On the 5th of September 2022, all 8 partner organizations gathered in Ghent. The official launch of the SportKompas Exergame (SPEX) project had taken place one week earlier, so reason enough to get together! We wanted to get off to a good start and a real life meeting is the best way to do so. Many of us had never seen each other in real life before, so it was the perfect time to get to know one another.

Of course, the idea of the SPEX project started with SportKompas itself. That is why all parties involved first needed a training on what SportKompas is, where it came from, how to execute it… As we want to make an exergame complementary to SportKompas, we needed to sit together and brainstorm, and explore all the possibilities with the developers. In this blog you can read about the full 3-day program of the SportKompas Training in Ghent, Belgium.

The program

Day 1

We started off with short partner presentations in WATT The Firms, the co-working office space of SportaMundi. Each partner talked about its organization, its involvement in the project and the people behind it. After a brief summary of the deliverables and milestones of the SPEX project, the planning of the upcoming 2 years and the organization and communication of the project, we started with the SportKompas training.

This included an overview of SportKompas’ scientific background, an explanation of the three SportKompas modules (I LIKE, I AM & I DO) and of course a first navigation through the digital platform and the app. We also gave some examples of how SportKompas is implemented in different countries (Flanders, Netherlands, Indonesia…)

Day 2

Time to get practical! All 14 SportKompas I DO physical tests were explained and demonstrated to the group in one of the Ghent University sports facilities. Afterwards everyone could try out the tests and practice how to help and guide the practitioners. All the results of the tests were collected using the app.

KAMK University presented their vision of the pedagogical model. They are experienced developers so they gave a demonstration on how the exergame could be visualized. This was a first and simple example to get the brainstorm started on the different possibilities for the exergame.

Day 3

In the morning Wouter Hebbink told us about an inspiring project in the Netherlands ‘Sportief Groot Worden’. Lode Goossens on his part gave an interesting presentation on the platform ‘Hylyght’ and its effectiveness on discovering Sports Talent and on Injury Prevention. The last topic of the 3-day training was covered by EPSI, finishing strong with the communication and dissemination plan.

Fun social activities

Ghent is known as a true cycle city. Many Ghentians ride their bike to work and almost all the students cycle their way to class. So to get the full experience of Ghent we decided to commute by bike. It was really fun and we were physically active so we could get those creative minds flowing!

As a break we visited Ghent University’s Sports Science Laboratory Jacques Rogge. Different departments make use of the laboratory: biomechanics, exercise physiology, motor control, sports nutrition… It’s a place where top-level sports research happens and our dear colleague Kristof De Mey was so kind to give us a tour!

The first night we also did a guided tour through Ghent, learning about old traditions, ancient stories and fun facts. Of course, it would not have been a visit to Belgium if we didn’t have to hide for the pouring rain. Luckily we could all laugh about it. During the tour we got to know each other better on a personal level. We hope everyone got the full Ghent experience, as it is, according to Lonely Planet, the best kept secret in Europe. We agree!

We are looking forward to the next real life meeting (this is planned in spring in Finland) to see each other again, to work together on the project and pursue our goal to develop a SportKompas exergame to help children find the sport they like and improve their motor skills!