ESSD had private, public and private schools, both large (over 1,500 students) and very small (less than 100), municipal schools, colleges and even a sports club involved,” Raya explains.

The success of the ESSD in Spain in the first year gives Raya optimism for future editions.

“Every centre in any region is invited to participate,” Raya says. “I am convinced that the experience in 2016 will encourage many schools to join the event, which reinforces awareness among youth and adults about the benefits of physical activity and creates special ties between students and their schools.”

European School Sport Day was an official European Week of Sport event, promoting the #BeActive message

Find out more about European School Sport Day here