Students will be able to learn about different sports and cultures Friday at the Appalachian Popular Programming Society’s International Sports Festival.

From 3-7 p.m., students can visit the APPS tent on Sanford Mall to receive a “passport.” They can then take this passport to different displays that will describe the history of specific sports and their cultural prevalence, said APPS Manager Jana Vise. There will also be demonstrations for students to watch.

At each of the displays, students will get a signature added to their passport. Once the passport is completely signed off, the students will receive pizza and be entered to win tickets to future APPS events, including future films.

“We were running through a list of events we wanted to do this year, and another member of APPS, Matt McNeil, threw out this idea and APPS loved it and voted on it,” Vise said. “We chose sports you really don’t see that often; sports that originated in different countries.”

Some of the many sports being displayed include archery, fencing, rugby, and capoeira.

“It’s theorized that capoeira was invented as a way to disguise fighting as dance by early enslaved people in Brazil,” Brian Bonville said. “It’s important that we learn about it in this country because it’s another healthy physical activity that brings in a positive lifestyle practice from another culture.”

Vise said that it was about learning about new sports, but there is also room for students to learn about sports they already know.

“I hope the students learn something new about a different sport they didn’t know about,” Vise said. “Maybe they’ll even learn something new about a sport, like soccer, that they’re familiar with.”

Story by: Molly Flinchum, Intern A&E Reporter