CORRIDA MIRIM – Rio de Janeiro receives Children for educational practice in Cross Country

On 18th of May, the Fortaleza de São João next to the Sugar Loaf, where the Rio de Janeiro was founded by Estácio de Sá in 1565, will host several communities and race clubs bringing their children and athletes to participate in a cross country competition supervised by the Athletics Federation of Rio de Janeiro.

The program target children from communities and public schools, sports associations and non-governmental organizations, which would have directed educational practices with their teachers and educators producing interdisciplinary work-culture-sport environment, and whose records have been showed in exhibitions and publications, physical and virtual expos following the initiation in sports competitive, everything managed by "SSG Education" and supervised by the local Sports Entities.

For almost ten years developing educational projects involving art, sport and environment, SSG Education have had the support of Departments of Sport and Education from Cities like Rio and Sao Paulo and with the helps from groups of volunteers forming a beautiful story of achievements, collecting hundreds of photos and observation drawings from nature, flora and fauna always finishing with some children's road race.

Since 2009, hosted by the marathon events of Rio and Sao Paulo it could extend these projects involving a defined process registered as "Mirim Race" expanding the legal content of the Project.

Now, we are going to realize two stages in Rio from April to July using parks and green areas and involving 2000 children from local communities merging the phases of educational, training and organization of events and editing the paperwork and photos, disseminated through exhibitions, website and magazines. We strong believe that the practice of sport of Cross Country on dirt trails and grass should precede the running track attractions, as we can observe in schools and clubs in Europe and USA.

Inviting experts like Marcos Oviedo from Venezuela and Carlos Cardoso from Portugal both IAAF Cross Country Committee members for workshops and lectures will act as a reference for Institute and Foundations that disclose this purpose. We also register the recent interest of South American Federations in participating with this exchange in the development of their own junior teams.

The group of educators, officials and trainers involved is convinced that talent is not shaped only with training at excellence, but especially with its inclusion by broad education that contemplates as part of this scenario. The "Corrida Mirim – running cross country for Children " it has been developed according a proposed calendar for 2013, leaving the second semester for international races like these ones: Venezuela, Chile and Colombia.

RESPONSIBLES TO DEVELOP THE PROGRAM:

Suzana Gnaccarini, SSG Education, Lawyer and Art Educator; Rodolfo Eichler, SSG Education, ICRO for Consudatle and IAAF/AIMS “A” Measurer; Carlos Alberto Lancetta, Rio Athletics Federation President; Marcos Oviedo, Cross Country & Road Running Committee Member, General Secretary of Federación Venezolana de Atletismo; Carlos Cardoso, Cross Country & Road Running Committee Member, Cross Country Official, Course designer and international advisor.

Rodolfo and Suzanna Eichler