EUSA-FISU hold successful seminar in Italy

The second edition of the EUSA-FISU Seminar took place in the beautiful Val di Zoldo, Italy, 23-26 March. The event was attended largely by secretary generals and office staff of the National Universities Sports Association from Europe, as well as European Universities Sports Association (EUSA) and FISU representatives.

EUSA’s Education and Development Manager, Sara Rozman, moderated the days’ sessions with the first Vice-President of EUSA, Haris Pavletic providing the opening address. He was followed by FISU Acting President Leonz Eder who shared his opening words through video message.

Day one topics related to EUSA Sport and Educational Events, meetings, projects, and other activities as well as updates from FISU Development & Campus Director Fernando Parente and FISU Development & NUSF Relations Manager Tarmo Jaakson. They highlighted upcoming FISU events as well as an outline of strategy, programmes and Healthy Campus.

The seminar’s second day involved a panel discussion was held related to EUSA Games 2022 and lessons learned. Plenty of topics and ideas were discussed around the EUG 2022 such as its evolution, challenges, the difficulty in promoting university sport, the event’s legacy, and advice for future organisers.

This was followed by a lecture regarding the legacy of sports events with a focus on the Lucerne 2021 FISU World University Games given by Swiss University Sports President Mike Kurt. His primary theme focused on how legacy should always come first when organising a sporting event.

FISU Sports Director Juan Carlos Holgado, also provided an overview of the future and previous FISU events and outlined the FISU sports policy. He was also part of a second panel discussion on sustainable sports events which discussed FISU’s sustainability strategy, the sustainability of sports events from the environmental, social and economic perspectives, and the Green Sports Hub Europe project. EUSA Secretary General Matjaz Pecovnik closed the day speaking about EUSA Goes Winter, the first edition of the European Universities Winter Championships which will take place in December 2023.

The final day focused first on winter university sports events, including FISU Winter Games Sports Manager Paola Matringe who presented about the FISU World University Games Winter, and specifically about Lake Placid 2023 and Torino 2025.She later talked about Ski Orienteering & Ski mountaineering while Holgado, talked about the sports of padel, jiu-jitsu, flying disc, dodgeball, kickboxing and functional fitness. The relatively new sport of snow volleyball, was also discussed by Snow & Beach Volleyball Coordinator of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV), Daniel Horvath.

The final presentation was delivered by EUSA Communications and Projects Manager Andrej Pisl, who outlined the Brand Value Alignment through Dual Career (BRAVA) project.

With files and photos from EUSA