Poznań City Hall’s archive, photo. T. Szwajkowski

The scope of projects co-financed by the City of Poznań covered a total of around 31.5 thousand people.

Actions taken and financed in 2017 were selected as part of an open competition for non-governmental organisations. The City of Poznań organises many sport activities and classes addressed to various social groups.

Projects for sport activity of children and young people

Sport activity among children and young people was promoted by 121 Youth Sport Centres, which offered sport activities, conducted in cooperation with 70 institutions, within 37 disciplines. About 5.5 thousand people used the offer of Youth Sports Centres.

About 5 thousand children from primary schools of Poznań had the opportunity to participate in swimming lessons co-financed by the City of Poznań. Classes ended with swimming a competition organised at Termy Maltańskie, attended by about 250 pupils from 68 schools from Poznań. Swimming lessons were provided by the Foundation for the Poznań University of Physical Education.

In 2017, another edition of the Poznań School Youth Games organised by the Poznań School Sport Association took place. About 6 thousand pupils from 64 primary schools, 62 middle schools and 44 high schools participated in sport competitions involving various sport disciplines.

Free outdoor activities for children as part of the Community Trainer project, financed from the Poznań Civic Budget, enjoyed interest. In addition to exercises in sports and recreation facilities, the classes included visits to the ZOO, a rope park and bicycle trips. The most active participants of the classes could go on summer sport camps. About 3.6 thousand children and young people took part in the project.
An educational and scholarship programme of the Veolii Sport Academy was planned for the most talented young athletes training Olympic disciplines in Poznań and four other Polish cities. In 2017, the 9th edition of the programme covered 5 competitors from Wielkopolska.

In 2017, many competitions and sporting events for children and youth took place, including:

Runs for children and young people “On the way to the marathon,”
the 2017/2018 Poznań School Youth Games,
the 2017 Sport Bunny for preschoolers of Poznań,
the 5 Million Cup,
the 39th Swimming Competition Mikołajki 2017 at the “Chwiałka” swimming pool,
the 27th Indoor Football Tournament of Primary Schools for the Cup of the Mayor of Poznań, the Wielkopolska Superintendent of Education and the President of the Wielkopolska Football Association,
Individual School Championships in Athletics of girls and boys from upper-secondary schools,
“Reiss Cup” organised by the Sports Club Reiss Football Academy and the Piotr Reiss Foundation – the largest football tournament.

Sporting events were also organised in sport facilities of the Youth Sport Centre, operating within the framework of the Poznań Sports and Recreation Centres. The Youth Sport Centre also provides its sport base at ul. Gdańska to seniors and organisers of other sporting and recreation events on a local scale.

The number of Student Sport Clubs – 124
Total number of Sport Clubs – 185
Number of Student Sport Clubs created in 2017 – 3
Total number of Sports Clubs established in 2017 – 9
The number of international sporting events organised in Poznań in 2017 – 22
The number of nationwide, regional and national sporting events organised in Poznań in 2017 – 448

Sport activation projects for young people at risk of addiction

Many activities promoting physical activity, including free sports and recreation activities for children and young people, were addressed to young people at risk of alcoholism or drug addiction. The action implemented by the Poznań School Sport Association and the Foundation for the Poznań University of Physical Education covered 2.5 thousand children.

Another form of physical activation addressed to children and young people were sports and recreation activities as part of prevention and solving drinking problems, combined with elements of psycho-prevention, involving exercises in around 40 sport disciplines. The scope of the project also included the organisation of winter sport camps and numerous competitions and tournaments. Participants of the activities also had the opportunity to talk to an educator about the harmful effects of alcohol consumption. The project covered 4.5 thousand people.

At the same time, free sports and recreation activities for children and young people combined with elements of psycho-prevention, as part of counteracting drug addiction, were taking place; the project covered 1 thousand people. The activities included ice skating, skiing and snowboarding lessons.

The costs of normal and discounted tickets for one hour of swimming in municipal swimming pools:

Posnania swimming pool – PLN 10/PLN 8,
“Chwiałka” swimming pool – PLN 12/PLN 8,
Atlantis Municipal Swimming Pool – PLN 12/PLN 10,
Sport pools at Termy Maltańskie – PLN 12/PLN 10,
Citizen swimming pool – PLN 15/PLN 10.

Projects for sport activation of seniors

Free movement classes for people over the age of 55, organised as part of the Senior Coach programme, financed from the Poznań Civic Budget, enjoyed great interest of seniors from Poznań. The project included Nordic walking classes, outdoor gym exercises, dance classes and aerobics.

Another proposal for the activation of seniors was gymnastics in the water and fitness classes conducted in the “Atlantis” Swimming Pool. A Senior Day and the 12th edition of Senior Sports Games under the auspices of the Mayor of Poznań were also organised. As part of the event, people over the age of 55 competed in 5 disciplines: table tennis, checkers, chess, bowling and athletics.

The seniors could also compete in the Seniors’ Swimming Championships of Poznań co-organised by the City of Poznań and the Poznań Sports and Recreation Centres, the competition’s partner was the Centre for Senior Citizens Initiatives. About 100 people took part in the competition.

An incentive to use the offer of Poznań’s sports and recreation base addressed to seniors is a discount on services offered by sport facilities belonging to the Poznań Sports and Recreation Centres.

Projects of sport activation for people with disabilities

A form of popularisation of physical activity among people with disabilities was the organisation of a series of sport activities in many disciplines, including: swimming, football, ice-skating, roller-skating, downhill skiing, horse riding, bocce, archery or tandem cycling. About 500 people participated in them.

Water gymnastics and rehabilitation activities for people with incomplete or reduced physical fitness were held at Poznań’s swimming pools; recreation swimming pools were adapted to individual needs of people with disabilities.

The City of Poznań also co-financed sightseeing tours and tourist excursions for people with disabilities, aimed at integration of participants.

Project of sport activation of families

In 2017, a series of free fitness classes for mothers and children “Active Mum and Happy Child,” financed from the resources of the Poznań Civic Budget, took place in Poznań. 180 women and 225 children were covered by the project. Classes were held in the Chartowo, Rataje and Żegrze housing estates.
Tourist and sightseeing projects
The City of Poznań also implements programmes related to sightseeing tourism, aimed at activation of residents during joint hikes, coach and bicycle trips as well as excursions, canoeing trips and walks around Poznań (a total of 116 actions). 8,885 people participated in this form of active leisure, including children, young people, the elderly and people with disabilities. Apart from sightseeing and tourist values, the integration aspect was important for the organisers. On average, 74 people participated in each of the initiatives mentioned.

Nationwide successes of sports clubs from Poznań:
Polish Men’s Rugby Championship – Posnania Rugby 7,
Polish Women’s Field Hockey Championships – AZS Poznań University of Technology,
Polish Men’s Field Hockey Championships – WKS Grunwald Poznań,
Vice-champion of Poland in men’s field hockey – AZS Poznań University of Physical Education,
Vice-champion of Poland in water polo – Waterpolo Poznań,
3rd place in the Lotto Ekstraklasa – Lech Poznań,
Poland’s 3rd place in women’s rugby – Black Roses,
3rd place in Polish Women’s Field Hockey Championships – ZSMS Poznań.