From Performance Sports to Sports for All: Romania 1945-1965. Legal Aspects

Abstract

The establishment of the communist regime in Romania in 1945 marked the beginning of a series of profound
transformations in the Romanian political and social life. These changes also affected the field of sports activities, which were, at
the time, at the initial point of their institutional organization.Our research aims at analyzing, in a critical manner, the main
legislative regulations regarding sports life implemented between 1945-1965. Their main goal was to promote the benefits of
practicing physical activities regularly, not only by performance sportsmen, but also by the majority of the population. This
initiative matched the international tendency commonly called “sports for all”, advertised by the founding-father of modern
Olympic games – Pierre de Coubertin. The laws issued by the communist authorities stipulated the establishment of national
institutions and organizations in charge with the situation of the Romanian sports field, with the financial aspects requested by
such endeavor and with the funding provided by the government. Unfortunately, many of the objectives formulated in these laws
were left only in their initial form or were completed much later that initially intended.