Park(ing) Day for Fitness – Flagship event in Wroclaw, Poland
The flagship event was celebrated on September 17 and 18, in two locations in Wroclaw. The choice of different places was not accidental. The first of them - a parking lot next to a popular Decathlon Wroclaw shopping center - is a place frequented by the city inhabitants. On Saturday, during the event, the mall was visited by a min. of couple of thousand of people. In Poland, as many as 70% of residents say they visit shopping centers on Saturdays or Sundays (SMG/KRC Millward Brown survey for Silesia City Center). This way the V4SPORT Foundation brought out the truth on how leisure time is spent in urban space, and how this space is used. The location was a pretext, but also an intervention for the residents of Wroclaw, to show how urban infrastructure can be arranged for the benefit of physical activity - in this case, parking spaces next to a large shopping center.
It was also an excellent opportunity to show how the idea of placemaking works. A special zone was separated from a parking lot for dual physical activity. A track for roller skaters was arranged on one side, whereas on the other one - a space for acrobatic demonstrations and exercises. Both activities were led by sports professionals - Natalia Czerwonka Academy – an olympic medalist from Sochi, World and European Short Track Championships, and Magnifica Group – the winners of international sports acrobatics tournaments.
The Sunday's flagship event was located in a different landscape. It was held in the parking lots at Gorka Slowianska. Green scenery is always highly conducive to physical activity, and the park is unequivocally associated with a place for sports or relaxation. This time the V4SPORT FOUNDATION showed that every movement counts. One of the interventions was to show that a simple walk with your dog (p-spotter: Kosc niezgody – dog behaviorist) can be an opportunity to play or get to know your neighborhood. The arranged area included not only the parking space but also the space between the trees - where, together with a trainer and an OCR runner (Kamil Psut), you could test your fitness level. The parking space was arranged by the Samurai Group and the V4SPORT Foundation, and it consisted of a martial arts training and a specially built obstacle course.
Bystanders and passers-by were invited to move together within both of the events. It was a great opportunity not only to have fun, but also to integrate. Thus, it proved that you don't need a lot of money and materials to create a common space for physical activity done together. The parking space, i.e. the common feature, turned out to be a great excuse to spend time together and a treasury of creative sports activities for local residents.
The events were also part of the celebration of the European Mobility Week, under the patronage of the City of Wroclaw.
Park(ing) Day for Fitness builds on the existing practices and guidelines provided by Rebar, where BG Be Active and the project consortium are adding an element of a multi-sport day event to offer activities that promote active lifestyles and engage the public. For more information, please check our website - https://parkingdayforfitness.bgbeactive.org/
Park(ing) Day for Fitness is funded by the European Union. The project coordinator is BG Be Active, and the other partner organizations are Placemaking Europe, Association Sport for all Suceava (AJSPT Suceava), V4 SPORT FOUNDATION, Azur Sport Sante, and XsentrikArts.