Women and sport: the voices of those getting involved

About one month has passed since the beginning of the European project S(up)port Refugees Integration thanks to which Liberi Nantes enables women from the reception centres of Rome and the province to practise sporting activities free of charge. The enthusiasm with which the women
have dedicated themselves to the various disciplines shows the importance of this project and the
value that sport, and group activities, have in life.
“I feel my body in movement, I feel free, I feel good”, says Monica, who adds: “This is the first time I have played rugby and I like it, I want to continue. It’s a great feeling to pass the ball to your team-mate”.

Touch rugby is one of the sports that the women involved in the project can practise at the April 25 th Stadium in Pietralata. The coach, Paolo Gentilini, views the first month’s activity as a success. “I see smiles at the end of the training sessions, even though they are tired. For me that’s the first victory. At the beginning they used to take 15 minutes to get changed, now it’s only five, which means that have a lot of desire to play. They have become more enterprising, they have built up self-confidence”.
The training session begins with a warm-up that includes elements from athletics, arm-leg coordination, and jumps. Afterwards technical elements, like passing, are introduced which are then put into practice after the warm-up.
“For the girls, rugby is very important because they are learning something new. If we can communicate the idea that new things enrich us and are not just obstacles we will have achieved a lot. Rugby is a sport of collaboration, you advance together to reach an objective, a goal [or try],
which when carried over into everyday life takes on great significance”, Gentilini says. “I love coming here. I train both at football and rugby and if I could, I would come every day”, Lara tells me.
(All of the names used are fictitious.)