The playground of the Jozef Urban Elementary School on Jenisejská Street in Košice was bustling with activity during the warm months. The revitalization of the outdoor area, which has been marked by the ravages of time, has begun. The civic association "Našim deťom" at the Jenisejská Elementary School in Košice is behind it, and together with the school and parents, they have embarked on the renovation of the athletic oval, football field and long jump landing pad. The civic association received support from our grant program Together for the Region 2025 for the project called Sport Connects the School Community.

Project coordinator Jana Nováková talks about what had to be done to restore the outdoor area to its former appearance. She works in the Process and Technology Improvement Department at USSK and has dedicated a lot of her free time to the project, as it is close to her heart. Both of her children attend the school.

"We started revitalizing the athletic oval, football field, and jumping field at the end of May. We rented machinery that cleared overgrown areas and removed waste. We were pleasantly surprised when the clay surface appeared. We repaired the jumping field, laid non-woven geotextile to prevent sand from being absorbed during rain, and also laid nets against moles. In June, we leveled the football field with arable land. The football goals received new paint and new nets."

In the photo while handing over symbolic checks as part of the grant program Together for the Region: Jana Nováková, Renáta Miklošová from civic assosiation, Deputy President of USSK Mike Piekut, Miroslava Heželová from civic assosiation and director of elementary school Lucia Grünwaldová.

The need for revitalization was reinforced by suggestions from parents of children who attend the school. In recent years, the neglected outdoor area of ​​the school has been the subject of class activities and parent council meetings. Lucia Grünwaldová has been the school principal for over a year, and improving the area has quickly become a priority. We spoke with her at the end of October, during an athletics event organized for more than 400 students at the school.

"We managed to involve parents in the form of brigades and we see that the number of people who help us is gradually increasing, the community of parents and school employees is connecting. We completed all the work today with an athletic all-around for the 1st and 2nd grades, where the children could try out the renovated sports field," he says. "We plan to organize athletic tournaments between students and teachers, as well as between students and parents, the children will use the outdoor space as part of athletic disciplines in physical education. In the future, we are considering leaving the gates of the sports field open to the public."

The athletics event was a huge success for the children. They competed in the 300-meter run, long jump, hurdles, cricket ball throw, shot put, and were accompanied by music from the school DJ throughout the event.

Ten-year-old Slavomír did not hide his joy: “I ran around the oval twice, the first time I was third among the boys and fourth among all. I am glad that we have an oval here. And I go to the field to play football with my friends after school too.”

As part of the technical work, the students will participate in the maintenance and renovation of the area so that they can continue to play sports there. With this project, the school has started the revitalization of the outdoor area, and would like to modernize it in the future.