In Portuguese, academia is a term shared by both institutions dedicated to teaching and research and places focused on sports. Despite this, there seems to be a certain cliché that those who dedicate themselves to one form of academia do not usually frequent the other. It is even possible that the hope of never being forced to exercise is part of some people’s decision to pursue an academic life. But if that was the case for the members of copi, they did not anticipate the Olincopíadas (Olyncopic Games).
The Olincopíadas are an annual multi-sport event in which teams formed by advisors and their respective advisees compete for the glory of being declared the “Best Team” at the end of the competition. It is unclear whether the intention behind its organization was the noble goal of promoting mens sana in corpore sano or the desire for a shared experience that would provide endless conversation topics in cafés after research seminars. The fact is that copi members divided themselves into three teams, whose names pay homage to their respective leaders: VAS com Deuses, Professor Virgílio Afonso da Silva’s team; Conradicais, Professor Conrado Hubner Mendes’ team; and Veríssimos Vencedores, Professor Marcos Paulo Verissimo’s team.