WU 2013 Supervision Committee meets in Trento

TRENTO – The Winter Universiade Supervision Committee (CSU) met on 24 and 25 September at the Dean’s Office of the University of Trento to discuss with the Local Organising Committee the progress made in the preparation of the 2013 Winter Universiade. The 26th edition of the Winter Universiade will take place in the Trentino region this year (10 to 21 December) but had to deal with a very limited preparation time which means the preparations’ progress needed an even more closely follow-up by the CSU.

Daria de Pretis, rector of the Trento University together with Sergio Anesi, OC PresidentSome 80 days prior to the Opening Ceremony it was important to meet with the heads of the different departments covering all operational areas of the Universiade. Headed by CSU Chair Kairis ULP, the members of this committee were first greeted by the President of the University of Trento, Ms. Daria Pretis. In her welcome message she reaffirmed the importance of the Winter Universiade for the city of Trento and its residents but also, and especially, for the students: “This is a unique opportunity for our student community to participate in this event and to develop projects that will highlight our innovation in the field of sport and tourism.”

Sergio Anesi, the President of the Trentino Organizing Committee, then took the floor to present the various items on the agenda and to review the entries for the Universiade. To this date, 59 countries (a record) indicated their intention to participate in the Universiade and so far 51 have sent an entry which looks very promising.

The heads of the various departments presented their reports and were subjected to questions from the CSU members.

The Trentino Universiade will not have an Athletes’ Village like in Erzurum, Turkey in 2011. However, the participants will therefore be accommodated in different hotels near their competitions venues. Transportation management, for example, will be paramount and was one of the most important issues discussed at this CSU meeting. The delegates were very attentive to the proposed solutions and have not failed to change some details based on their past experience.

Accommodation in hotels also creates constraints on the catering. Indeed some competitions start early or end late, so it was necessary to provide assurance that all delegations will be provided with real meals for athletes with a ‘difficult’ competition schedule. The hotels should offer real flexibility at this level. In addition, the region has vast experience in hosting international competitions and hotel managers are accustomed to deal with such constraints.

Julia Hoch, Head of International Department with Stefano Ravelli, OC deputy Secretary GeneralRegarding the sports venues, Ubaldo Prucker, the Director of Sports of the OC, presented his team and the platform that will be implemented in collaboration with the FISU technical delegates for the sports. Indeed, as it was the case in Kazan, in Trentino an operational center (command center) will be foreseen as well to provide technical support to the technical delegates to help them solve any problem that arises during the games. Such a command center has demonstrated its effectiveness and allows the exchange of vital information, especially with regard to modifications in the programme that occur more often during the Winter Universiade due to weather changes. Ubaldo Prucker also presented a very detailed preparation report regarding the sport competitions.

Other areas such as accreditation, communication, protocol, marketing, security and ticketing were discussed as well.

Finally, the team of students who designed the official medals for this Universiade came to present them exclusively for the FISU delegates.

Kairis ULP and the other CSU members were very satisfied with the work done by the Organising Committee.

For the Organising Committee, this CSU meeting was essential to prepare them for the next step which will start on 26 September with the meeting of Heads of Delegations (HOD) that will last three days. Indeed, the CSU knows perfectly well the expectations of its members’ delegates who will be present at this meeting. Today’s CSU questions for the OC will anticipate the requests made by the Chefs de Mission during the Q & A session at the HOD.

Yvan Dufour, Editor-in-Chief

The students in charge of the design project presenting the medal for this 26th Winter Universiade