With national and international presentations and keynote speeches addressing various areas of high-performance training, the First Symposium on Sports Talent Development, organized by the Department of Physical Education and Sports at the Industrial University of Santander (UIS).
“This symposium is very important because students and professors, not only from our university but also from national and international institutions, have come to present research related to sports talent and training processes in different specialties. In addition, we are coordinating knowledge to contribute science to sports,” said Fabio Villafrades, director of the Department of Physical Education and Sports.
During the opening ceremony, the book “Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of Sports Training” was officially launched. It was written by UIS professors Jorge Enrique Buitrago, Fabio Villafrades, Lianell Jova Elejalde, and Jeansy Alonso Rodríguez from the University of Applied and Environmental Sciences.
“The text brings together the fundamentals of sports training theory and methodology, a key area for talent development. In this case, it will be a fundamental support for our Master’s programs in Sports Talent Development,” added Jorge Enrique Buitrago, professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sports at UIS.
The first keynote speech was given by Rodolfo Méndez Rodríguez, PhD in Health Sciences and Human Behavior, with more than 45 years of teaching experience at the University of Panama. In his speech, he shared his career in high-performance athletics and how it allowed him to apply his academic training to the improvement and care of athletes.
“It is essential to share experiences as we are doing today, especially in Latin America. We want a healthier population, but we continue to invest in curative health and forget about preventive health. This exposes athletes to multiple injuries, as was the case in the past,” said Méndez Rodríguez.
The opening day was well attended and deemed a success by participants, who appreciated the UIS’s efforts to strengthen research and study in high-performance sports.
“It is a blessing for us to be able to listen to the teachers and, at the same time, share the progress of our research in Bogotá,” said Aura Montenegro, a student at the National Pedagogical University.
“It’s a very interesting event that allows us to consolidate the knowledge acquired during our theoretical training in a practical way,” added Cristian Zapata, also a student at that institution.
The symposium will continue tomorrow with the closing session, which will include presentations and keynote speeches starting at 8:00 a.m. in the Aula Máxima de Ciencias and the Ágora de Ciencias Humanas. Among the guests is Nelson Nicanor Piña, from the Department of Academic Quality of the Physical Education Directorate of the state of Coahuila, Mexico.
See the full schedule here:
