On the weekend of 22-23 September, the fourth edition of the European Week of Sport officially started. As we reported last week, ISCA staff took place in events across Europe as the European-level organiser of the Bike for Europe tour. The ISCA team, as the coordinating body of the European Week of Sport in Denmark, where our international headqurters is based, was also present at two Danish flagship events – Move for Life, an outdoor sports festival in Aarhus, and one of the 37 Margueritløbet races, which took place in Copenhagen’s largest park, Valbyparken.

Equipping the #BeActive corner at these events, the ISCA team was ready to promote the importance of being active and accessibility to physical activity for all, and to motivate the participants with Movement Pills. The Bike for Europe and the European Fitness Badge projects also featured, with local participants being encouraged to donate their kilometres and test their fitness level doing some basic exercises.

The Move for Life festival in Aarhus took place over the whole weekend and was organised by DGI Østjylland, a regional association of ISCA member DGI in Eastern Jutland. The large scale event was located on Frederiks Allé in the city centre, which was closed to cars for the duration of the event and turned into a huge movement zone. The outdoor sports hall was divided into multiple active areas inviting everyone to try about 30 different sports from floorball, tennis or basketball to breakdance, acroyoga or aikido, and to feel the joy of practicing outdoor activities.

The Move for Life event was crowned with the #BeActive Night activities, underlining that you can be active everywhere and at any time. One of them, the Light Ride, was a very cute cycling race, where participants decorated their bikes with lights and cycled through the city sharing the festive atmosphere with other passers by.

On Sunday morning, 23 September, the Margueritløb (from Danish - “Daisy Race”) took place all around Denmark.

The series of races is organised by one of the biggest Danish newspapers Politiken for the third year in a row and is aimed to draw attention to the Marguerite Route– a 3600 km long tourism trail, which covers some of the most beautiful parts in Denmark – as well as to inspire people to combine sporting activities and sightseeing.

“This year we have 42 spots in Denmark, where Margueritløbet is being organised. All the races start on the same day at the same time, for example this year on Sunday, 23 September, at 11 AM. The races are open for everyone, regardless the age, physical preparation, etc. There is no specific time you should finish the race, or any other restrictions: you can walk, you can run, you can make stops to look around. It is not about competition – every participant is a winner. Our main goal is to bring people together and to make them feel that the physical activity can be enjoyable and can be combined with the sightseeing,” explained Klarafine Lildholdt, the event organiser of Margueritløbet 2018 in Valby Park in Copenhagen.

The European Week of Sport will continue until the end of September. Don’t miss your chance to get involved and #BeActive, learn more about upcoming events at the official website: https://europeanweekofsport.dk/.

By Irina Coreachina, ISCA