RESEARCH MODEL TWO

THE CUBAN INTEGRATED MODEL OF SPORT DEVELOPMENT

The genesis of Cuba’s national sports movement is attributed to the first Presidential
declaration after the 1959 revolution to the effect that PE and Sport were the vehicles by
which individual health, social well-being, intellectual development and the shaping of high
performance athletes would be achieved, and by extension national development. Prior to
1959, there were 609 coaches in Cuba (1 per 10,0000 inhabitants), many of whom were
under-qualified; and 900 sporting facilities situated mainly in the capital city.

Fourteen thousand students had been exposed to PE in private schools and athletes
sponsored their own participation in international championships. No sports equipment
was provided to Schools and none was manufactured locally. The national sports
movement was developed over time through a comprehensive, research driven and
systematic approach to the implementation of PE and Sport for all programs in day care
centers, schools, communities, the workplace and homes. The Cuban Model has at its core
the fundamental belief in the value of PE and Sport as tools for sustainable human and
national development. It posits that PE and Sport serve to develop the social, mental,
physical and intellectual dimensions of the individual; and in so doing enable the individual
to contribute to the development of the state. In essence, the Cuban Model represents a
critical component of Cuba’s culture.

The physical education sub-culture functions as the vehicle that shapes each individual into
an ideal ‘citizen’ and provides the avenue through which the individual is able to develop
his/her full potential, and by extension the full potential of the state.

Strengths

Statistics indicate concrete achievements in Cuba’s PE and Sport Program. In 1978 Cuba’s
athletes were ranked eighth in the world, second in the Continent and first in Central
America. To date more than 1,492 gold medals have been won in the Central American and
Caribbean Games; 649 in the Pan American Games; and 46 in the Olympic Games.
Approximately 2 million athletes (23,000 of them in the high performance category)
currently participate in 38 sports at the national and international level. National athletes
are folk heroes who receive recognition and rewards for their achievements as well as free
medical, social and psychological attention. Intellectual and physical preparation is for life
and the foundations of high performance sport are laid in the pre-primary and primary
years. Specialized sport training is conducted in 94 Sport academies (2,324 students), 17
sport Initiation schools (1,000–800 students each in 25–30 sports), 14 schools for the
advanced training of athletes (6,468 students) and 17 high performance sport canters
(12,241 students). All high performance athletes are university graduates and specialists in
areas such as law, medicine, construction, teaching, and engineering. Retired athletes
receive a high salary for life, as well as social, medical, human and other forms of assistance
for themselves and families; and continue to work within the system as activists or
volunteers (46,000 currently practicing). The ratio of physical educators to citizens is
1:318, and the average number of square meters in which each citizen can practice sport is
3.5 meters. 48,000 PE and Sport educators have been trained since 1963. Eleven hundred
and thirty two students originating from 68 Asian, Caribbean, African and Latin American
countries are currently enrolled in the International School for PE and Sport, making this
school a unique world reference institution. PE and Sport are delivered in homes, the
workplace and communities from infancy (0–6 years has 99.5 per cent coverage) to
University, and national championships facilitate the identification of sporting talent across
the length and breadth of the island. Twenty one per cent of the national adult population,
including senior citizens is engaged in physical activity for health, cultural and social
purposes. Life quality has increased, life expectancy is 77 and there is equal ge

Literacy rates and education levels are high and community development is highly
specialized and effectively used as a medium for controlling/minimizing social problems
and promoting the benefits of education and sport.

Young people have little time for anti-social behavior as their energies are channeled into
integrated sport and PE activities in school. They are highly mobilized and active
participants in community activist (volunteer) groups.

The constitution guarantees all citizens employment and 2 per cent of the labor force by
law is made up of the differently able. Cuba’s inter-sectoral sport, recreation and PE
programs are managed by the INDER with an annual budget of Pesos 120M (13 per cent of
the national budget). Functions are broad and include building sport and PE structures,
coordinating multi-sectorial inputs and generating income through, for example, the export
of coaches and control of the national sport manufacturing industry. INDER’s CEO holds a
Ministerial post and is a member of the Central Cabinet. A staff of 47,656 operates in 169
municipalities and 14 provinces and includes 40,000 athletes (100 per cent university
graduates and specialists); 39,000 trained PE and Sport professionals (70 per cent college
graduates including Educators, Doctors, sports/life science practitioners and tourism
specialists); and 120,000 retired persons serving as volunteers/activists in 29 sports at the
community and elementary school level. Cuba’s technical assistance program has sent
11,000 recreation, science and human resource development specialists to more than 97
countries. One hundred and twenty five cooperation agreements have been signed with, for
example, 70 governmental bodies and 31 Olympic committees in 23 countries and five
continents. One hundred and twenty Cuban officials are represented on committees of
world, regional, continental, Ibero-American and Latin American sporting bodies. Possible
Lessons Learnt from the Cuban Model The HRD in Sport Committee had no access to
information on the weaknesses and challenges inherent in the Cuban model. The essential
elements of this model provide a useful lesson for the Community and have informed the
revision of the Draft Regional Strategy for the Development of Sport (DRSDS)
Elements of the Cuban Model

A Clearly Articulated Philosophy and set of values.

What obtains is an overall philosophy of development to which all sectors contribute.

Each citizen is required to internalize and adhere to a clearly identifiable set of cohesive
and consistent values which are espoused by Central Government and supported by
state institutions. These values are used to inform the identification, acquisition and
allocation of human and physical resources and the formulation of human resource
development approaches and strategies. Generally speaking, the will of the individual
runs second to the will of the State.

PE and Sport for all

All nationals have the right to participate in sport for the purposes of recreation, health
or high ranked performance; and to education, health and employment. PE and sport
are integrated and its delivery is closely articulated with health, education,community
development, political and cultural approaches. Sport is a core subject on the school
curriculum at all levels and is given equal weight with educational objectives. Sporting
talent is honed in a series of special institutions and in a highly competitive
environment.

Coordination of Multi-sectorial approaches Sport and PE are implemented on a multi-

sectoral/inter-sectoral basis.

INDER has branches at the municipal, provincial and community level, and is
responsible for the delivery of all sport and PE functions; and the coordination of all
sport related systems, structures and services delivered by political, health, cultural,
community development, education and sport agencies and institutions that
traditionally function independently of each other. Coordination is achieved through a
series of formal co-ordination agreements at different levels and with different agencies
and institutions such as ministries, trade unions, women’s federations and Olympic
associations. The national budget is allocated to subject ministries as well as inter-
sectorial projects.

Culture

Cuban culture, its way of life, is a fusion of mainly European and African cultures. Every
Cuban regardless of age or ethic affiliation can identify with and draw strength and
pride from it. Music, art, history, nutrition and other cultural forms provide the energy
that shapes, sustains and drives the philosophy, policies, procedures and practices
relating to the use of PE and sport in national development. It is, in effect, the ‘glue’ that
holds elements of the developmental system together.
Mobilization of Resources

The placement of sport as a national development priority assures the political will to
identify, acquire and allocate requisite financial, physical and human resources. For the
most part facilities and equipment are adequate if not high tech, and greater priority is
given to guaranteeing the quality of human resources and athletes. However, when
shortages occur, decisions are made within the context of the priority accorded to the
specific sport or aspect of the sport. Emphasis is also placed on optimum use of existing
resources and improvisation with regard to equipment.

Human Resource Development

Cuba attributes her success in health, social well being and high performance sport to
systematic, inter-sectoral and evidenced based approaches; scientific research; and the
quality and hard work of human resources and athletes. Manpower planning takes
place within the framework of the five- year National Development Plan, and there is a
continuous cycle of training, continuous assessment, upgrading and retraining of sport,
PE and associated professionals at all levels. Activists (volunteers) are widely used in
elementary schools and communities. The export of Coaches is a major foreign
exchange earner.

Research and Development.

Research and development play critical roles in the development of new strategies,
methodologies and materials; evaluating, treating, and shaping healthy citizens and
athletes; and preventing injuries. A national sport medicine institute coordinates
research into the prevention of injury and sickness and the evaluation, preparation,
treatment and overall orientation of people in general and high performance athletes in
particular. Students are among the groups subject to ongoing physical testing against
standards and trends developed by the sport medicine institute.

Community Mobilization

The community is the medium for marketing the benefits which accrue from the
political philosophy, including guaranteed employment; better health, education and
welfare; free skills training and opportunities for participation in sport and competitive
games. This results in reduced levels of individual stress in struggling to meet social
needs and an improved quality of community life. The process of community
development is highly specialised and direction and growth are determined by national
philosophical principles and underlying values. Problem solving approaches are
adopted in the process of community planning.
Conclusion

Several CARICOM documents and initiatives provide the basis for incorporating some of
the more relevant lessons learnt from the Cuban model into the Region’s integrated sport
development program. These include:

• the CARICOM Charter for Civil Society;

• the Caribbean Cooperation in Health II;

• the Human Resource Development Strategy by which the Future’s policy research seeks
to establish and implement an inter-sectoral approach to human resource development;

• the 1996 decisions of the COHSOD and the Conference of Heads of Government which
endorsed the potential of PE and sport for social, economic, personal and cultural
development;

• the decisions of COHSOD V (2000) to systematically re-introduce PE and sport in schools

and promote sport as a tool to address social development issues. The primary
beneficiaries of the Cuba model are individuals from conception to death, but it is the youth
who are demographically important (as in the Caribbean) and who will bring national
recognition through excellence in high performance sport.

Recommendations

The following strategic actions are proposed to ensure the sustainability of development
through sport initiatives:

(i) Solicit stakeholder feedback on the revised draft DRSDS and develop a regional
sustainable development strategic framework which integrates education, health, culture,
community development and sport objectives;

ii) Design and test multi-sectoral/inter-sectoral projects utilising sport as a development

tool and develop a model which can be used by other agencies and institutions;

(iii) Review the capacity of Community Development departments in the Region to

contribute to sustainable development approaches;

(iv) Develop/strengthen structured approaches to capitalising on the assets of students on

scholarship in Cuba and elsewhere such as linking research with national policy
formulation; organiziing community based workshops which they facilitate during the
summer holidays (to contribute to the College’s practicum requirement); and keeping them
informed on regional issues and priorities including the Single Market and Economy,
Human Resource Development Strategy and initiatives to develop Sport and Physical
Education;

(v) Increase the level of Cuba-CARICOM cooperation in sport as follows –

(a) Provision of technical assistance from the Caribbean with regard to the development of
sport tourism and traditional sports such as cricket, netball and football in Cuba; and
immersion English language training;

(b) Provision of technical assistance from Cuba with regard to the

development/adoption/adaptation of nutritional, performance and other standards and
trends in the Caribbean; and immersion Spanish language training;

(c) Establishment of structured linkages between Universities and colleges in Cuba and
CARICOM to their mutual benefit to include joint review and monitoring of the syllabi for
PE teachers and coaches and joint development, delivery and certification of courses;

(d) Increase in the number of Cuban scholarships available to Caribbean coaches, sport
medicine practitioners, sport administrators/psychologists/sociologists, coaches, PE
teachers and curriculum specialists at all levels; and the development of bilingual
English/Spanish syllabi;

(e) Facilitate youth exchanges in the areas of sport and culture. In the final analysis, citizens
of the Caribbean Community should be accorded the right to participate in sport,
recreation and physical activity throughout the life cycle for purposes of health promotion,
social well-being and/or competition at the high performance level. The next steps will
include consultation with Directors of Sport and Youth Affairs and other key stakeholders
to refine the outputs of the Second HRD in Sport Committee Meeting, develop a regional
strategic framework and implementation plan and identify the modalities for strengthening
national approaches to sport and PE; advocacy for the approved RSDS; and project
development, resource mobilisation, implementation and evaluation.