Universiade

The flag of the International University Sports Federation.
In 2011.
In 1989.

The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a combination of the words "University" and "olympiad". The Universiade is often referred to in English as the World University Games or World Student Games; however, this latter term can also refer to competitions for sub-University grades students, as well. The Universiade is the 2nd largest multi-sporting event in the world, second only to the Olympic Games.[1] The most recent Winter and Summer Universiade were held in Granada,Spain-Štrbské Pleso & Osrblie, Slovakia and Gwangju, Korea, respectively, in 2015.

Precursors

The idea of a global international sports competition between student-athletes pre-dates the 1949 formation of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), which now hosts the Universiade. English peace campaigner Hodgson Pratt was an early advocate of such an event, proposing (and passing) a motion at the 1891 Universal Peace Congress in Rome to create a series of international student conferences in rotating host capital cities, with activities including art and sport. This did not come to pass, but a similar event was created in Germany in 1909 in the form of the Academic Olympia. Five editions were held from 1909 to 1913, all of which were hosted in Germany following the cancellation of an Italy-based event.[2]

Soviet student-athletes at the 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students

At the start of the 20th century, Jean Petitjean of France began to attempt to organise a "University Olympic Games". After discussion with Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Petitjean was convinced not to use the word "Olympic" in the tournament's name.[2] Petitjean, and later the Confederation Internationale des Etudiants (CIE), was the first to build a series of international events, beginning with the 1923 International Universities Championships. This was followed by the renamed 1924 Summer Student World Championships a year later and two further editions were held in 1927 and 1928. Another name change resulted in the 1930 International University Games. The CIE's International University Games was held four more times in the 1930s before having its final edition in 1947.[3][4]

A student football match held at the 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students

A separate group organised an alternative university games in 1939 in Vienna, in post-Anschluss Germany.[3] The onset of World War II ceased all major international student sport activities and the aftermath also led to division among the movement, as the CIE was disbanded and rival organisations emerged. The Union Internationale des Étudiants (UIE) incorporated a university sports games into the World Festival of Youth and Students from 1947–1962, including one separate, unofficial games in 1954. This event principally catered for Eastern European countries.[5]

After the closure of the CIE and the creation of the first UIE-organised games, FISU came into being in 1949 and held its own first major student sport event the same year in the form of the 1949 Summer International University Sports Week. The Sports Week was held biennially until 1955. Like the CIE's games before it, the FISU events were initially Western-led sports competitions.[3]

Division between the largely Western European FISU and Eastern European UIE eventually began to dissipate among broadened participation at the 1957 World University Games. This event was not directly organised by either group, instead being organised by Jean Petitjean in France (which remained neutral to the split), but all respective nations from the groups took part. The FISU-organised Universiade became the direct successor to this competition, maintaining the biennial format into the inaugural 1959 Universiade. It was not until the 1957 World University Games that the Soviet Union began to compete in FISU events. That same year, what had previously been a European competition became a truly global one, with the inclusion of Brazil, Japan and the United States among the competing nations. The increased participation ultimately led to the establishment of the Universiade as the primary global student sport championship.[2][3]

Precursor events
Year Event Organiser City Country
1923 International Universities Championships CIE Paris France
1924 Summer Student World Championships CIE Warsaw Poland
1927 Summer Student World Championships CIE Rome Italy
1928 Summer Student World Championships CIE Paris France
1930 International University Games CIE Darmstadt Weimar Republic
1933 International University Games CIE Turin Italy
1935 International University Games CIE Budapest Hungary
1937 International University Games CIE Paris France
1939 International University Games CIE Monte Carlo Monaco
1947 International University Games CIE Paris France
1947 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Prague Czechoslovakia
1949 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Budapest Hungary
1949 Summer International University Sports Week FISU Merano Italy
1951 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE East Berlin East Germany
1951 Summer International University Sports Week FISU Luxembourg Luxembourg
1953 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Bucharest Romania
1953 Summer International University Sports Week FISU Dortmund West Germany
1955 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Warsaw Poland
1955 Summer International University Sports Week FISU San Sebastián Spain
1957 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Moscow Soviet Union
1957 World University Games France Paris France
1959 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Vienna Austria
1962 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Helsinki Finland

Universiade hosts

The table below gives an overview of all host cities of both the Summer and Winter Universiades. Only actual host cities are listed.

Year Games Summer Universiade Games Winter Universiade
1959 I Turin, Italy —
1960 — I Chamonix, France
1961 II Sofia, Bulgaria —
1962 — II Villars, Switzerland
1963 III Porto Alegre, Brazil —
1964 — III Špindlerův Mlýn, Czechoslovakia
1965 IV Budapest, Hungary —
1966 — IV Sestriere, Italy
1967 V Tokyo, Japan —
1968 — V Innsbruck, Austria
1970 VI Turin, Italy VI Rovaniemi, Finland
1972 — VII Lake Placid, United States
1973 VII Moscow, Soviet Union —
1975 VIII Rome, Italy VIII Livigno, Italy
1977 IX Sofia, Bulgaria —
1978 — IX Špindlerův Mlýn, Czechoslovakia
1979 X Mexico City, Mexico —
1981 XI Bucharest, Romania X Jaca, Spain
1983 XII Edmonton, Canada XI Sofia, Bulgaria
1985 XIII Kobe, Japan XII Belluno, Italy
1987 XIV Zagreb, Yugoslavia XIII Štrbské Pleso, Czechoslovakia
1989 XV Duisburg, West Germany XIV Sofia, Bulgaria
1991 XVI Sheffield, United Kingdom XV Sapporo, Japan
1993 XVII Buffalo, United States XVI Zakopane, Poland
1995 XVIII Fukuoka, Japan XVII Jaca, Spain
1997 XIX Sicily, Italy XVIII Muju, South Korea
1999 XX Palma de Mallorca, Spain XIX Poprad / Tatry, Slovakia
2001 XXI Beijing, China XX Zakopane, Poland
2003 XXII Daegu, South Korea XXI Tarvisio, Italy
2005 XXIII Izmir, Turkey XXII Innsbruck, Austria
2007 XXIV Bangkok, Thailand XXIII Turin, Italy
2009 XXV Belgrade, Serbia XXIV Harbin, China
2011 XXVI Shenzhen, China XXV Erzurum, Turkey
2013 XXVII Kazan, Russia XXVI Trentino, Italy1
2015 XXVIII Gwangju, South Korea XXVII Granada, Spain / Štrbské Pleso & Osrblie, Slovakia
2017 XXIX Taipei, Taiwan 2 XXVIII Almaty, Kazakhstan
2019 XXX Naples, Italy 3 XXIX Krasnoyarsk, Russia
2021 XXXI TBD XXX Luzern, Switzerland

1 Due to financial problems, Maribor, Slovenia, withdrew as a host.

2 Formally called Chinese Taipei in the Universiade.

3 Due to financial problems, Brasília, Brazil, withdrew as a host.

Summer Universiade Medal table

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States 474 404 371 1249
2 China 414 281 244 939
3 Soviet Union 409 329 253 991
4 Russia 391 315 343 1049
5 Japan 284 288 370 942
6 South Korea 197 172 188 548
7 Italy 171 190 226 587
8 Ukraine 160 170 156 470
9 Romania 145 125 140 410
10 Germany 109 145 197 451

Winter Universiade Medal table

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Russia 137 122 132 392
2 Soviet Union 95 85 62 242
3 South Korea 92 69 60 221
4 Japan 77 82 80 239
5 China 68 57 72 197
6 Czechoslovakia 53 59 23 135
7 Italy 49 58 65 172
8 France 48 43 44 135
9 Austria 46 47 50 143
10 Poland 45 54 53 152

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fisu.net/en/Summer-Universiades-3490.html
  2. 1 2 3 Bell, Daniel (2003). Encyclopedia of International Games. McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 0-7864-1026-4.
  3. 1 2 3 4 World Student Games (pre-Universiade). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-12-10.
  4. ↑ FISU History. FISU. Retrieved on 2014-12-09.
  5. ↑ World Student Games (UIE). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-12-09.

External links

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