10^th Jubilee ofthe UBC Commission on Sport

It is known that physical inactivity is a significant risk factor for various diseases. Many researchers have proved that economic costs of inactivity amount to hundreds of millions of euro due to the increased number of diseased persons, increased absence at work, cost of medical services and drugs.

One of the questions posed during tenth Jubilee Annual Meeting of UBC Commission on Sport organised in Klaipeda on 14-16 April 2005 was how to motivate people to be more active. Participants from 13 UBC member cities from 6 countries discussed the issue of physical activity and health promotion presented by professor H. Löllgen (Germany) and Mr. D. Kepenis from Palanga School of Health (Lithuania). Moreover, two practical examples were shown by Ms H. Parkkunen (Finland) - the Healthy City Programme carried out in collaboration with WHO and by Ms B. Grüner (Germany) - INTERREG IIIC SportUrban Project.

During the meeting of the Commission on Sport Ms Beata Legowska (Gdynia) was elected Chairperson for the next term and Ms Lena Ryge (Karlskrona) was elected the Vice-chairperson.

Furthermore, there was a presentation of 10 years of the Commission's activity made by Ms Ewa Depka (Gdynia) as well as of 2005 grant awarding procedure entitled "Healthy Lifestyle through Sport". By awarding grants for sports projects, the Commission on Sport would like to raise awareness of the importance of sport as an integral element of healthy lifestyle and to promote healthy lifestyle practices. It is known that regular physical activity reduces mortality by 36 per cent, improves the quality of life and slows down the aging process. Even 30 minutes of daily physical activity prolongs your life, reduces overweight and decreases medical and economic costs.