INEFI Inaugurates Community School Sports Center: A New Chapter for Dominican Student Sports
Santo Domingo – The National Institute of Physical Education (INEFI) has launched the first Community School Sports Initiation Center in the country. This initiative represents a milestone in the organization and development of student sports at the national level. The project was inaugurated with the delivery of the comprehensive remodeling of the Rafael Barias Club, located in Villa Consuelo. This infrastructure, which borders the República de Cuba Basic School, will now function as part of the National Project of School Sports Clubs promoted by INEFI, under the model of open and active schools for the community. The remodeling included the installation of a new multipurpose court for basketball, volleyball, and indoor soccer, as well as the adaptation of three specialized rooms. These rooms are designed for key disciplines of school sports, such as karate, judo, and taekwondo; table tennis; and chess. During the event, the executive director of INEFI, Alberto Rodríguez, highlighted the strategic importance of this initiative. The objective is to integrate sports in a real and structured way into the Dominican educational system.The center will feature the participation of renowned figures from the national sport, who will be in charge of the different disciplines. Among them, Ana Villanueva in karate, Blanca Iris Alejo in table tennis, and José Fortuna (Pancho) in basketball, along with other outstanding coaches. Rodríguez explained that the School Sports Clubs model will offer systematic sports training, technical support and suitable spaces for the integral development of children and adolescents.“With this first school club, we are taking a historic step by uniting the school with a functional sports facility, organized and directed by professionals, so that sport is part of the day-to-day life of our students, beyond the physical education class,” Rodríguez expressed.
Alberto Rodríguez, Executive Director of INEFI
As part of the remodeling work, INEFI also repaired the perimeter fence of the club and installed air conditioners in the administrative areas, improving safety and operational conditions.“This club is not just a physical work, it is a model that we want to replicate throughout the country, where infrastructure, trained coaches, discipline and educational community converge, with the aim of training citizens through sport,” he stated.
Alberto Rodríguez, Executive Director of INEFI
