of Education of Chile, Copiapó had (2007) an enrollment of more than 35.000 students, divided in the following programs: Kindergarten, 3.780 students; Differencial Education, 1.009 students; Elementary and Middle School, 20.794 students; High School, 10.291 students (5.185 in Scientific-Humanist programs and 5.106 in Technical-Professional programs). La commune of Copiapó offers public and private education held by 64 schools, divided in: 61 urbans and 3 rurals; 32 public, 23 State-subsidized private schools and 9 private schools. Universities Universidad de Atacama was founded in 1857, and is the only public university in the Third Region. Universidad Santo Tomás (Copiapó) Universidad Tecnológica de Chile, INACAP (Copiapó) Professional institutes Instituto Tecnológico UDA (public) Santo Tomás (private) Inacap (private) Iplacex (private) Technical centers of study CFT Benjamín Teplizky (private) CFT Santo Tomás (private) CFT Inacap (private) CFT Cepa (private) Sports and recreation Football This city has a football team called Club de Deportes Copiapó, which was born after the dissolution of Regional Atacama, in 1999. It plays in the Primera A League of football of Chile, and plays as local in the Luis Valenzuela Hermosilla Stadium and in the Municipal Stadium of Tierra Amarilla. Raid Atacama This is the event that gathers the most 4x4 automobiles in the world, and it began in 1992. The effort and spirit of Raid Atacama has made it worthy of the National Award for Tourism. For over 21 years, the Atacama Raid has been the cornerstone of the development of off-road activities along Chile, and its example has been followed by many clubs and even several companies. In the last seven years, the enrollment has kept steady on an average of about 500 vehicles per event, and more than 1,800 participants from all regions of the country and abroad. In 1997, it reached the largest number of participants to date, bringing together 613 4x4 vehicles. With no other event as large, this made it possible to apply for registration as a world record. Another of the achievements is to hold, without competition, the record for international off-road event (amateur) with greater permanence in time. Rally Dakar In the last years, Copiapó has been not only one of the Chilean communes the Rally Dakar Chile-Argentina has passed through, but also the place of birth of Jaime Prohens, considered by some as one of the most important participants of this rally. Transportation Copiapo is served by Desierto de Atacama Airport, with