Universiade Torch Relay continues its Journey around the World

CAPE HORN – The container with the 27th Summer Universiade Flame inside approaches Cape Horn aboard the ship Sedov which on July 15th departed from the French port of Brest on its year-long worldwide voyage.

Having started its cruise around the world in the French port of Brest, the Universiade Torch already visited Morocco, crossed the equator and two tropics – Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere and Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere – in the trans-Atlantic journey from Africa to South America. The new destination ahead is Cape Horn where numerous storms and hurricanes reign and the temperature does not exceed five degrees.

Exhibitions dedicated to the Kazan 2013 Summer Universiade are held aboard the ship and in key ports of call along the way. Military students of Murmansk State Technological University who were appointed Keepers of the Universiade Flame are actively involved in all official ceremonies of the worldwide voyage.

During one of recent events, all crew members of the bark Sedov gathered on the deck to pay tribute to Russian pioneering explorers who 200 years ago had founded Fort Ross, the farthest settlement for Russians on the North American shore. And although thousands of miles separated the northern California coast and the Russian sailors that were at that moment near Uruguay, the crew of Sedov couldn’t stay away from such a milestone event.

The solemn ceremony was held via video conference between the bark Sedov and Fort Ross. To support the patriotic atmosphere of the holiday, the Kazan 2013 Flag was also hoisted along with the Russian national flag.

Meanwhile, in Kazan, the presentation of the Universiade Torch Relay’s Russian phase was made during the meeting of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate with rectors of Russia’s top sports universities. It was Igor Sivov, Deputy Director General and Kazan 2013 Opening/Closing Ceremonies Executive Director, who provided an insight into the unprecedented project. He said that the Universiade Torch Relay is the most large-scale event in the history of university sports. “In every new country, in every new port, where the bark Sedov arrives with the Universiade Flame aboard, there is a roaring interest in our project; visitors ask questions about how to get to Kazan, how to buy tickets, how to become Games-time volunteers. Surely, it’s a spectacular success that even we didn’t expect. That’s why the Flame will travel across five continents and its Keepers will be promoting the ideas of Universiade everywhere.”

Tall Ship Sedov, a fantastic vessel

Speaking about the Russian phase of the Universiade Torch Relay, Igor Sivov admitted that last year’s FISU Flag Relay experience greatly contributed to the promotion of the ideas of the World University Games throughout Russia as top higher education institutions of the country partnered with Kazan 2013 and now actively encourage young people to get engaged in volunteer activities during the Games. According to him, the Russian phase of the Universiade Torch Relay will be even more ambitious and allow to get these ideas over to students and Russian citizens. The Universiade Torch Relay’s journey across Russia will cover 30,000 kilometres. Travelling from west to east, the Flame will be carried through Russia’s 27 top university centres: Arkhangelsk, Rostov-on-Don, Pyatigorsk, Sochi, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Ekaterinburg, Izhevsk, Perm, Ufa, Orenburg, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Saratov, Penza, Saransk, Nizhny Novgorod, Cheboksary, Yoshkar-Ola, Kirov, St. Petersburg, Moscow. 

As we have earlier reported, the 27th Summer Universiade Torch Relay kicked off on July 12th in Paris-Sorbonne University, France. There is a good reason why this university was chosen as the site to kindle the Universiade Flame. It’s there that the first ‘International Student competitions’ were held in 1923. On July 15th, the Torch started a round the world trip on board the four-mast bark Sedov. The Torch will cover 45,000 nautical miles and repeat the route of greatest sailors of all times. The Universiade Flame will arrive In the Russian Far Eastern port of Vladivostok on January 25th, 2013. From here it will embark on its overland journey across Russia.

Festivities will be held in the host cities of the Universiade Torch Relay and will allow Russians to embrace an atmosphere of youth and sports. Nearly 600 volunteers will be recruited in each city to help the events happen. 

(Source: Media Dept. of the Kazan 2013 SU OC)