Abstract:

This contribution analyses a project that interprets sports practice through the tools of the Science of representation (SoR) typical of architectural practice, proposing it as a transversal educational pathway for different user groups. Knowledge of geometry and the development of spatial orientation skills, both in the domain of SoR, can be effectively conveyed through bodily experience, its observation and narration, and its subsequent interpretation.

The research aims to connect spatial–visual perception and geometric competences with sports practice through the description of movement and the identification of readable reference systems within spaces of practice. The resulting educational approach is oriented towards dissemination activities in schools, with the aim of demonstrating to students that geometry is an integral component of movement and can become part of their educational pathway through sport.

Language and content are adapted to different audiences. Two main target groups have been identified: primary school classes, to encourage the introduction to sport as a vehicle for knowledge, and lower secondary school classes, to show how an understanding of geometric principles and visuospatial abilities can enhance sports performance and enable more conscious observation.

In initial phase, the analytical work on selected sports disciplines and their spatial contexts was tested with a Year 5 primary school class through three sessions with different focus.

The first session analysed several Olympic sports starting from their pictograms, reflecting on how sports are represented through equipment or athletes and on the synthetic nature of Olympic icons. This discussion provided the basis for identifying geometric relationships within sports practice, recognising them in athletes’ movements, sports spaces, equipment and the dynamics of training, performance and evaluation.

The second session consisted of practical activities in applied geometry using gym equipment. Students explored geometric properties of movement – such as rotation, translation, orthogonality and parallelism – through individual and cooperative exercises and through the redesign of a playing field using these geometric principles.

The third session addressed the geometry of sports buildings, analysing how athletes, coaches, judges and spectators are positioned within sports spaces. Students reflected on their perception of sports environments through a ‘graphic’ debate based on the analysis of the school gymnasium and through an introduction to the basic principles underlying the design of sports facilities.

The programme is part of a STEAM project at the Politecnico di Torino, where an architectural perspective guided the educational approach towards understanding the relationship between human, space and sport.

Keywords:

Geometry, Sport, Representation of movement, Evaluation of movement.