2009 SU Update: The Universiade Revisited

Aussie Head of Delegation Martin Roberts 

Martin Roberts and Aaron Schulha; an Australian and a Canadian. What do they have in common besides the Commonwealth bond? Well, at a certain point in their athletic career, both where high profile athletes participating at the Universiade. As a swimmer, Martin won two gold medals at the 1993 Summer Universiade in Buffalo, USA and Aaron was a player of the Canadian Volleyball Team at the 2005 Summer Universiade in Turkey.

Now both are back. Not as athletes of course, but as officials. Here in Belgrade, Aaron is prepping the volleyball team he was member of in 2005, as an assistant coach. ‘Marty’ is the head honcho of the Aussie delegation, leading the biggest crew from Down Under at the Universiade ever.

FISU Media asked both men about their experiences as an athlete and official at the Universiade and what that particular event meant in their lives; an interesting chat with two fun guys.

Martin Roberts

FISU Media: The Universiade as an athlete or as an official. There is a difference.

MR: ‘Yeah. The main difference is when you participate as an athlete is that you focus on your performance and your sport. So you relatively have a small view of the Games but you want to enjoy and experience it every which way you can and take in all the sights and sounds of this multi-national event. But at the end of it you’re very much focused on your particular performance. That is as an athlete. As Head of Delegation you’re at the complete opposite. Your attention is split on the complete attention of your delegation, in my case 194 people, so you have a much broader responsibility and you have a much broader view on those other individuals. To that extend you really can appreciate the diversity in the groups, from your table tennis players to the divers, the basketball teams, the swimmers etc. You get a better appreciation for the personalities involved. Also the logistics involved by putting a team together and getting a good feeling about the whole team instead of only your sport.

‘Marty’: it’s great to be a HoD!FISU Media: We’re a couple of decades later since the Games in Buffalo where you participated as an athlete. Did you notice any changes in the Universiade since then?

MR: ‘Yes. Today, the Universiade is a lot bigger. There is no doubt about it. One of the key elements for us is the purpose built Village for the delegations which is a very important part of preparation. It’s very important for our athletes to be exposed to such an environment. It’s something that cannot be practiced a lot under the pressure of competition so it’s a very important element.’

FISU Media: You’ve been member of the Australian Olympic Team on different occasions and you also won medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Universiade. You’ve been at the pinnacle of your sport in all these multi-sport events. In what does the Universiade differs from those other events?

MR: ‘For athletes and certainly in my case it’s not something you start out going to be a part of. Your goals are always focused on the major events as the World Championships and Olympics. And then as you get older and go to university you discover a competition exists like this that you can be part of and that can compliment your further goals to go to the Olympics or World Championships. So it’s different for each individual and it comes along in a different moment of your career. For me it came sort of halfway through my career as I was coming back in my fitness program for another Olympic cycle and I had the opportunity to go to the World University Games in Buffalo and it really allowed me to launch that next phase of preparation. We can see that now again on our team we have athletes who haven’t yet represented our country and there are others who are sort of approaching the transition towards the end of their career where they use the Games for different purposes. It means different things to different people, but it’s very unique I think. It doesn’t have the pressure of an Olympic Games. But it has all the other elements. And I think that sometimes brings out better performances. And the whole concept of the mind and body is something that is high regarded by the athletes and that is sort of a centerpiece of the World University Games.

FISU Media: What pops up into your mind after all these years if you here ‘World University Games’?

Martin with some of his delegation members in Belgrade

MR: ‘For me it was the unique opportunity to race against swimmers from other continents, especially North America and Europe. We Australians don’t get that much of chance to compete against countries from these continents except for Olympics or World Championships. It’s quite funny but I remember Kenny Rogers perform at the Closing Ceremony, so that was quite a memorable thing. When you’re at the Universiade then only you get an idea of the size of the event and the number of countries involved and that gives you quite a sense of achievement if you do well in the competitions.

FISU Media: Do you notice a difference in the students?

MR: ‘We had walkmans in my days, now its all i-pods and laptops and the first questions the athletes ask me is ‘do we have wireless?’ Different demands in different times but by and large the athletes are just the same trying to get the best out of themselves and enjoy the opportunity.’ – Christian Pierre

Assistant Volleyball Coach Aaron Schulha

Aaron Schulha

FISU Media: How did you experience the Universiade?

AS: ‘Izmir was my first international Games. It was great to be part of it as it was a pretty amazing experience. What struck me most is being able to talk to other student-athletes who where at the same stage in their life and not really knowing their school system and talking to them in a more casual way. That was the best part of it for me, playing with the group of guys we had, being able to talk to different coaches and athletes from all over the world, that’s an experience you don’t really get often.’

FISU Media: What about the level of competition?

AS: ‘A very high level. We had a very strong team that year hoping to finish within the top eight, but finally we ended in tenth place which was a bit of a disappointment for us, but the level was great. Turkey won that year and they had most of their National A Team players present as they wanted to perform well playing at home. The top 15 teams were of a very high caliber.’

FISU Media: ‘You’re back now but not as an athlete anymore, so you’re also a little bit outside that student spirit. How do you perceive the Universiade now?

AS: ‘Now it’s work! Instead of chillin’ at night, it’s analyzing match videos. But I still like it very much. We do a more talking with coaches from other teams. I look at it a little more in depth of cultures. When we watch the Japanese practice, we have the chance to look at their culture and how it’s different from ours. Those things strike me a little bit more than back in 2005 when I was more concentrated on playing. It’s obviously different but it feels fairly similar.’

FISU Media: Have you noticed any changes since 2005?

AS: ‘More people with i-pods and laptops for sure (laughs). If you don’t mingle with athletes from other countries you definitely are missing out on something as for most of these athletes it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.’

FISU Media: That moment during the Universiade you’ll always remember?

AS: ‘I felt disappointment in the fact that we could have been top eight in Izmir, as we had a great team that year. We could even have been a top 5 caliber team. And that still bugs me. Half of the team returned in Bangkok (2007 SU) and won the bronze medal and probably feel a little better about it than I do. For me I think about that quite a bit and it helps to motivate me in my coaching career. On the other hand the Universiade is something you never forget being part of such a world event. It leaves an everlasting impression.’

FISU Media: A piece of advice for aspiring athletes to participate in the Universiade?

AS: It’s easy once you’ve been to a competition like this to know what to expect. To anybody who hasn’t been to such a big event they should talk to someone who has been so they have a sense of what they would be missing out on if they didn’t go to these Games. ‘Cause it’s a tremendous opportunity, be it for the sport or the cultural aspect.’