It was Reading Week when Kinesiology professor Darwin Semotiuk and 10 Kinesiology students (five undergraduate and five graduate) from The University of Western Ontario traveled to Cuba to engage in a first-hand observation of the pervasive role that sport and physical activity plays in Cuban society
Through the hospitality of the National Institute of Sport, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER) of Cuba, the Western students were privileged to experience a multitude of academic, cultural, and humanitarian opportunities.
Students gained an understanding to the inner-workings through a combination of lectures and on-site visits to various schools and sport-specific centres. While the classroom portion of the course provided the sociopolitical and historical backdrop of the Cuban athletic system, the field component supplemented, and in many cases, challenged Canadian rhetoric concerning the implementation and practice of sport.
Students evaluated Cuba’s national policy, which defines sport as a right for all citizens. This is believed to strengthen civic virtue, health, and fostering national identity. Through visits students were able to engage in programs implemented by the government for people of all sorts- from toddlers to the elderly, and from the motor disabled to Olympic and World champions.
It was evident that inclusion is paramount, such that all Cubans are afforded a physical activity culture that facilitates a healthy body and mind.
Due to the lack of athletic technology and overall resources in Cuba, coaching and health professionals employ innovative techniques at the pre-elite training level to identify and train future Olympic competitors.
At sport specific institutes in Havana, we were invited to challenge Cuban athletes in badminton and table tennis, as well as engage in dialogue discussing the challenges faced by educators and athletes alike. In addition to observing and partaking in their activities, we were able to forge bonds, as we all explicitly or implicitly understood the benefits of physical activity.
An analysis of Cuban sport would be incomplete without mentioning the importance of baseball to Cuban culture. We watched an exhibition game featuring the best Cuban players vying for selection to the national team for the World Baseball Classic this month. The passion displayed for sportand country highlighted the importance of baseball to the Cuban people.
With a comparative approach, we were able to witness how a relatively small island, devoid of much treasure and resources, is able to provide exceptional sport, educational, and medical services to all its citizens including marginalized groups.
Through a theoretical model of efficiency, buoyed by unparalleled passion and dedication by the practitioners (one of which being INDER), the country is able to self-sustain and in certain cases – such as sport – thrive.
As a show of gratitude to INDER for their outstanding hospitality, we were able to provide some Cuban people with several humanitarian donations including athletic therapy supplies from Kinetic Konnection of Oakville; coaching/officiating whistles on behalf of Fox 40 International; pedometers from Kellogg’s Canada of London; Special Olympics Canada; contributions from Intercollegiate Athletics, the Kinesiology Student’s Council, Alumni Relations and Development and the City of London; and books, paper and pencils from Cartier Public School.
On behalf of our group we would like to express our thanks to Prof. Semotiuk, Health Sciences dean Jim Weese, the School of Kinesiology, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and Western (support from an International Curriculum Fund Award) for this wonderful educational experience.
Also, a sincere thanks to Dr. Gladys Bequer Diaz, Major Tania Garcia, Prof. Joel Blanco Perez, Yanely Interian and their Cuban colleagues for the experience of a lifetime.
The following was submitted by graduate students Jonathan Hood, Jonathan Newman, Liz Parsons, Giulia Pepe and Jules Sylvestre. They were part of a larger group of Western students who recently traveled to Cuba.