Flying Beyond the Hoops!

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.

Six days, four themes

Over six programme days, from 13 to 18 August, the group worked on four themes – leadership, well-being, fair play and gender equality – and used quidditch, also known as quadball, a mixed-gender contact sport, to put them into practice on the pitch. This is how the week unfolded.

Day 1: Getting to know each other

Young people and group leaders from seven countries met for the first time. Name games and an honest talk about expectations opened the week, followed by an introduction to its four themes. In the afternoon, each national team shared how leadership, well-being, fair play and gender equality look in their country and in sport – from young people’s access to sport to role models and team culture. Comparing these realities revealed common challenges and some inspiring differences. The day ended with the intercultural night, with food, music, dances and games from every country.

Day 2: Defining our core values

What do leadership, well-being, fair play and gender equality really mean? In groups, participants questioned their first assumptions, built shared definitions and tested them against real situations from sport and daily life. Deciding what is fair and what is not was not always obvious, and the debates were lively. In the afternoon, small groups acted out scenes in which values are broken in sport – cheating, discrimination, unequal treatment, abuse of power and ignoring players’ well-being. After each scene, the group discussed what had happened, how it felt and what could have been done differently.

Day 3: The roles we play – and the first quidditch matches

Player, captain, coach, referee, supporter, organiser: every role in sport comes with responsibilities. The morning looked at what each role should stand for, and at the gap between knowing what is right and doing it in the heat of the moment. Then participants learned the positions, the different balls and how points are scored, and headed outside for their first quidditch matches – a first-hand experience of a mixed-gender contact sport built on equality from the ground up.

Day 4: Inclusive by design

In small groups, participants designed their own workshops with one rule: every activity had to be fully inclusive for people with disabilities. They adapted rules, materials and communication, ran their workshops with their peers and gave each other feedback. The lesson of the day: inclusion does not happen by accident – it has to be planned, tested and improved. In the afternoon the group returned to the pitch to work on skills, tactics and team coordination, with fair play at the heart of every match.

Day 5: Leadership and the big debate

What makes a good leader? Participants sorted leadership qualities into those that help a team grow and those that harm it, and discussed how leadership can be shared within a team. In a leadership skills auction, each group had a limited budget to buy the skills of its ideal leader, which called for negotiation, strategy and some tough choices. The afternoon brought a full debate simulation on whether men’s and women’s sports should be joined. Teams argued about fairness, physical differences, visibility, safety and inclusion, with quidditch itself as an example of a mixed-gender sport that works – good practice in public speaking, active listening and respectful disagreement.

Day 6: Final tournament and Youthpass

The last day began with a look back at the activities, discussions and moments that marked the week, and at what each participant would take home to their community. Then came the final quidditch tournament, won by the Blue Jays – although, in the spirit of fair play, everyone left the pitch a winner. The week closed with the Youthpass certificates, the Erasmus+ certificate that recognises non-formal learning, and with plenty of contacts exchanged and promises to stay in touch.

Back home

The week in Vienna was one part of a longer learning journey. A preparation phase from 20 July 2026 helped each national group set its 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 into their communities.