Award won

“This project has potential for the whole EU”

SPORTUNION Vice President Michaela Huber and UGOTCHI Project Manager Sebastian Widner are delighted with the award.

(Bild: Sportunion)

A great honor for SPORTUNION Austria: the school project "UGOTCHI - Scoring with Class" was awarded the prestigious #BeActive Award in the "Education" category by the EU as an outstanding example of innovative physical activity promotion at a major gala in Brussels on 26 November. 

With its unique physical activity project "UGOTCHI - Scoring with Class", SPORTUNION was able to prevail against strong competition from all over Europe and is now one of the most outstanding initiatives for promoting physical activity among children and young people at European level. "In the 19 seasons of "UGOTICH - Points with Class" to date, we have reached an incredible 851,934 children and motivated them to take part in sporting and healthy activities," emphasizes SPORTUNION Vice President Michaela Huber.

Children and teachers are enthusiastic
The importance of the project is also evident on the ground in Austria's schools. "My class took part in UGOTCHI for the first time last school year, and both the children and I were delighted," says Michaela Saurugger, a teacher at the Braunhubergasse elementary school in Vienna - GEPS. "It's lovely to see how UGOTCHI has been brought into the families - whether through small mindfulness gestures or healthier snacks. The idea of integrating movement units into lessons is not only important for learning skills, but also creates lasting enthusiasm among the children."

What is Ugotchi - scoring with class?

UGOTCHI - Punkte mit Klasse is a four-week health program that encourages around 60,000 schoolchildren aged 6-10 to be more active at school, at home, in sports clubs and in their free time in general. It also raises awareness of healthy eating, mindfulness and "togetherness".

By taking part, the primary or special school promotes children's health.

852,000 children reached and moved
With UGOTCHI, SPORTUNION shows how the promotion of physical activity can be anchored in everyday school life and how the health development of children can be strengthened. "Since the launch of UGOTCHI in 2007, we have been able to get almost 852,000 children in Austria moving - proof that continuity and strong partnerships are the key to success," says Huber. "Today, it is impossible to imagine many Austrian elementary school without UGOTCHI. With over 1,200 family activities at weekends, we also promote exercise in leisure time, because a healthy lifestyle starts with the family. Digital formats such as our exercise videos with over 25,000 views also make a valuable contribution to anchoring exercise in everyday life. Our success shows that UGOTCHI can be considered a role model for innovative physical activity promotion throughout Europe. Our thanks go to all our supporters and partners - we will use the prize money to further expand the initiative to enable even more children in Austria and Europe to lead an active lifestyle."

The successful award is recognition of the hard work put in by project manager Sebastian Widner in particular. "What has been successfully implemented in a third of Austria's elementary school has the potential to be an exemplary physical activity initiative for the entire EU," says Huber proudly.