Delivering Italian sporting excellence
Still operating over 50 years after its foundation, the School of Sport continues to deliver training and education with the ultimate goal of helping Italy’s high-performance athletes achieve success.
The Scuola dello Sport (School of Sport) pursues the same aim today as it did when the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) – drawing direct inspiration from the Olympic Winter Games Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 and the Olympic Games Rome 1960 – founded it in 1966: to train athletes, technical personnel (e.g. coaches, referees, strength and conditioning experts) and sports administrators in the latest technical, scientific and methodological developments in the world of sport and ensure they stay abreast of them. The school delivers courses and seminars, contributes to research, and promotes cultural and technical exchanges with the wider international community.
In recent years, the School of Sport has increased the number of courses it offers by 65 per cent. Its current programme covers a wide range of topics, from the Mediterranean diet and athlete nutrition to breathing techniques and sports performance, and from Paralympic culture in schools to sports law. The School of Sport directly delivers its courses to around 5,000 students a year at its main campus, located in Rome’s Acqua Acetosa Sports Zone.
Italy’s elite athletes can also pursue a dual career through the School of Sport, by mapping out an educational or job path while working towards their sporting goals. Athletes can take courses in areas such as marketing, leadership, diplomacy in sport, sports law, and innovation in sport. This training is designed to safeguard their well-being and protect their vocational and educational interests. In pursuing this goal, the school partners with the European Union’s Gold in Education and Elite Sport project, which aims to help athletes develop a dual career and a life after sport.
Sports managers and executives are also well catered for. The school delivered its Olympic Management course for a sixth year in 2019, while the 13th edition of its Sport Management course was organised with the support of the Luiss Business School, just one of the partners that the school works with in delivering excellence to Italy’s sporting community.
The School of Sport also works closely with 17 of Italy’s national sport federations, helping them to roll out teaching and training courses to around 30,000 people studying at the School of Sport’s regional centres.
The school conducts ongoing research and follow-up with participants in its sports training programmes and continues to monitor issues relating to professional qualifications and employment in the world of sport. The school also engages in scientific research, participates in international networks, and has set up the Observatory of Sports Professions and Operators (OPOS) to monitor the effectiveness of the training provided across the Italian sports system.