FISU concludes Inspection of Gwangju Universiade Preparations

GWANGJU – “There are only 21 months remaining until the 2015 Gwangju Universiade. Now, Gwangju OC needs to make practical preparations for the Games. Gwangju needs more cooperation and communication with FISU as well as between organizing members to ensure a smooth preparation.” During the 3-day FISU  inspection visit of the preparations for the Gwangju Universiade, Marc Vandenplas, the FISU Summer Universiade Director, emphasized about how Gwangju Universiade Organizing Committee (GUOC) must switchover into practical preparation mode.

Being the first inspection after the Kazan Universiade, FISU inspection delegates divided into two teams for the 3-day inspection and covered the areas of sports, non-sports, and IT & Telecommunications. There were back to back meetings and discussions combined with visits to the eight competition venues (archery, athletics, baseball, golf, handball, judo, soccer, tennis) that were newly being built or needing discussion.

FISU delegates John Warnock and Melanie Stallecker with 2015 GUOC delegatesRegarding the field of non-sports, FISU requested a re-organization focusing on each of the functions.

Emphasis was put on reorganizing to cover the vast and broad spectrum of functions needed for the actual operation of the Games. Especially, the FISU delegates advised on developing an integrated system that allows seamless flowing support services for the delegations that will be coming from more than 170 countries.

In the area of IT & Telecommunications, early development of the Accreditation system was emphasized. The accreditation system needs to be ready as well as accommodation and transportation finalized, as the delegation registration begins a year from the Games and delegations also prepare transportation such as airline tickets in advance.

Concerning the venues, the FISU delegates expressed that the sooner the renovation and construction of the venues are finished, the better, as each of the venues for the 21 sports need to host test events to check all the facilities and equipment required for the operation of competitions before being used in the actual Games.

Also, the GUOC asked for confirmation on the competition venues that were not fixed yet, such as football and handball. Confirmation of the competition venues is vital in the progress of setting up the number of games, game schedules, as well as broadcasting schedules.

After leading the inspection of the competition venues, John Warnock, Chair of the Technical Committee for the SU, commented: “The location and environment of the competition venues proposed by Gwangju are very good.” He also added, “I will consult with the related Technical Officials and reply concerning this matter as soon as possible.”

Kim Yoon Suk, the Secretary-General of GUOC, said, “As we are looking to the last reorganization before the Games, this FISU Inspection has provided us a good opportunity to receive needed recommendations from FISU.” He added, “Through close collaboration with FISU, we will develop measures in budget reduction and continue to discuss with FISU on the necessary matters.”

(Source: 2015 GUOC)