Flying Beyond the Hoops!

About the project

Flying Beyond the Hoops! was an Erasmus+ youth exchange hosted by EMOTiC in Vienna from 12 to 19 August 2026, travel days included. It brought together 42 participants, 35 young people aged 18–25 and 7 group leaders, from Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Italy, Latvia, Serbia and Slovakia. EMOTiC was the coordinator and host, and the group lived and trained together at the Jugendgästehaus Wien Brigittenau in Vienna's 20th district.

The programme used quidditch, also known as quadball, a gender-mixed team sport, as a tool for exploring fair play, leadership and active citizenship. Through training sessions, matches, workshops and peer exchange, participants strengthened teamwork, communication and ethical decision-making while addressing social exclusion, unequal participation and the pressures on young people's wellbeing.

The project set out to test and promote quidditch as a sport and learning tool that can be replicated. It also aimed to help participants understand how gender roles, mental health and political participation are connected, to improve mental and physical health through movement and teamwork, to foster critical thinking and problem-solving, and to promote inclusion and diversity through communication and collaboration.

In Vienna, the programme moved from the basics to a full tournament. Participants explored the four themes of the week – leadership, well-being, fair play and gender equality – in their national realities, built shared definitions of these values and acted out situations in which they are broken in sport. They examined the responsibilities that come with each role in sport, played their first quidditch matches, designed workshops that are fully inclusive for people with disabilities, held a leadership skills auction and debated whether men’s and women’s sports should be joined. The week ended with a final tournament, won by the Blue Jays, and the Youthpass certificates.

The approach rested on three ideas: learning by experience, learning to play and playing to learn, and learning through the outdoors. Many sessions took place outside in sports clothes, with daily reflection time and a mid-term evaluation, and the first evening brought an intercultural night with food, music and games from every country. No previous Erasmus+ experience was needed, but participants had to be ready to join daily sport and outdoor activities and to communicate in English.

The week in Vienna was one part of a longer learning journey. A preparation phase from 20 July 2026 helped each national group reflect and set goals before travelling, and a follow-up phase in September 2026 took the learning home. Each national team designed a local follow-up action plan to carry the values of fair play back to their communities. The week closed with Youthpass, the Erasmus+ certificate that recognises non-formal learning.