FISU Delegation conducts Comprehensive Inspection on Gwangju SU Preparations

GWANGJU – A FISU delegation is in Gwangju at the moment conducting a comprehensive inspection of the preparations by the Gwangju Universiade Organizing Committee (GUOC).

As this is the first official inspection from FISU since the city of Gwangju received the Universiade flag from Kazan as the next host city, it will be the turning point for preparations of GUOC. Five FISU delegate members have arrived in Gwangju on September 30^th and they include:

– Marc Vandenplas, Summer Universiade Director

– John Warnock, Chairman of CTI – UE

– Dejan Susovic, Director for Media and Communication / Head of TV Production

– Jing Zhao, Summer Universiade Manager

– Melanie Stallecker, Sport Assistant

On the first day of inspection, the FISU delegation and the Secretary General of GUOC, Mr. Kim Yoon-Suk, along with other officials from the GUOC gathered to start the official meetings.

During the introductory session, Mr. Kim stated the importance of the inspection and emphasized that all the teams are working earnestly to prepare for a successful Universiade, with only about a year for actual preparation to take place.

Marc Vandenplas, the Summer Universiade Director, also stated the importance of cooperation between the OC and FISU as there are about 21 months left before the actual Games. He also emphasized the areas for discussion during this inspection, sports-related as well as non-sports related topics, such as accommodation, transportation, and broadcasting.

John Warnock, the Chair of CTI – SU, gave his greetings to those in attendance and explained about his role as the chair of CTI, which was to engage with the Technical Delegates of each sport for a smooth operation of the sports competitions.

The topics discussed on the first day of meetings were: accreditation, publication, knowledge transfer programme, delegation support service, as well as overall preparations being done by the organization, including plans for reorganization in 2014.

Besides the specialized discussions, the FISU delegates attended venue inspections of the newly-being constructed competition venues, including the archery range, multi-purpose gymnasium, and aquatics center.

In the following days, Gwangju OC and FISU delegates will be discussing non-sports related topics such as the IT system, Media, transportation, accommodation, Athletes’ Village, and catering as well as sports related issues like progress reports on each sport, test events, sport entries, and ITO service. They will also be visiting other venues and inspect on the progress so far.

The FISU Delegation will conclude the three day inspection on October 3^rd with a final meeting and start to prepare for the debriefing meeting that will occur on October 24^th to 25^th.

(Source: 2015 GUOC)