Accessibility to sports practice is hampered by many impediments
​Through this article we intend to discuss and explain few questions we have about how extension at Unicamp works and why the gymnasium of the Faculty of Physical Education (FEF) is not available for students to use. The main questions raised and discussed along the text are: Why can't students who aren't from FEF use the gym at Unicamp? Why are the extension projects paid?
In order to answer the first question, after speaking with the coordinators of FEF, we found out that there are classes in the gymnasium along every weekday. When asked why the gym was empty at certain times of the day, a former Extension Coordinator, informed us that the courts are empty at certain times because at those times theoretical disciplines are given in other spaces, and the gymnasium is only and fully available for FEF courses, what makes it impossible to be used by university community in general. Moreover, some employees that work in FEF also said that due to noise, the pratice of other activities is not allowed in the gym during the occurrence of classes, even if there are courts not being used at those moments.
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This way we understand that the only option for the rest of university community is to use the courts available outside the gymnasium. But, at night-time, extremely hot or rainy days there are no options for those who aren't FEF students. In our opinion it's really necessary a better organization of the gym schedule and an effort to find a gap in between classes for all the university community to get access to the gymnasium.
Regarding the second question, we found out that extension projects at FEF do not follow the principle that makes public education free provided by art. 206, IV, of the Brazilian Constitution.
Integrated Laboratory for Teaching, Research and Extension. For the last one that must to be free, this laboratory don't applies.
it's really necessary a better organization of the gym schedule and an effort to find a gap in between classes for all the university community to get access to the gymnasium.
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We have researched and realized that these projects are charged and the financial resources got from extension are used to pay teachers, trainee students and service providers, and also to purchase consumable goods and pay for transport.
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We have also sent e-mails to professor José Júlio Gavião de Almeida, actual Extension Coordinator, and to Emerson Teodorico Lopes, Secretary of Extension Services, questioning them about the extension in FEF, but none of them was answered.
In effect, we still believe that the extension service should be free of charge. Moreover, we believe that extension services in FEF should encourage, facilitate and enable better communication between students and coordinators so that innovative actions could be performed both for students and for university community, reflecting this way what we believe being one of the goals of the university that is to estimulate advances of knowledge arising from academic work.
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About this lack of communication, we believe that simple semiannual meetings could provide greater participation of students and community concerning the processes and decision making regarding the use of extension services offered by FEF. In addition, these semiannual meetings will provide more accuracy in applying the principle of gratuity and maybe the creation or conversion of services that are paid in free extension services.
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​Written by: Matheus Coimbra and Weslley Ferreira
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