Successful 2012 Brazilian University Games close

FOZ DO IGUACU – About 3,000 athletes from 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District participated in the Brazilian University Games (JUBs) 2012. The largest university competition in Brazil, held in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, was a festival of sports, culture and education. Olympic and Pan American young athletes joined students and amateur athletes to interact, compete and prove that it is possible to bring together high performance and studies and academic life.

Organized and conducted by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and the Brazilian University Sports Confederation (CBDU), the Brazilian University Games 2012 gathered, during ten days, competitions in four team sports (basketball, futsal, handball and volleyball) and four individual sports (athletics, judo, swimming and chess).

Luciano Cabral, president of the Brazilian University Sports Confederation (CBDU), highlighted the preparation and evolution of educational institutions to compete in national tournaments. “Universities and colleges are, each year, more organized and structured. What improves the quality of university sports and consequently the new generation of sports in Brazil. Nor should we forget that, more than competing and winning medals, university sport is an opportunity for learning, integration and citizenship for young people”, Luciano Cabral explained.

The edition of JUBs 2012 was innovative. The Convention Center in Foz do Iguaçu assembled a new structure, with the Organizing Committee of the event, the whole basis of the transport and supply of the competitions, plus four courts (basketball, volleyball, futsal and handball) and the local chess competition. “This model allows for greater harmonization between participants and surely will be evaluated for our upcoming events”, Luciano Cabral pointed.

Individual Sports

Among the individual highlights of the JUBs 2012, several Brazilian athletes with participation and medals in WUC, Pan-American Games and Olympics. Ronald Julian, from UniSant’anna (SP), Olympian athlete and Brazilian record holder in launch of the discus and shot put, confirmed being a contender in Foz do Iguaçu. Ronald was gold in the discus and shot put in JUBs 2012 and broke the record of the competition at discus (57.55 m). Another representative of Brazil in the Olympic Games of London 2012 who also participated in the JUBs 2012 was Aldemir da Silva Júnior, gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m.

In swimming the butterfly stroke specialist Daiane Day, medallist of the Pan American Games Rio 2007, was the best in the women’s competition. In judo, highlights for Flavia Gomes with a silver and gold medal. Flavia is an upcoming talent of Brazilian sport for the Olympics Rio 2016 and she participated in the Olympic Experience program among others 16 players during the London 2012 Olympics.

Team Sports

In team sports, JUBs had the participation of the athlete Nadia Colhado, pivot from UNIP basketball team, champion of the tournament. Nadia was with the Brazilian national team that competed in the 2012 London Olympics. Also from UNIP, Guilherme Oliveira, Gui, Pan-American champion in handball at Rio 2007, took silver in the handball tournament. Unopar (PR), gold medal in handball, brought as highlights athletes of the selection: Boi and Cyborg.

In women’s handball, Unipar (PR) stood out with the participation of double champion from the Pan-American Games, Aline Pará, and also athletes from the new generation of Brazilian handball, like Daise Souza, Fernanda Marques, Larissa Araújo and Keila Alves. The four athletes won an unprecedented bronze medal for Brazil in the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore 2010.

Balance

In addition to the medals, delegations of São Paulo and Pernambuco had one more reason to celebrate the results of JUBs 2012. All teams from São Paulo and Pernambuco will be at the JUBs first division team sports the next edition. São Paulo competed in six of the eight finals of the first division and won two gold medals, three silver and one bronze with the teams from UniSant’anna and UNIP. The only São Paulo team that played in the second division this year, the men’s volleyball team from UNIP, was guaranteed access to the elite of JUBs.

Pernambuco made three finals of the JUBs first division. In futsal they were champions in the men’s tournament and vice-champion in the men’s basketball, with teams from FMN, and vice-champions in men’s handball, with the AESO. The futsal team, that played in the 2nd division this year, also celebrated the title and will move up to the first division in 2013.

Teams of Paraná, which competed at home during the JUBs 2012, celebrated two titles in the 1st division. The Paraná dominated handball. Unipar was champion in the women’s tournament and Unopar won the men’s tournament.

Santa Catarina also secured two gold medals at the 1st Division of JUBs 2012. The girls from Unesc were three times champions in futsal and the men’s volleyball team from Unoesc won the trophy after a thrilling match against Polytechnic (MG), which was only decided by a tie-break.

“This shows the high level of Brazilian University Sports and the growing of the team and universities. We just have to celebrate one more victory edition of this tournament”, completed Luciano Cabral, CBDU president and FISU vice-president.

(Source: Polyanna Padua, CBDU Media Officer)