SU2017 Heads of Delegation Meeting – day 1

TAIPEI CITY – TheTaipei 2017 Universiade will take place from 19 to 30 August 2017. With 100 days left before the event starts, delegations from 50 countries arrived in Taipei for the week-long Heads of Delegation Meeting (HOD Meeting), during which the Taipei Summer Universiade Organizing Committee (TUOC) will introduce every aspect of planning for the Universiade and take the delegations to inspect 16 competition venues, the Athletes’ Village (AV), and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies venue Taipei Stadium. The Team Draw for team sports will also be held at the end of the HOD Meeting.

The Universiade presents a grand international sports stage to university students aged 17-28 as well as witnessing the growth of many Olympic athletes. The HOD Meeting is held three months prior to the start of the Universiade to allow delegations to keep abreast of the various aspects of planning of the host city, such as athletes’ accommodation, transportation, medical services, food etc.

The schedule for the HOD Meeting is as below:

• May 9th, a report presented by TUOC in the morning; in the afternoon, visits to the AV and National Taiwan Sport University venues. 
• May 10th, 16 venues will be visited during the whole day.
• May 11th, a TUOC and HOD Q&A session will take place in the morning; the team sports draw and press conference will be held in the afternoon.

During the opening meeting, the TUOC CEO Li-Chiung Su said that the Universiade is a “small Olympics.” Through the HOD meeting, delegations will be able to offer opinions directly to the functional areas, so that every aspect of preparatory work will be more in line with the requirements of delegations, and athletes will be given the best environment to exert their full potential. Also, by attending a fully-organized HOD Meeting, where the 100-plus attendees are well taken care of from arrival to departure, transportation is smooth and the correct protocol is followed, delegation members will be given a taste of how well-planned Taipei 2017 Universiade would be and a positive impression of the host city.