Interview with Szilvia Bonyhádi, a SANE European Sports Ambassador
The Region of Sport connects 91 municipalities. What opportunities do you think this program offers Veszprém and the Bakony-Balaton region in promoting sports and physical activity?
I believe that connecting these 91 communities is a tremendous opportunity in and of itself. It’s not simply a matter of that many sports programs are actually taking place in many towns, but rather that a long-standing mindset can emerge in which physical activity is truly a community affair.
Veszprém and the Bakony-Balaton region already offer an exceptionally diverse range of sports and recreational opportunities. The Region of Sport 2026 can help make these opportunities more visible, connect them with one another, and reach as many people as possible.
It’s especially important to me that we don’t just reach out to athletes. The goal is for people who have always thought of themselves as “not athletic” to find a form of exercise that works for them. This could be a walk, a short bike ride, dancing, water exercise, or even a few minutes of movement at work.
In my opinion, the greatest potential of ‘the Region of Sport’ is that it doesn’t treat exercise as a separate program, but rather as part of the region’s everyday culture.
One of the main goals of the Region of Sport 2026 program is to promote regular physical activity for enjoyment and to strengthen sports as a community experience. How do you think we can involve communities in increasing the amount of time people spend being active?
I think the first and most important step is to stop communicating as if everyone were supposed to be an athlete. Physical activity doesn’t always have to be training, a performance, or a competition. We can truly engage communities by offering physical activity experiences that are easy to get involved in. A walk with friends, a family outing, a fitness break at work, or even a challenge lasting just a few minutes counts.
That’s exactly why I think the ‘exercise breaks’ approach is important. It’s not necessarily about how many kilometers you run, but whether you managed to move a little more today than you did yesterday.
And community motivation matters a great deal. When we do something together, it’s easier to get started and easier to keep going. I think one of the important roles of “the Region of Sport” is precisely to show that exercise can be a shared experience, rather than just another obligation.