The Yellows destined 30,000 Euros for grants for 47 student athletes from the UJI in 2020
This Wednesday, 14th April 2021, the commission from the ‘Catedra Endavant Villarreal CF del Deporte’ from the Jaume I University, met at the Villarreal CF Training Ground (Ciudad Deportiva Villarreal CF) to approve the 2020 statement and present the proposal of activities for 2021. The meeting was attended by Federico Alcácer, Villarreal CF’s general manager for organisation and management; Tino Traver, the club’s institutional relations director; Isabel Garcia, UJI vice-rector of studies and teaching; and the director of the ‘Cátedra’, Carlos Hernando.
The ‘Catedra’ is a formative project promoting sport at the UJI, helping the 47 sponsored athletes, as well as advancing in developing various research projects in the world of sport and health, which have generated various reports in well-respected academic scientific publications.
The ‘Cátedra’ can be divided into three sections: growth and employment, research , and communication and corporate reputation.
In the first section, growth and employment, for the ninth consecutive year, 30,000 Euros was provided for 47 UJI athletes from 17 different sports, studying 13 different degrees, including various university medallists and athletes who have represented Spain at senior level, such as Claudia Conte, Carmen Ramos and Alexis Sastre.
Some of the planned activities were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Villarreal CF still hosted ten interns from the UJI, while various Villarreal CF players have studied at the university.
In the investigation section of the programme, there was continued collaboration in the physical activity health programme that contributes to improving the physical condition of those in the university community and the general public living in Castellón, with the majority of the planned sessions being able to take place. During 2020, the was a big divulgation of the scientific results of the Penyagolosa Trail Saludable Women project, with the publication of six research articles in various international scientific publications.
Finally, in terms of communication and corporate reputation, at the start of March 2020, a reception was organised for the UJI’s elite athletes, as well as the presentation of the Villarreal CF grants, as well as the closing ceremony for the 10th Anniversary of the UJI Elite Athletes Programme, in which 119 university students have taken part. The traditional ‘Sports Evening’, where the Villarreal CF grants are handed out, had to take part online due to the pandemic.
The ‘Cátedra Endavant’, created in a collaboration agreement between the UJI and Villarreal CF in 2015 has general aims of improving formation, research, diffusion of knowledge and innovation in the sporting world, as well as promoting practising sport and sporting competition in the university community through formative grants.
