"Today is a historic day for Catalan sport and the Pyrenees": construction begins on the new INEFC headquarters

BarcelonaIn 2021, in the midst of the pandemic and with students wearing masks, the INEFC Pirineus (National Institute of Sports and Physical Activity) began its adventure in La Seu d'Urgell with an event at the Parc Olímpic del Segre. The center was created so that students could be where they needed to be: in the local area. Around 40 students, mostly girls, began their studies for a degree in physical activity and sports sciences specializing in mountain and river sports, a degree from which they graduated a few months ago, this year. "The work done has been incredible, but we had the problem of not having a center to study at," Puigarnau, the center's director, said.

Finally, this Monday, the foundation stone was laid for the new center of the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia in the Pyrenees, located on the municipal land of l'Horta del Valira. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Sports, Berni Álvarez; the President of the Lleida Provincial Council, Joan Talarn; and the Mayor of La Seu d'Urgell, Joan Barrera, among others. Álvarez emphasized that this is a "historic step for Catalan sport and the Pyrenees." The goal is for the work, which has a budget of more than 11 million euros, to be completed by early 2027. The authorities present at the ceremony placed several elements in a time capsule that was placed inside the foundation stone of the building, which will have a surface area of 1,000 square meters.

This is a new construction inspired by the profile of the Cadí mountain range and will be the third INEFC Pirineus campus, after those in Barcelona and Lleida. It will have classrooms, laboratories, a library, sports facilities, and work areas, and should consolidate Seu d'Urgell as one of the leading cities for Catalan sport. It already is thanks to the Parc del Segre, the facility built for the 1992 Games that has managed to strike a great balance between sport and leisure. A park where dozens of Olympic kayakers and canoeists train and have trained.

"We need our own building to continue growing, to provide quality teaching. And we wanted to have a campus open to the public. La Seu is a very active sports town, and new spaces and new services are also needed. I think the campus will help strengthen this partnership between La Seu d'Urgell and the INEFC Pirineos. Funded thanks to the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Provincial Council, and the City Council. They have welcomed us, and now we must open ourselves to them, not create a closed campus," says Puigarnau. A woman who combines mountain running with teaching, her schedule is always full. "I try to train every day, in the morning or whenever I can. And whenever I can, I take the students out into nature," she adds. She leads by example.

Once the new campus is complete, Silvia will continue to take students out into nature. Students will go from the classroom to the mountains, and residents will go from the street to the campus to use the university facilities whenever possible. "Our mission is to train professionals who grow here, in the local area. One of the most beautiful things about the INEFC at Seu d'Urgell is that we are in the local area, where we belong, where students can work or play sports. They are training excellent professionals," she explains. Many physical education students sometimes have to spend nights away from home when off-campus activities are taking place. This is not the case at Seu d'Urgell, as it is surrounded by rivers and mountains. Students go rafting, mountain biking, climbing, horse riding, and skiing while training in all the subjects of the degree in physical activity and sports sciences at Seu d'Urgell to become coaches, guides, or entrepreneurs.

In the sports field, this center is arguably the most important project in the Pyrenees since 1992. "We would like it to be this way. Not just for the studies, but also for the lifestyle. We are continuously training young people, and 30% of the first batch already work and have jobs here, in the region. They can be people born here or in local entities. The degree itself has been a sporting initiative throughout the Pyrenees.

Born in Agramunt but rooted in the Pyrenees, Silvia is a well-known ultra-trail athlete who started playing sports with her family until she decided that this would be her life. Now she runs a growing, but sustainable, campus. "We can have more and more students, but it's not about growth, it's about doing things well," she says. For example, some students struggle to find an apartment, as the Seu's prices have risen sharply with the arrival of people working in Andorra. "What's clear is that before, mountain sports were less talked about. There's a change. Perhaps the pandemic made people appreciate being able to play sports in nature. Many students come to practice specific sports or already have some training because they've attended sports schools," she adds.