President Bachelet enacts law that allows civil organizations to use the athletics facilities of the Armed and Security Forces

President of Chile Michelle Bachelet visited the district of Peñalolén this morning with Defense Minister José Antonio Gómez and Sports Minister Natalia Riffo to enact the law that authorizes the Armed and Security Forces to allow the use of their sports infrastructure by athletic, educational, and not-for-profit entities.

During the ceremony, the President noted that this initiative “will allow the organized community to use athletics equipment that belongs to the Armed and Security Forces, as occurs here in the Telecommunications Command, as we have just observed.”

The law will also benefit locations throughout the country that do not have enough athletics facilities for high performance or recreational sporting activities.

In the Army Telecommunications Command where the activity was held, the President noted that “behind projects like this one is the cross-cutting will of our representatives, members of Congress, and senators to provide the people with more opportunities for growth and quality of life.”

She added that in initiatives like the one presented today “there is also a spirit of strengthening the day-to-day relationship between our Armed and Security Forces and our people.”

For the application of this law, regulations will be issued to determine which military officials are authorized to grant access to the athletic infrastructure and equipment. They will set out the requirements, procedures, and formalities for their use, deadlines, procedures for determining the expenses to be reimbursed, the criteria and priorities to be used to define the activities, and the beneficiaries.

During her remarks, the President stated that “taking an interest in sports beginning in childhood means taking an interest in the future of our coexistence.”

She also highlighted the introduction of 3,960 comprehensive athletics academies in 322 districts of the country which benefited over 100,000 people during 2015 and the creation of the new National Physical Activity and Athletics Policy. Bachelet also noted that programs related to high performance sports are among the entities that have the greatest percent increase in the national budget.

In closing, the President said, “Together we are building a Chile in which coming together and coexistence are central values. A Chile in which all people, with or without a uniform, can have fun, play, compete, and meet others. We are thus building a better Chile for everyone.”