Olympic and world champions take advantage of the quarantine to take free courses offered by the BOC

Staying away from the courts, fields, tracks and swimming pools is a complicated task, but the athletes of Brazil Team are taking advantage of the essential period of social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to take training courses. With more time inside their homes, many of them took the opportunity to enroll in free courses offered by the Brazilian Olympic Institute (BOI), the Brazilian Olympic Committee's (BOC) area for Education.

Only in the Fundamentals of Sports Administration (FSA) and in the Basic Management Course for Coaches (BMCC), which started this Monday 1st, 43 athletes enrolled, a record for these courses ever since the creation of the BOI, in 2009. Among the new students are renowned names such as Olympic champion gymnast Arthur Zanetti, world handball champion Duda Amorim, and silver medalist in Rio 2016 for beach volleyball Agatha Rippel, among others.

"This was the year in which we had the most Olympic and Pan American athletes enrolled in the selection processes of the BOI courses. It was surprising even for us. Seeing the interest of athletes in training courses for managers and coaches shows us their concern in acquiring knowledge in order to prepare for the future. And we welcomed this scenario with joy, for realizing the will of the athletes to continue working in the sports industry. Undoubtedly, the experience and involvement of trained and prepared athletes only contribute to the growth of Sports in our country", analyzed the manager of the Brazilian Olympic Institute and former gymnast, Soraya Carvalho.

Most athletes chose to join the FSA, which had a total of 284 enrollments and 150 approved students. Regarding the BMCC, there were 217 enrollments and 209 students approved.

"The BOC offering these courses to athletes is an important action. In addition to being free, they make the athlete better informed. It is information that expands knowledge, something more for the career and the curriculum. Knowledge is never too much", said rings king Arthur Zanetti, who, at the age of 30, continues to prepare for his fourth edition of the Olympic Games, but is already thinking about his career transition.

"There are several courses that can open doors for athletes in the post-career, especially for those who are already at the end, like me. It is always good to take courses that help in the post-career. Athletes dedicate years and years to training, practically knowing only how to train and compete. They can give an insight into other things and make it possible for us to have ideas and plan our future", believes Zanetti.

The female handball ace Duda Amorim, who wrote her name in the history of Brazilian Sports when leading Brazil in the unprecedented achievement of the 2013 World Women's Handball Championship, also entered the FSA thinking about her post-career. "Acquiring knowledge in the sports field, studying is never too much. Soon I will be entering the career transition, and I would like to prepare for it. It is one of the most difficult periods that the athlete can go through. They have to start another career practically from scratch and the more prepared they are for this transition, the fewer difficulties they will encounter", observes Duda, originally from Santa Catarina, who will be taking the online course from her home in Hungary.

The three-time champion of the Pan American Games praises the attention given by the BOC to the training of athletes. "It shows the concern that the BOC has with the athlete not only on the court, but outside as well. Maybe in return for what the athlete did for the sport, so I see it as an opportunity that all athletes need to take advantage of ", highlights Duda.

At the home of the beach volleyball player Ágatha, the BOI course will be well used. The Olympic runner-up in Rio 2016 will be joined by her husband and trainer Renan Rippel. They both want to take advantage of their slightly freer time due to the social isolation caused by the coronavirus. "Certainly, being at home made it easier to enter the course. If I were in my normal dynamics of training and competition, I wouldn't have time. Even more in an Olympic year, in which the dedication is immense, the commitment gigantic, it would be very difficult. As I see a very broad future for the post-career, taking a management course will already give me a basis for that. I still don't know where I'll be going, but by taking courses like this one from the BOC, I start planting some seeds for a good transition", highlighted the 36-year-old from Curitiba, who also intends to put the lessons learned through the FSA into practice in her social project for beach volleyball, in Paraná, which has existed for 12 years.

In addition to the Olympic athletes, the new BOC scholarship students are from the Brazilian Olympic Confederations, Special Secretariat for Sport, Brazilian Club Committee, Federal Council for Physical Education, host cities for the Youth School Games, Brazilian Military Sports Commission, among others.

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