It is a crisp winter morning at the Zágrábi Street Sports Center. The 9 a.m. PE class is still on, with echoes of bouncing balls and laughter filling the sports hall. The 10 a.m. group of second-year medical students is arriving and getting changed for the next session.
Lorens Badenhorst is from Canada, the last time he had compulsory PE was in the 10th grade of secondary school. “I do find PE is good to get moving and it gives a bit of a break. The core training, the actual exercise at the beginning of class is physically quite active and then we have a game, too. The classes are quite relaxing and force me to get some physical activity, which is good for my mental health as well.”
Aryan Reihani is from Iran; the muscular strength exercises, which are core parts of the curriculum, were new to him, as his high-school PE classes mostly revolved around ball games, such as football, volleyball, or basketball. He enjoys those activities the most and plans to choose volleyball next year.
Consteena Leo from India likes badminton and dodgeball, she also enjoyed the opportunity to try ice hockey at the university. She confesses, though, that core exercises push her boundaries. Fellow Indian Vatsala Pandey, on the other hand, really enjoys planned workouts and would love to attend classes more frequently. “It is a bit of a pain to come here during the exams, but it also does help me personally because it is one hour of not worrying about studies.”
Our mission is to offer the same range and quality of sporting opportunities to international and Hungarian students alike. – Kornélia Várszegi, Director of Semmelweis University’s PE and Sport Center.
The classes are designed to ensure that students, who come to Semmelweis University from 129 countries around the world with diverse sporting experiences and backgrounds, can exercise according to their ability and fitness, Kornélia Várszegi explains. “Our aim with physical education is to show students how to exercise in a healthy way. Even those not keen on sports will sooner or later realize the benefits of physical activity, and we are laying the foundations for this. We teach not only how to strengthen the muscles supporting the spine, but also everyday skills such as how to lift a weight or get out of bed in a health-conscious way. Every week has a different theme, this time, for example, we play frisbee. A recurring element of the classes is some team games, through which students learn how to work as a team, and that results are more important than individual performance. Sometimes, for a team to be successful, the individual must take a back seat,” the director highlights.
The university sports life has three pillars: the PE and Sport Center, the Semmelweis University Sports Club, and other off-campus venues. Classes organized by the center are free of charge, while the club’s sessions are linked to a membership fee.
In the first four semesters, physical education is integrated into the timetable, allowing for 60 minutes of physical activity per week. Two international student groups per class participate in these sessions, keeping the same group composition as during the vocational subjects.
From the second semester, those who want to try their hands at competitive sports can switch to 90 minutes of sports training twice a week by choosing one of the sports featured at the Medic Cup, such as handball, basketball, volleyball, football, or water polo.
Here, international and Hungarian students who have experience in competitive sports train together, as they will have to compete in a team in the Medic Cup and the Hungarian University Championships (MEFOB) as well. These events have such a community-forming power and prestige that last year a sixth-year handball player returned home from their clinical placement in Germany to attend the Medic Cup.
While the Medic Cup is a two-day event, the Hungarian University Championships are a semester-long series of competitions, where individual sports such as judo, wrestling, and fencing are also included in addition to team sports.
The training courses are also open to international students; currently, the university offers volleyball, badminton, swimming, tennis, and yoga classes in English or German. Of these, swimming and tennis are the most popular among international students.
In this way, 30 students per semester can learn the basics of tennis. Later on, students can join the tennis division of the university sports club, becoming members of a community and enjoying free use of the courts in a reserved time slot. The university’s medium-term plans include constructing a facility with three indoor tennis courts covered with identical surfaces, so that students could enjoy tennis all year round in one venue, and even house tournaments could be organized.
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“From time to time we also try to offer something new for international students, we have organized beginners’ courses in folk dance, for example,” emphasizes Kornélia Várszegi.
“Besides promoting competitive sport, we aim to get as many people as possible into regular exercise. Students with less athletic interests can also choose yoga – the point is that everyone can find an activity that suits their personality. I tell every group I teach that exercise is medicine. Some students keep attending classes even after they have obtained a signature because they have realized how much easier it is for them to study. I know an international student who joins classes five times a week,” the director points out.
The head of the PE and Sport Center is also willing to launch courses in new sports, provided that the classes are properly registered and at least 15 students have shown interest.
The swimming class was also initiated by students who were training together. “The point is not how the students get the signature, but that they spend their free time doing the kind of exercise that is most enjoyable for them, and that they find the right framework for it,” the director concludes.
Judit Szabados-Dőtsch
Photos by Bálint Barta, Attila Kovács – Semmelweis University
