2013 SU Update: FISU inspects Kazan’s Readiness to host Universiade

Marc Vandenplas with Village Mayor Farid Abdulganiev

KAZAN – The FISU Inspection Team arrived on December 5th in Kazan for a five-day visit to assess the preparation process of the city for the 27th Summer Universiade.

The delegation, headed by Marc Vandenplas, FISU Director for the Summer Universiade, consists of FISU CTI Chair for the Summer Universiade John Warnock, Assistant to the Summer Universiade Jing Zhao, Sport Assistant to Summer Universiade Melanie Stallecker, as well as the FISU IT Advisor Mirjana Cvijanovic and her colleague Zoran Nikolic.

At the working sessions the Kazan 2013 organizers and FISUdelegates discussed such issues as the competition schedule, timing and scoring systems, accreditation and Games management system, Universiade Village’s management, accommodation and catering services, transportation and logistics, software and communications, marketing, social and cultural programs, medical service, interaction with media, security enforcement, as well as volunteer recruitment, training and coordination. Special attention will be paid to the FISU knowledge management system implemented under the Universiade Legacy concept.

It’s noteworthy that staff members of the Universiade Directorate, as well as partners for the 2013 Games, had generated a list of questions regarding this or that area of the preparations for the Games that they intend to address to responsible delegates of the International University Sports Federation.

Today, December 6th, the FISU delegates paid an inspection visit to the UniversiadeVillage where they viewed the International Media Centre currently under construction, as well as the medical centre, accreditation zone and dining areas. Throughout their whole tour around the facilities, the FISU delegates were accompanied by Universiade Village Mayor/Deputy Director General of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Farid Abdulganiev and heads of other departments responsible for the preparation and staging of the Summer Universiade in Kazan, including Director of the Department of Medical, Sanitary and Epidemiological Services of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Marat Gataullin.

The latter took the FISU delegates to the construction site of the medical centre located on the territory of the Universiade Village. «The construction of the medical centre is carried out according to the schedule and will be completed within the next two months», he said. «All the necessary equipment required for a high-quality operation of the medical centre is already purchased.»

In the course of the inspection, FISU Director for the Summer Universiade Marc Vandenplas noted that it had been a long time since he had visited Kazan for the last time and expressed his admiration with the changes that occurred in the city and in the construction sites of the Kazan 2013 facilities. «I can say for sure that beforeKazanthere was no other city that has been preparing for the Universiade so dynamically and profoundly», the FISU Director for the Summer Universiade said. He also admitted that all the venues would be inspected to evaluate their compliance with technical standards and requirements.

At the same time Marc Vandenplas stressed that the current visit was not only important in the terms of inspection. In particular, during their visit to the construction sites, the FISU delegates made a few recommendations regarding an efficient operation of the venues. A detailed discussion of some separate issues continued during joint sessions of the FISU delegates with heads of the departments of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate.

Tomorrow, December 7, the FISU delegates will view the sports complexes Bustan, Tulpar, Olimp, Vatan, Saint Petersburg Volleyball Centre and Ak Bars Wrestling Palace. The next item on the program is an IT and communications discussion in Kazan’s IT Park.

(Source: Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate)

Jing Zhoa