How Estonia kept Sport running

Sport has been disrupted across Europe, with many games and events cancelled or postponed this year due to the COVID-19 crisis. However, Estonia showed that it was possible to #BeActive throughout the year with almost no interruption. Estonians were able to organise their biggest ever European Week of Sport, generating unprecedented enthusiasm for sport activities across the country.

Estonia managed the coronavirus crisis relatively well. By October, just 3,980 cases had been recorded amongst its 1.4 million people, making it one of the best-performing countries in Europe. The government still took precautions, including asking sporting organisations to cancel any events involving more than 1,000 people.

Peeter Lusmägi, the head of Sport Kõigile (Sport for All) in the Estonian Olympic Committee, stated, ‘We didn’t really change much. We were concerned at first at the end of summer when people came back from their holidays. We had a ‘Plan B’ in case numbers went up. However, people followed guidance from authorities. We produced a manual explaining how people should stay safe by, for example, washing hands and keeping their distance. In the end, we were able to keep our schedule.’

Estonia and the 2020 Week of Sport

The European Week of Sport (EWOS) was particularly successful. It involved some 1,160 fitness and activity-related events under the slogan ‘Moving is always a win!’ Schools and kindergartens led most of the activities, which arranged some 1088 events, while a substantial number of other events were organised by fitness clubs and employers. A total of 192,955 people registered to take part in the events – nearly one in six Estonians.

Vital to the Week’s success were Estonia’s seven #BeActive Ambassadors. They took part in many of the events, showing by example how easy and fun sport can be.

This year’s Week of Sport ambassadors were

• Gerd Kanter, Olympic gold medallist discus throwerInger, Singer-songwriter
• Kait Kall, Actor
• Ott Kiivikas, Bodybuilder
• Kristel Kruustük, Testlio co-founder and CEO
• Rector Tiit Land, neurochemistry professor and Tallinn University of Technology
• Sandra Raju, Social Media influencer

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid took part in the Week’s opening event on September 23. This was a Charity Relay Race involving 11,000 schoolchildren in 28 Estonian cities and towns to stadiums, parks, and central city locations. President Kaljulaid, who started the run at Pärnu Beach Stadium, said schools had to give children a positive connection to sport, so they could remain fit and active throughout their lifetime. ‘If physical education at school is fun, children will start liking it, and this plays an especially important role,’ she said. ‘Children’s sport starts in kindergarten. If teachers and carers there consider it important, so will the kids.’

Sport for All’s Peeter Lusmägi says the Week of Sport’s success was the result of a lot of hard work. The Week benefited from a good media campaign and active engagement with schools and sports clubs. ‘I’m proud,” Lusmägi stated. ‘The European Week of Sport and Sport for All is the biggest sports event in Estonia. One in six Estonians took part in our activities, which is a very cool result. It really worked - and I hope this trend continues.’