Brazilians kids see soccer fields anywhere. But for most of them, other sports seem expensive or distant. Even with the upcoming arrival of sports events in Rio, poor children only get in touch with other sports inside schools, while in physical classes. That’s why in Favelas, where empty spaces are rare, remaining spots soon become improvised soccer fields.
Coral Paints, an Akzo Nobel’s popular brand in Brazil, saw an opportunity to show how its portfolio could engage low-income families in the mood for the events. The brand even has an office in Favela Dona Marta, an iconic slum in Rio de Janeiro. We had to make something local that could be replicated and engage many other children.
We revealed many other mini-courts around, hidden in common places like stairs, clothesline and walkways. To see these “Unexpected Courts”, everything kids needed was the same creativity they have for finding soccer fields. In Santa Marta, seven coloured venues were created: “Stairs Basketball”, “Pillar Volleyball”, “Walkway Sprint”, “Bench Hockey, “Any Table Tennis”, “Rugbyish” and “Goalball (on the Wall)”, an official sport for blind people. Design and rules were adjusted to comply with walls, steps and holes. So, in “Stairs Basketball”, throws from each step bellow gives higher scores. And the whole process was compiled in a “how-to-do” website, developed under creative commons license.
Coral Paints’ unexpected circuit has become an example on how paint can recreate spaces and revitalize them. Following its immediate success among kids, the Residents Association started holding sport classes there. The courts were also included in favela’s official tours. Since then, thousands of tourists and school students have already been inspired it to reproduce the idea. Rio de Janeiro’s State Sport Secretary embraced the project to take it to more places. A website and ten thousand handout booklets are available for instructions. With the power of painting, Coral Paints is bringing the Games closer to our kids. And they now may realize sports come in many shapes... And colours.
Coral used its own products and staff to create the Unexpected Courts. To cover a total area of 100m2, we used approximately 5 litres of paint, including 10 different colours and its variations for surfaces. With the support of Rio de Janeiro’s Government, we used common spaces for our message, instead of standard media. The Sports Secretary also provided equipment, though most part of it was handmade from recycled material. That means a total budget of U$2.000 including raw material and work force. On average, the cost for each one of the seven coloured venues was U$285.