Government of the Azores wants to render physical education services safer and more professional, says Avelino Meneses
The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture stated in Horta that the new legislation on the technical responsibility regarding the administration of gyms in the Azores will ensure “safer and more professional physical education services."
Avelino Meneses spoke at the Legislative Assembly during the debate of the legislation approving the new legal scheme on the technical responsibility for the administration and guidance of physical activities developed by entities providing fitness services that are established in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, namely gyms and health clubs.
For Avelino Meneses, the new legislation is mainly justified by the "significant increase in the practice of physical and sports activities and the demand for these services, being in line with the quality requirements demanded by sports practitioners."
In this context, the government official stressed that, considering the regional specificities, "we have condescended on the qualification requirements for the technicians responsible and their assistants. The legislation allows the exercise of this activity by agents who do not hold appropriate qualifications in sport, physical education or similar areas."
However, the Regional Secretary stressed that "the regional administration has the duty to ensure that physical and sports activities are carried out in an environment of enhanced safety for the benefit and well-being of sports practitioners."
The new scheme is "in line with the guidelines in force in Mainland Portugal and Europe. It determines that all sports facilities providing physical education services should have a technical director who will be responsible for overseeing the development of all activities and, at least, one physical training technician in charge of supervising physical exercises; the latter must hold a degree in sports, physical education or similar areas," said Avelino Meneses.
According to the Regional Secretary, the technical director and physical training technician categories will be "valid for a period of five years, with the possibility of renewal upon attendance of continuing training to be defined by ordinance."
"In order to better safeguard the quality of services, the legislation also requires a manual containing the activities developed, whose model will be set an ordinance to be issued by the governmental department overseeing the area of sport," said Avelino Meneses.
The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture also announced that the legislation also creates "a transitional scheme that allows technicians responsible for sports activities to continue their activity up to the end of the validity of their registration under the regional legislative decree still in force."
However, to ensure the continuity of performance of duties, these technicians "are naturally required to comply, within three years, with the training standards established in the regional catalogue of professional qualifications," said Avelino Meneses.