Associação Académica de Coimbra
Encyclopedia
- This article is for the student's union of the University of Coimbra; for its autonomous professional football organization see Associação Académica de Coimbra - O.A.F..
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
of the University of Coimbra (UC). Founded in Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. It is also the biggest Portuguese students' union belonging to an independent institution, since it represents all the students of its university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, who gain automatic membership into the AAC as students of the University of Coimbra.
In addition to several departments dedicated to culture and student life, AAC has several sports' departments based in Coimbra. All teams and athletes of the AAC sports departments bear the same name and logo with black uniforms. This is one of the largest sports clubs of Portugal. The Associação Académica de Coimbra - O.A.F. (its autonomous professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club) is one of its better known sports clubs across Portugal due to a regular presence on the Portuguese Football Championship and the popularity of football in the country. In rugby (Portuguese Rugby Union Championship), volleyball (Portuguese Volleyball Championship) and basketball (Portuguese Basketball League (LCB)
Portuguese Basketball League (LCB)
The Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol is the top men’s basketball league in Portugal. From the 2008-09 season onwards, the competition will be organized once again by the Federação Portuguesa de Basquetebol after 13 seasons. This was caused by the fold of the LCB, after many years of financial...
) competitions, AAC is also represented at the highest level, as well as in several olympic
Olympic sports
Olympic sports, as defined by the International Olympic Committee, are all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The Summer Olympics, as of 2012, will include 26 sports, with two additionall sports due to be added in 2016...
disciplines.
Organization
Since the late nineties inside the AAC structure have been created several local student unions, representing courses, departments or sometimes faculties. Known as “Núcleos” (Portuguese for nucleus), these semi-independent unions have their own elected internal organs. All of them represent a major role in the AAC political, cultural, sportive and social life. In 2008 the AAC comprehended 25 of such unions, of which NEFLUC (Students union of the Faculty of Letters) is the biggest, representing nearly 3000 students.
The main building of the Coimbra's Academic Association was inaugurated in 1961 and holds the offices of many sports clubs (secções desportivas) and arts sections (secções culturais). There are also rehearsal halls, a medical centre, academic services, extensive indoor gardens, a theatre-cinema with approximately 1,000 seats (Teatro Académico de Gil Vicente), and a café–restaurant where many students meet up and enjoy a wide selection of foods. AAC is the umbrella organization
Umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
for a number of autonomous entities, the organismos autónomos.
Some of its better known former members include Salgado Zenha
Salgado Zenha
Francisco Salgado Zenha, GCL was a Portuguese left-wing politician and lawyer.As a student at the University of Coimbra, he was elected president of the Academic Association of Coimbra, being dismissed some months after because he refused to participate in a demonstration of support to the Estado...
, Manuel Alegre
Manuel Alegre
Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte, GCL , is a Portuguese poet and politician, member of the Socialist Party, and a candidate to the Portuguese presidential election, 2006...
, António de Almeida Santos
António de Almeida Santos
António de Almeida Santos, GCL , is a Portuguese lawyer, politician, parliamentary and minister in several occasions.-Career:...
, Miguel Torga
Miguel Torga
Miguel Torga, pseudonym of Adolfo Correia da Rocha is considered one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 20th century...
, António Nobre
António Nobre
António Pereira Nobre was a Portuguese poet. He died of tuberculosis in Foz do Douro, Porto, in 1900, after trying to recover in a number of places. His masterpiece Só , was the only book he published.-Northern Portugal:Nobre was a member of a wealthy family...
, Vergílio Ferreira
Vergílio Ferreira
Vergílio Ferreira, JOSE was a Portuguese writer.As a teenager, he studied in a seminar. Later he studied at the University of Coimbra. His experiences are related in his most famous work "Manhã Submersa", Vergílio Ferreira, JOSE (Melo, Gouveia, 28 January 1916 – Lisbon, 1 March 1996) was a...
, Zeca Afonso
Zeca Afonso
José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos, known as Zeca Afonso or just Zeca , was born in Aveiro, Portugal, the son of José Nepomuceno Afonso, a judge, and Maria das Dores. Zeca is among the most influential folk and political musicians in Portuguese history...
, and Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Maria Correia Gomes de Oliveira, GCIH, ComL, or just Adriano was a Portuguese musician, born to a conservative Roman Catholic family in Porto. His family moved to Avintes after his birth...
.
In addition, the AAC is the organizing and regulating body of the typical student Praxe
Praxe
The Portuguese term praxe describes the whole of student traditions in universities or, more often, to the initiation rituals freshmen are subjected to in some Portuguese universities....
(Praxis) of the University of Coimbra (UC), a rich tradition of rituals and festivities organized by UC's students, for the students.
Sports sections
The AAC sports clubs include:
- ArcheryArcheryArchery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
- AthleticsAthletics (track and field)Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
- BadmintonBadmintonBadminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
- BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
: is played at Pavilhão Multiusos de CoimbraPavilhão Multiusos de CoimbraPavilhão Multiusos de Coimbra is a multipurpose sports arena in Coimbra, Portugal adjacent to the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra stadium and the municipal swimming pools . Built in 2003, it is venue for Académica de Coimbra/Dolcevita basketball team, among other teams and events. Its owner is Coimbra's...
. The team currently plays in the highest level of Portuguese basketball, the Portuguese Basketball Premier League. - Body building
- BoxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
- CanoeingCanoeingCanoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
- ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
- Competitive swimming
- Fencing
- FootballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
- GymnasticsGymnasticsGymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
- HandballTeam handballHandball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
- JudoJudois a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
- KarateKarateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
- Motorized sports
- Nautical sports
- Radio-controlled car
- Rink hockey
- RugbyRugby footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
: The team has been a major contender in the Portuguese top level rugby union championship. They represented Portugal once at the European Challenge CupEuropean Challenge CupThe European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
, as an amateur side, for the season of 2004/05, being eliminated by Borders, from ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, after heavy losses of 3-98, home, and 3-107, away, in an aggregate of 6-205. Académica didn't attend the European ShieldEuropean ShieldThe European Shield was a reprechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup in 2002-03 and 2003-04. The name "European Shield" had previously been used for the now renamed European Challenge Cup....
the same season. The Coimbra side had one of its players, Rui CordeiroRui CordeiroRui Pedro Godinho Cordeiro was a Portuguese rugby union footballer. He has a degree in veterinary medicine....
, in the Portugal national rugby union teamPortugal national rugby union teamThe Portugal national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union side representing Portugal. They first played in 1935 and now compete in the European Nations Cup. Rugby union in Portugal is administered by the Federação Portuguesa de Rugby. Portugal qualified for their first Rugby World Cup in...
which was present at the 2007 Rugby World Cup2007 Rugby World CupThe 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
. - Roller skatingRoller skatingRoller skating is the traveling on smooth surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation. Skates generally come in two basic varieties: quad roller skates and inline skates or blades, though some have experimented with a...
- Sport fishing
- TaekwondoTaekwondoTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
: The team currently plays in the Portuguese Volleyball League A1Portuguese Volleyball League A1The Portuguese Volleyball League A1 is the top men's volleyball league in Portugal. The competition, which is organised by the Portuguese Volleyball Federation, was called Honor Division in 1983-84 and 1986-88...
. - Weightlifting
- WrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
Arts sections
Among the Arts sections of the AAC, the Coimbra's University radio station is best known for its unique profile, youthful and refreshing attitude and avant-garde style. All the cultural sections of AAC are open to the entire society, promoting respected events, workshops and courses, both for students and the city community.AAC cultural sections include:
- AstronomyAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
- CinematographyCinematographyCinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
: Centro de Estudos Cinematográficos - EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
- Fado de Coimbra music
- GastronomyGastronomyGastronomy is the art or science of food eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine...
- Human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
- InformaticsInformatics (academic field)Informatics is the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information...
- JournalismJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
: A Cabra (university newspaper) - PhilatelyPhilatelyPhilately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
- Portuguese language and culture divulgationPortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
- RadioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
: Rádio Universidade de CoimbraRadio Universidade de CoimbraCoimbra University Radio is a university radio station of the Coimbra Academic Association of the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal. It broadcasts on 107.9 FM . The Center of Experimental Radio was founded in the 40's, but it is only on March, 1st 1986... - Student SOS - Phone line to support and help students with any kind of personal problems
- TelevisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
: TV-AAC - WritingWritingWriting is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
and Reading - YogaHatha yogaHatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
Autonomous organisations
Back in 1880, seven years before the Associação Académica de Coimbra has been founded, one of these organisations was already established - the Orfeon Académico de Coimbra
Orfeon Académico de Coimbra
Orfeon Académico de Coimbra is the oldest and one of the most famous academic choirs in Portugal. It was established in 1880 by the then University of Coimbra's law student João Arroio, with the name Sociedade Choral do Orpheon Académico....
, a student's choir which represents the city of Coimbra and the university during its world tours.
The same applies to the main football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team of the AAC, the Associação Académica de Coimbra - O.A.F., usually known as "Académica" or "Briosa". This team is amongst the top Portuguese football leagues and was created in 1876. It is a professional football club, established by the AAC and also part of the AAC as an independent club. The AAC football club was the first ever winner of the Portuguese Football Cup, in 1939.
Among the autonomous organisations of AAC there are also some well reputed theatre groups with a vast curriculum of acclaimed performances and playing a critical part in the city's cultural life.
AAC autonomous organisations include:
- Choral music: OAC - Orfeon Académico de Coimbra and CMUC - Coro Misto da Universidade de Coimbra
- Folk musicFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and EthnographyEthnographyEthnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
: Grupo de Etnografia e Folclore da Academia de Coimbra - Professional football teamFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
: Associação Académica de Coimbra - O.A.F. - MusicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
: Tuna Académica da Universidade de Coimbra - Plastic arts: Círculo de Artes Plásticas de Coimbra
- TheatreTheatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
: TEUC - Teatro dos Estudantes da Universidade de Coimbra and CITAC - Círculo de Iniciação Teatral da Academia de Coimbra
Events
The AAC is also responsible for the organization of the Queima das FitasQueima das Fitas
The Queima das Fitas is a traditional festivity of the students of some Portuguese universities, organized originally by the students of the University of Coimbra.- History :...
, one of the biggest student festivals in Europe and a great event in the city. The Festa das Latas, a smaller-scale event is the freshman's week of the University of Coimbra, also organised by the AAC. The AAC is the official body of the traditional Praxe
Praxe
The Portuguese term praxe describes the whole of student traditions in universities or, more often, to the initiation rituals freshmen are subjected to in some Portuguese universities....
, a sort of students' rite of passage, created by students of the University of Coimbra, which has a code of conduct
Code of Conduct
A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an individual, party or organization. Related concepts include ethical codes and honor codes....
, the Código da Praxe), a book published within the students' union.
The Symbol
The Tower of Coimbra's University is the city's «ex-libris» with its iconic bell. The tower's bell is known amongst the students as the cabra (she-goat). The tower is of Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style by the school of the German-born architect Ludovice
Ludovice
Johann Friedrich Ludwig , known in Portugal as João Frederico Ludovice, was a German born architect and goldsmith.Ludovice was born in Hohenhart. In 1698 he went to Italy, where he married and converted to Catholicism, changing his name to Ludovici...
who built it between 1728 and 1733. It is almost 34 metres high, and has a narrow and circular staircase which leads to a belvedere
Belvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
with remarkable views over the university, the historical part of the city centre and the river Mondego.
AAC uniqueness
University of Coimbra's AAC is the biggest organization of its kind in Portugal. AAC has a long history and unmatched reputation in student sports, cultural activities, and political activism. With a long history of struggle against unpopular state policies, forming notable politicians and intellectuals along the way, it also harbours a very dynamic associative life.Other similar students' unions in the country, of the same type and having a comparable size and importance, such as Associação Académica da Universidade de Aveiro (University of Aveiro), Associação Académica da Universidade da Beira Interior (University of Beira Interior
University of Beira Interior
The University of Beira Interior is a public university located in the city of Covilhã, Portugal...
), Associação Académica da Universidade do Minho (Minho University), or Associação Académica da Universidade do Algarve (University of the Algarve
University of the Algarve
The University of the Algarve is a Portuguese public university with administrative and financial autonomy. Its two campuses and the central administration are located in Faro, the capital city of the Algarve region. It has about 9,000 students.- History and organisation :It was founded at the end...
), are smaller students' unions by number of associates because its universities have a smaller number of students.
In other places in Portugal, there are many independent faculty
Faculty (university)
A faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
, institute and school organizations of students from many mother-institutions (universities or polytechnical institutes) that are not representative of the whole mother-institution, being this fragmentation the reason for their smaller size, importance, and strength. There are also federations of students' unions comprising public and private, university and polytechnic independent and not related institutions from a city, like FAP - Federação Académica do Porto (from Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
) which is the largest students organization in the country, that do not represent a single university or polytechnic, but many independent federated students' unions from institutions of the most diverse kind.
See also
- University of Coimbra
- Queima das FitasQueima das FitasThe Queima das Fitas is a traditional festivity of the students of some Portuguese universities, organized originally by the students of the University of Coimbra.- History :...
- Associação Académica de Coimbra - O.A.F.
- Fado de Coimbra
- Rádio Universidade de CoimbraRadio Universidade de CoimbraCoimbra University Radio is a university radio station of the Coimbra Academic Association of the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal. It broadcasts on 107.9 FM . The Center of Experimental Radio was founded in the 40's, but it is only on March, 1st 1986...
(RUC) - PraxePraxeThe Portuguese term praxe describes the whole of student traditions in universities or, more often, to the initiation rituals freshmen are subjected to in some Portuguese universities....
- Academic CrisisAcademic CrisisThe Academic Crisis is the name given to a Portuguese governmental policy instigated in 1962 by the Portuguese dictatorial regime entailing the boycott and closure of several student associations and organizations, including the National Secretariat of Portuguese Students. Most members of this...
- CoimbraCoimbraCoimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
External links
- Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) (in Portuguese)
- Rádio Universidade de Coimbra (RUC) (in Portuguese)
- Teatro dos Estudantes da Universidade de Coimbra (students theatre)
- TV-AAC (television)
- A Cabra (university students newspaper)
- Universidade de Coimbra (Rink Hockey)