CONI’s Sport School is 50 years old and celebrates them by signing a prestigious agreement with De Agostini Scuola, one of the most important school publishing operators, involving the publication of three new volumes shared between De Agostini Scuola and CONI Sport School, aimed at Secondary School students in their first and second year and the proposal of training courses and CPD seminars for teachers, held by CONI experts and organised by De Agostini Scuola, which since 2013 is the official Training Authority recognised by the Ministry for Education, University and Research.

"Today we present a beautiful and important thing - emphasises CONI President Giovanni Malagò, with an appearance at CONI’s Salone d’Onore (photo Mezzelani GMT) -. On 05 May 1966, the National Board, in its 212nd meeting passed a resolution to authorise the birth of the Central Sport School. The sporting world owes to Giulio Onesti the creation of a successful sporting model that to this day, at a distance of years, conserves strength and originality. CONI is a unique model in the world and the Sport School, in representing the efforts of CONI towards sport culture, confirm its uniqueness". An effort that can be already seen in articles 2 and 3 of CONI's Statute, which specify the principles to "ensure that every young athletes receives an educational training that is complementary to his/her sport training". "Fifty years ago as today, the aim was and is to create highly specialised personnel, to care for technical, scientific and methodological progress in the sport context through studies, research, cultural and technical exchanges at the Italian and today mostly international level - continues Malagò -. The Sport School was born after Italy hosted the Cortina 1956 Olympic Games, in a historical period that constituted a fundamental social and economic change for our country. Today, change occurs much more rapidly and produces effects in less time compared to the past, due to the increase in scientific knowledge and to technological acceleration. Olympic sport is one of the contexts in which this trend is strongest. The challenge faced by Italian sport and of the Olympic Committee is to invest in the future through the Olympic candidature, but also with the training of coaches and directors that operate in our world to plan today the results of tomorrow".

The School, therefore, must not only keep up with the times, but must also be able to anticipate them. "2016 provides a renewed, original and novel offer - explains the President -. In some cases, it registers also a widening of the training offer by 20% compared to 2015. Compared to 2013, when I become President, the Sport School has reduced management costs and yet registered an increase in the training offer by 65% and increase income and revenues by 44%. I wish to praise CONI SERVIZI, Rossana Ciuffetti and the institute, but one must still do more". The three-year partnership with De Agostini is born with this perspective in mind. "We have launched this strategic collaboration with De Agostini, which is a point of excellence of our country, not only under the industrial profile but also for its social and cultural value - adds Malagò -. It will permit sport to enter into schools with content relating to values and education and to sport and its technical aspects. This collaboration is set to grow mainly in two areas: editorial products and the training of physical education and exercise science teachers. The competition is global, the bar is always higher both because it is required outside our country and because we are the first to want to raise it. We need rigour, work, training, method, but also innovation and creativity. Training needs a long-term plan to generate structural changes that promote ideas and visions. And we have many ideas and visions. Happy birthday Sport School" "For us, this agreement with CONI is an honour and a satisfaction - declared Gian Luca Pulvirenti, president of De Agostini Scuola - We are market leaders in exercise science but we want to grow further. Our aim is for our books to reach 50% of the school market share and together with CONI we can do important things. We chose the Olympic Committee not only because of the prestige and the medals, but because we want to promote a better sport culture and a correct lifestyle".

The three volumes open with the presentations signed by three Italian champions such as Tania Cagnotto, Federica Pellegrini and Antonio Rossi - present today at the presentation -, who instil into the youth the passion for sport and its value in everyday life. As for what concerns training and professional development, on the other hand, the agreement is enriched by three seminars that will be held by Sport School experts: "Play in physical education", "motivation and team building" and "The use of technology to evaluate motor ability". The Olympic Committee was represented this morning also by secretary general Roberto Fabbricini, who, as Master of Sport, did not hide his excitement in talking about a School that "has produced individuals that have made the history of Italian sport". The president of CONI SERVIZI Franco Chimenti reaffirmed that "sport is culture", highlighting what has been achieved by the School to this date. Alberto Miglietta, managing director of CONI SERVIZI, on the other hand, admitted that "it is an honour to bring into being the project of the new CONI: transform the Sport School in the real house of sport culture, in all its aspects".

Antonio Urso, President, coordinator of the relations and activities between the School and the Institute of Sport Medicine and Science, took the floor on behalf of the School, explaining that the aim is to "try to understand what is necessary today for coaches and for the various roles that revolve around the sporting world to be able to reach tomorrow with a quality and culture that is able to produce results". Professor Marcello Marchioni, national appointed delegate for Regional Sport Schools, focused his attention on the fact that "across the country there are 240,000 coaches, 500,000 voluntaries and other interest bearers: a network that bears CONI in high consideration and the regional schools are a point of aggregation and discussion". The training plan was then illustrated by Rossana Ciuffetti, Sport School director. "This is a special year - she explains - the Olympic year, and we also have the youth Olympic Games, we looked at the interests and we have put together a technical sport program devoted to coaches: we talk about competitive intelligence, tapering, recovery, and we have tried to bring to the School the most important figures, also from the international arena". Nevertheless, after 50 years the School still wants to grow, promoting exchanges also with universities: from the synergy with Foro Italico University, to the collaborations with Tor Vergata University, with LUMSA, with Parma University and with LUISS.