La Wellness Revolution americana parte dallo Spelman College di Atlanta, dove il rettore Beverly Tatum ha deciso di abbandonare gli “sport-spettacolo”, i grandi campionati nazionali di football, basket, baseball, atletica leggera per tornare alla vera attività fisica, investendo su attività che costano pochissimo e rendono molto per la loro incidenza sulla salute e il benessere. Nell’antica università femminile di Atlanta hanno fatto la loro comparsa i corsi di pilates, zumba, yoga e arti marziali. Ma il college guidato dalla Tatum non è il solo: a scegliere gli sport meno costosi e inquinanti ci sono anche una pattuglia di altri atenei, dal New York City College of Technology alla University of Maryland: un esperimento che potrebbe presto trasformarsi in una vera e propria rivoluzione. Nel suo college le 80 atlete costano 900.000 dollari all’anno, che se fossero distribuiti fra tutte le studentesse permetterebbe a tutte di avere quotidianamente accesso a corsi di attività fisica . E’ la sconfitta del gigantismo sportivo delle università ed evidenzia che la lotta al doping, al bullismo degli allenatori e ai costi di questo tipo di sport è efficace purtroppo solo abbandonando lo sport agonistico esasperato. E come fa notare Federico Rampini su www.Repubblica.it“non si conoscono ancora casi di yogi rovinati dagli steroidi”.
President Beverly Tatum says the school decided it was time to change its focus.
We have to ask ourselves: What is the cost of the program and who is benefiting? How many people are benefiting? Is the benefit worth the cost?
Tatum went on to say that the goal is to positively impact the health issues that African American women have faced:
We know that 4 out of 5 women of African descent [are] overweight or obese. We know that black women are twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. We know that black women over the age of 20—something like 40 percent or higher—already have hypertension, high blood pressure.
It’s a move that makes a lot of sense. Sure, intercollegiate sports can be an important part of the college experience, but in this day and age when 70% of adults in our country are overweight or obese and over 25 million people have diabetes, it’s time for some creative solutions.
To do that, Spelman now offers a campus-wide health and fitness program. Through this, all students can take part in weight loss programs, exercise at the college gym, Zumba, dance classes, and more. Already, more than 300 students are taking advantage of this every day.
In what they call a “wellness revolution,” Spelman’s site explains their goal (as taken from an article by Tatum):
The need is urgent, and it is our population — young black women — that is among the most at risk for negative health outcomes. Committed to educating the whole person, mind, body and spirit, we have an opportunity to change this epidemic. Ending intercollegiate participation may seem counterintuitive, given our focus on physical activity, but instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars transporting a small number of athletes to intercollegiate events, we will be investing those dollars in intramural programs and wellness activities that can be sustained for a lifetime.
Of course, not everyone thinks this is a good idea. Some of the athletes are upset, and even threatening to transfer to other schools. But, Spelman is the first school to drop NCAA sports in years, and it’s a move that is re-prioritizing the way we look at things.
Tell us what you think. Is this a good idea?
Read more: http://www.blisstree.com/2012/12/07/sex-relationships/spelman-college-drops-ncaa-sports/#ixzz2ROMnW8DM
