Evaluation of the talent development schools in the Canton of Vaud

Since 1989, the year when the first school class in the Canton of Vaud was born that combined sport and studies, 438 students have benefited from this opportunity. In spite of this experience, there exists very little knowledge from this program.

The Service de l’Education Physique et du Sport du Canton de Vaud mandated the AISTS to evaluate this channel of education, which involves students athletes, their parents, their social circles, their teachers, the other actors of the school system, their coaches, and the other actors from the sports’ world.

A number of questions focused on these different themes:

1. The relationships between the partners mentioned above
2. The different specific constraints related to this system
3. The expectations and the services of each of the parties present and the lack of such training.
4. The life after high school

Les Diablerets

Mr. Nicollier, from the municipality of Ormonts-Dessus, has mandated the AISTS to conduct a feasibility study on creating a sport school in ‘Les Diablerets’. The main motivation of ‘Les Diablerets’ is to diversify the resort by attracting other users coming from different domains such as events, training, health or a sport school. As mentioned in a study by Hug (2003), compared to other countries, Switzerland only has a limited number of students following this channel of education. Some are still unaware that these programs exist, while others find these programs too expensive or not adapted to the children’s chosen sport activity or training program. Most of these programs are only taught in German, which is why ‘Les Diablerets’ is interested in creating such a center in the French part of Switzerland. The aim of the study is to depict all the possible options available to ‘Les Diablerets’ and evaluate whether or not a permanent training center with a sport school is a feasible solution.

This study has a double objective; a better understanding of the need of a program combining school and training in the French part of Switzerland today and how ‘Les Diablerets’ could host such a program with the plan to create a new infrastructure, which could include different sports. A market research based on interviews and literature research, focused on the actors related to the project such as the parents and the students, the sporting world with the ski clubs, the coaches, the PE teachers, the school system, and the international federations will be conducted.

Research Publication: Sports Extremes - Sportifs de l'extreme

The practice of extreme sports fascinates. The exploits of the women and men that devote themselves to extreme sports awake dreams in all of us. Today, through the growing public interest and the media, extreme sports have become one of the phenomena of our society.

The over thirty contributions included in this book, which was written under the supervision of Prof Margareta Baddeley (Law Professor University Geneva and Member of the MSA Steering Committee), address various questions surrounding the practice of extreme sports.

Sports Extremes – Sportifs de l’extreme (French language)
Académie Internationale des Sciences et Techniques du Sport
Sous la direction de Margareta Baddeley
Georg Editeur, M&H Département livre
ISBN 2-8257-0781-3