The SONAR Chair is established, a health chair at UVic-UCC, to promote health and prevention in sport and physical activity.

• The Chair of Health is the result of a collaboration agreement between the University, through the CEEAF and the Elisava Private Foundation, and Sant Joan de Déu Hospital Barcelona, the COPLEFC and the Osteoarthritis Foundation International
• This new unit aims to become a centre of excellence for research, training and knowledge transfer in paediatric and adolescent sports health.
• With this, UVic-UCC now has a total of twenty chairs.

Vic, January 27th 2026. – The University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) is introducing a new chair to its research and knowledge transfer ecosystem. This is the SONAR Chair – Health and Prevention in Sport and Physical Activity, the twentieth chair at this university, established under a collaboration agreement by UVic-UCC —through the Centre for Studies in Sport and Physical Activity (CEEAF) and the Elisava University School Private Foundation— with Sant Joan de Déu Hospital Barcelona, the College of Physical Education and Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Graduates of Catalonia (COPLEFC) and the Osteoarthritis Foundation International (OAFI).

The SONAR Health Chair, the first of its kind at the CEEAF, has as its primary objective to contribute to improving health and the quality of sporting practices and physical activity among children and young people, by identifying and analysing patterns that predispose to accidents, injuries and illnesses. At the same time, it also aims to delve deeper into risk factors and develop strategies to minimise their incidence, scope and consequences. This chair aims to be a leading authority in research, training and knowledge transfer through national and international collaborations with sports bodies, schools, healthcare centres, federations, local councils and various institutions.

The new chair comprises a scientific director and an executive co-director. Its scientific director is Javier Peña, director of the CEEAF, a researcher specialising in the prevention of sports injuries and coordinator of the Research Group in Sport, Exercise and Human Movement (SEaHM) of UVic-UCC. The executive directors are Joshua Colomar, a professor at UVic-UCC and member of SEaHM, and Gil Rodas, a specialist in physical education and sports medicine.

Contributing to the improvement of health with a chair of health

The SONAR Chair, which takes its name from the European and Catalan research project ‘SONAR’, led by the CEEAF, draws on all the experience this research centre has in the field of injury prevention and in promoting the health and well-being of athletes. Joshua Colomar, Executive Director, emphasises that this chair ‘aims to generate impact through the analysis and application of theoretical and practical knowledge, with a special emphasis on the prevention of injuries and illnesses, as well as on education for safe, healthy and sustainable sporting practice.’ Colomar explains that the chair aims to be ‘the central hub for a networked and multidisciplinary approach based on scientific rigour, innovation, practical applicability and professionalism’.

Josep Eladi Baños, Rector of UVic-UCC, comments that this new unit is part of the University’s portfolio of chairs, which now totals twenty, and highlights its ‘innovative and pioneering character in the Spanish context’, where until now there had only been three university chairs with a theme focused on sport. Baños also emphasises the chair’s local commitment and international vocation, which ‘will allow it to establish alliances not only with other research groups and chairs, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, but also with centres of excellence at a national and international level’.

The new Chair of Health will have a plan for teaching activities, applied research and innovation, knowledge transfer, and also for outreach and scientific communication. These activities will include the development of an educational programme for grassroots coaches with university certification, school workshops for children and families, monthly seminar and webinar series, and awareness-raising campaigns, for example. From a research perspective, within the framework of this chair, longitudinal SONAR epidemiological studies on injuries in young athletes will be conducted, screening and monitoring tools will be co-designed, and consultancy services will also be offered to sports clubs and institutions.