Sport Vlaanderen will provide a free sun cream distributor in 200 municipalities and in all Sport Vlaanderen centers from the Easter holiday. This comes in the context of the #smeerem awareness campaign that aims to encourage parents and young sports providers to protect children who play sports from the sun.
#smeerem was first launched in 2019 by Sport Vlaanderen, Gezond Sporten Vlaanderen, UZ Brussel, VUB and the Cancer Foundation. “Children’s skin is highly sensitive to harmful UV rays, and those who get severe sunburns at a young age are at a higher risk of developing skin cancer later in life,” says Frank Powles, MD, a sports physician and CEO of Healthy Sports. Therefore, additional protection is important. Not only on the beach during the holidays, but from April also definitely at home in good weather in the park, on the playground or on the sports field.”
As part of the campaign, Flemish municipalities are being provided with an automated dispenser of sun cream and promotional materials free of charge. Two hundred municipalities, or two out of three, have already accepted this offer, and more may be added. From the Easter break, they will get a distributor that they can put themselves on and go to places where many young athletes gather, such as local sports and youth camps. Athlete sun cream dispensers will also be available at all Sport Vlaanderen centers, and will also be made available at future Sport Vlaanderen summer events.
