The main difficulty for students-athletes is balancing lessons and study time with training sessions and competitions. It is a problem involving both timing and energies. The path to graduation is full of hurdles for professional athletes, but the University of Trento offers a study programme in which students can commit to their sport career and keep up with their university studies.
Selections for admissions to the TOPSport programme for academic year 2017/2018 are opening these days. There are 57 places for candidates enrolling on an undergraduate course or a five-year master’s course, and 69 for those interested in a graduate course. Which means between three and fifteen places for each department and centre, covering all courses offered by the university. The deadline to submit applications online is 10 August, noon time.
«TOPSport has been a perfect solution for me – said Eleonora Strobbe – because I don’t have to give up my sport career and can continue my studies at university». Nadya Ochner commented: «Studying requires commitment and hard work, like sport, to reach your goal, and the TOPSport programme is helping me preparing for life after competitions».
TOPSport is the dual career programme of the University of Trento designed to support professional athletes in their university studies. Eleonora Strobbe (member of the Italian archery national team, Gold Medal at the 2010 World Championships – Hunter and Field, and at the 2016 European Championships – 3D) and Nadya Ochner (member of the Italian snowboard national team, participated in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi) are athletes and students at the University of Trento. Eleonora Strobbe studies modern languages, Nadya Ochner has chosen the five-year master’s degree in law. They are two of the 36 students currently participating in the TOPSport programme. The group also includes Ruggero Tita (sailing – member of the Italian national team, participated in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, student of Information engineering and business organization), Riccardo Tonetti (alpine ski – member of the Italian national team, competes in the World Cup, students of the master’s degree in Management) and Davide Ghiotto (speed skating – member of the Italian national team, three gold medals at the 2016 World University Championships, students of philosophy). Just to name a few. Karen Putzer and others have already finished their studies and earned their degree.
«TOPSport started in 2011. We have been the first in Italy to create a programme to support student-athletes’ dual careers» recalled Paolo Bouquet, Rector’s delegate for sports at the University of Trento. «And now – he added – TOPSport is part of a larger dual career programme with the TOP Team agreements that the University signed last November with Aquila Basket and at the beginning of June with Hockey Pergine».
For information and applications: www.unisport.tn.it/topsport
Eleonora Strobbe - archery (©Ferruccio Berti) and Nadya Ochner - snowboard (©Miha Matavz).