Presentation
The ESEV degree course in Sport and Physical Activity aims to train sports technicians specialised in the prescription and management of exercise and sports training, so that they can provide specialised technical support to regular practitioners of sport and physical activity, with the aim of improving their performance in terms of motor skills, in its various biopsychosocial manifestations, with particular relevance to the contexts of sport (educational training/competitive performance) and physical activity (fitness – improvement of health and physical condition/wellness – health and well-being). The following skills are defined for the various career paths:
– Assessment, planning and delivery of teaching and training in a sports speciality in sports training schools, clubs, associations and federations;
– Planning and delivery of physical and sports activities in various institutional contexts such as local authorities, companies, gyms, fitness and wellness clubs, active tourism, etc.;
– Monitoring the physical and sporting activity of special populations and at-risk groups;
– Assuming and/or integrating the technical management of sports facilities, gyms, sports clubs, fitness and health centres, etc.;
– Integrating teams for the promotion and organisation of events in the field of sport and physical activity.
Career Opportunities
Modern sports and physical activity professionals have to respond to a number of professional challenges. The Sports and Physical Activity course at ESEV, part of the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, is a professionally eclectic course for area 813 – Sports, equipping graduates to take on a number of professions under Portuguese and European law. It is a degree that provides the basic skills for various professions in sport without early professional specialisation, so the study plan is bold and innovative in its different scientific (biological, psychological and social), pedagogical and methodological dimensions, focusing on a didactic approach to technical content in a wide range of sports and physical activity. It is therefore assumed that specialisation will be achieved in subsequent postgraduate courses.
The main professions associated with the course are predominantly:
a) Sports Coach: professionals involved in the training and competitive guidance of sports practitioners, as well as in the technical supervision of a sporting activity, carried out on a regular, seasonal or occasional basis, linked to sports federations with public sporting utility, sports promotion associations and sports service providers, as referred to in Article 43 of Law No. 5/2007 of 16 January, under Law No. 40/2012 of 28 August.
b) Physical Exercise Technician: professionals responsible for planning, prescribing, guiding and conducting sports activities taking place in sports facilities that provide sports services in the area of physical fitness, namely gyms, fitness centres or health clubs, regardless of the name adopted and form of operation, as defined by Law No. 39/2012 of 28 August.
c) Technical Director: professional responsible for coordinating and supervising the prescription, evaluation, conduct and guidance of sports activities taking place in sports facilities that provide sports services in the area of physical fitness, namely gyms, fitness centres or health clubs, regardless of the name adopted and form of operation, and are also responsible, among other functions, for coordinating and supervising the assessment of the quality of the services provided, coordinating the production of sports activities, and technically supervising, within the scope of the operation of the sports facilities, the sports activities carried out therein in accordance with Law No. 39/2012 of 28 August.
d) Physical and Sports Activity Technician of the AEC programme: professionals responsible for planning, prescribing, guiding and conducting physical and sports activities within the scope of the Curricular Enrichment Activities programme in the 1st Cycle of Basic Education;
e) Physical and Sports Activity Technician: professionals responsible for planning, prescribing, guiding, conducting and evaluating physical and sports activities in areas not mentioned above.
In addition, the course’s reference professions are:
a) Sports Manager: promotion and organisation of events in the field of sport and physical activity, as well as management of sports organisations;
b) Sports Trainer and Researcher: producer of technical and scientific knowledge in sports motor skills, whether in the various contextual areas of intervention or in the various scientific areas of study.