Heads of Delegations cautious in their assessment

Visiting representatives mostly satisfied with progress ahead of the Summer Universiade

NAPOLI, 3 April – The litmus test ahead of the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade took place as the Heads of Delegations (HOD) from about 50 countries visited various sport competition venues over two days, from 2-3 April. The 30^thedition of the Summer Universiade will take place from 3-14 July and with less than 100 days left before the event starts, the national delegation representatives are meeting in Napoli to make an assessment of the level of preparations and plan ahead for the arrival of their delegations in late June.

The HOD Meeting, always held about three months prior to the start of the Universiade is one of the most important milestones ahead of the games. It is an opportunity for the Organising Committee to introduce the visiting delegates to every aspect of planning: from accreditation to accommodation, transport to sport competition.

The infrastructural work undertaken in Napoli has been massive, with a total of 58 sport venues being completely renovated at a cost of 86 million euros. This includes 34 competition venues like the iconic San Paolo stadium, home to the Napoli football team as well as 24 training venues.

The first day of venue visits had two route options, with the first covering the San Paolo stadium (athletics), Mostra D’Oltremare (diving and judo), Piscina Felice Scandone (swimming and water polo) and the Napoli Tennis Club. The other half of the delegation representatives visited the Palacasoria (Taekwondo), Pala Vesuvio (gymnastics) and were also introduced to the arrivals and departures management at the Capodichino Airport.

Day two of the visits covered the historic Royal Palace Caserta (archery), Circolo Italia (sailing), PalaSele (volleyball) and Arechi Stadium (football) among many other venues.

While work is still in progress at many venues, the visiting guests were satisfied with most of the progress. FISU First Vice-President and Chair of the Summer Universiade Supervision Committee Leonz Eder said, “The Heads of Delegations were very pleased to see the Campus of the University of Salerno in Fisciano with the excellent accommodation. They also witnessed the progress of construction in the fencing venue and got satisfying information about the renovation of the football stadium in Salerno. Finally, they were very happy to see the basketball venue in Avellino, which is home to the local club in the first division.”

“However, some of the HOD are concerned whether the remaining time for renovation of many venues is sufficient,” he continued.

The HOD Meeting closes with a question and answer session on 4 April, where the delegation representatives can address their concerns and queries to the Organising Committee. This will be followed by the draw ceremony for the team sports.