Kinesiologia Slovenica, 21, 2, 5–10 (2015), ISSN 1318-2269 Original article 5 sports organisations and support and initiate projects and research on dual career. Key words: dual career, EAS, athlete IZVLEČEK Vrhunski športniki opravijo ogromno količino treninga, kar je pogosto težko uskladiti z izobraževalnimi obveznostmi. Dvojna kariera (uspešna kombinacija vrhunskega športa in izobraževanja) je več dimenzionalni proces, ki je pod vplivom posameznika (talent in psihološke značilnosti), medosebnih odnosov (socialna podpora in kulturni običaji), okolja (dostop in razpoložljivost storitev) in politike (nacionalni in mednarodni normativi). Zaradi različnih pristopov do dvojne kariere športnikov v različnih evropskih državah prihaja do različnih kariernih poti športnikov. Da bi zaščitili pravice športnikov do sočasnega ukvarjanja s športom in izobraževanjem, so evropski oblikovalci politike začeli spodbujati države članice EU, naj podprejo študente športnike na lokalni ravni in sicer tako, da sledijo smernicam EU o dvojni karieri športnikov in ključnim ukrepom. Znotraj tega okvira, od leta 2004 Evropska mreža za študente športnike ("EAS") dejavno podpira prizadevanja EU pri spodbujanju dvojne kariere z zagotavljanjem platforme za boljši dialog med izobraževalnimi ustanovami (univerze, visoke šole, športne šole) in športnimi organizacijami (klubi in športne zveze). S spodbujanjem mreženja med institucijami želi EAS poenotiti partnerje, ki sodelujejo v okviru vrhunskega športa in izobraževanja, spodbujati izmenjavo najboljših praks na področju dvojne kariere športnikov, krepiti vezi med izobraževalnimi ustanovami in športnimi organizacijami in podpirati ter sodelovati v projektih in raziskavah o dvojni karieri. Ključne besede: dvojna kariera, EAS, športnik ABSTRACT Elite athletes undergo tremendous volumes of training, which often collide with educational commitments. A dual career (i.e., the successful combination of elite sport and education) is a multifactorial complex, influenced by individual (i.e. talent and psychological characteristics), interpersonal (i.e., social support and cultural custom), environmental (i.e. access and availability to tools/services), and policy (i.e., national and international normative) aspects. Across Europe, discrepancies in dual career policies determine different career paths in student-athletes. To protect their right to combine sport and education, European policy-makers have encouraged EU Member States to support student-athletes at local level by providing EU Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes and key action strategies. Within such framework, the European Athlete as Student Network (“EAS”) has, since 2004, actively supported EU efforts in promoting dual career by providing a platform for a better dialogue between educational bodies (i.e., universities, high schools, sports schools) and sport organisations (i.e. clubs and federations). Through encouraging networking between institutions, EAS aims to unify partners involved in high performance sport and education, promote the exchange of dual career best practices, strengthen the link between educational institutions and THE EUROPEAN ATHLETE AS STUDENT NETWORK (“EAS”): PRIORITISING DUAL CAREER OF EUROPEAN STUDENT- ATHLETES EVROPSKA MREŽA ZA ŠTUDENTE ŠPORTNIKE (“EAS”): VZPODBUJANJE DVOJNE KARIERE EVROPSKIH ŠTUDENTOV - ŠPORTNIKOV Laura Capranica 1 Jörg Foerster 2 Ole Keldorf 3 Veronique Leseur 4 Patricia Vandewalle 4 Doupona Topic Mojca 5 Ilvis Ābeļkalns 6 Risto Keskitalo 7 Tibor Kozsla 8 Antonio Figueiredo 9 Flavia Guidotti 1 1 University of Rome Foro Italico, Rome, Italy; 2 Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; 3 Eliteidræt Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark; 4 INSEP, Paris, France; 5 University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia; 6 University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia; 7 Kastelli Upper Secondary Sport School, Oulu, Finland; 8 University of Physical Education, Budapest, Hungary; 9 University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.