FISU Rolls Into Fall Season With 10 Successful World University Championships and an International Award

The year 2006 is a championship year for FISU. Not less than 26 World University Championships have been attributed for 2006, from Mongolia to Nigeria, from the USA to China, from Belgium to Cuba. During September and October 10 championships took place as well as evaluation visits to a number of bidding cities for the 2011 Universiades. Furthermore, FISU received an international award.

5th World University Squash Championship

On September 2nd, Chris Ryder (GBR) and Lim Yoke Wah (MAL) won the gold medals for men and women respectively, in the individual finals of the 5th World University Squash Championships in Szeged, Hungary, which took place from August 28th to September 2nd.

Ryder, a 26-year-old student of Loughborough University, fought back from a game down to defeat favourite Mark Krajcsak, from Hungary, 7-9, 10-8, 9-1, 9-4 in 89 minutes.

Lim Yoke Yah, the N° 2 seed, dropped the first two games in the women’s final against Kathrin Rohrmüller, the un-seeded German who made her breakthrough in the semi-finals where she beat Canadian favourite Katie Patrick. The 20-year-old Malaysian survived close third and fourth games before cruising to victory in the fifth in a 6-9, 1-9, 10-8, 10-9, 9-2 score-line. 

Ryder’s GB team-mate Lauren Siddall secured a comfortable 3/0 win in the third-place play-off against Canada’s top seed Katie Patrick to win bronze in the women’s individual event, adding to the individual bronze won by Joel Hinds, who defeated Julian Illingworth in the men’s third place play-off.

In the team competition it was Great Britain which claimed all the glory winning the gold leaving the silver and bronze to France and South Africa respectively.

10th World University Futsal Championship

The 10th edition of the World University Futsal Championship, which was hosted in Poznan, Poland from August 27th to September 3rd, was another full house. A maximum of 16 teams had entered the tournament and the preliminary phase of the championship was played in four pools.

In the final match of the tournament, the Russian team defeated Team Brazil 4:1 (2:0). The duel was a very obstinate one. The Brazilian team attacked more often but the Russian goalkeeper did his job extremely well. Finally the Russian team managed to score four goals. Team Brazil scored only one. The support of the spectators was amazing. The whole Arena Hall was filled with cheers. 

Great emotions, cheering form the stands and many goals – that’s what we can say about the match with the bronze medal at stake between Ukraine and host Poland. Team Poland started playing bravely but they did not manage to successfully defend their goal. After the first half the Ukrainian team and former University World Champion led 4:0. After the break the situation on the pitch did not change. However, the ‘red-white’ host team played it to the bone and finally succeeded to score a soothing goal. The result of the match remained 4:1 for the Ukraine.

9th World University Chess Championship

The level of the men’s tournament at the 9th World University Chess Championship in Lagos, Nigeria from August 28th to September 3rd was of a very high standard with the participation of four Grand Masters. The Tournament’s favourite and highest rated player was Grand Master BU Xiangzhi (CHN), who recorded a classical draw against former World Chess Champion and Russian Grand Master Vladirmir Kramnik at the latest World Chess Olympiad held in Torino. The general ranking hardly changed throughout the championship and confirmed the supremacy of the Chinese players in both men’s and women’s competition.

11th World University Golf Championship

Everything started well for the Italian- golfers at the 11th World University Golf Championship in Torino, Italy, which took place from September 5th to 9th. Due to his excellent results on the first day Alberto Campanile, who managed a five below par, took the lead for the men just ahead of British Gordon Yates, who also started-off beautifully. The scenario was the same for the ladies as Anna Roscio (ITA), scored three below par in front of Sara Brown (USA).
Keeping a cool head is the motto of every self-respecting golfer. And in a four-day tournament any error can be fateful. So in the second day, the best players gradually moved up, and the battle for the men’s gold medal would be tough between Japanese Yuta Ikeda and Chiang Chen-Chih from Chinese Taipei. Yuta Ikeda, who fell behind on the first day, caught up beautifully with a magnificent 8 below par on the second day, but was still behind Chiang Chen-Chih who showed very regular results. The two golfers were nose to nose up to the fourth day.

So, as is often the case, the last day would be decisive.  For Yuta Ikeda, everything was hanging on his performance but this didn’t fluster him, and he did very well with a five below par. Chiang Chen-Chih came in second in front of American Aaron Manning.

In the Men’s team competition, Japan was also outstanding, for a magnificent double win. The USA took the silver medal and Great Britain the Bronze.

Led by Stacy Lewis, as well as Sara Brown and Renee Skidmore, the American women’s team did better than the men.  After four perfect rounds (72/ 71/ 71/ 72), Stacy Lewis won the individual gold medal ahead of Russian Maria Vertchenova and Japanese Hara Erina. The good performances of her team mates also meant the gold medal for the American team, followed by Japan and Russia.

Rendez-vous in 2007, at the Bangkok Universiade where golf will be an optional sport.

5th World University Wild Water Canoeing Championship

The sprint, the first competition at the 5th World University Wild Water Canoeing Championship in Krakow, Poland, which took place from September 7th to 10th, was dominated by Czech and Slovak competitors. Michala Mruzkova, four times World Champion, was unbeatable in the two Final races. She won the Gold medal with more than 6 seconds in front of Jana Dukatova from Slovakia, followed by Lenka Lagnerova from Czech Republic. Jonathan Schofield from Great Britain had the best result in both men’s races and he was the logical winner of the men’s Gold medal. Tomas Slovak and David Knebel, both from Czech Republic, were second and third.
In the K1 Women’s Slalom, Jana Dukatova demonstrated that for the moment she is the best in the world. She was second ranked after the semi-final race just behind her team mate Gabriela Stacherova. In the final race, Dukatova (SVK) paddled the best time without touching the gates and the final ranking was changed. She took the gold, her team mate Stacherova (SVK) the bronze and the silver was taken by Marie Rihoskova (CZE).

Men’s K1 leader after the qualifications Popiela (POL) made a mistake in the semi-final race and didn’t qualify for the final race which was the surprise of the day. It was Pisvejc (CZE) who had the best time winning the gold. The silver medal went to Kurt (SUI) and the bronze to Molmenti (ITA).

The Gold medal of the C1 Men’s Slalom went to Florence (GBR). Alexander Slavkovsky (SVK) did have is best race landing him on the second spot. Wojs (POL) kept the bronze medal in Poland.

In the C2 Men’s Doubles, the Polish boat paddled by Sarna and Pochwala was unbeatable. They made fewer touches than their rivals from the Czech and Slovak teams. So the host country took the first place on the podium, followed by Skantar/Skantar from the Slovak Republic and Sehnal/Hammer from the Czech Republic.

At the last day of the 5th World University Wild Water Canoeing Championship athletes from 6 different countries shared the medals: the dominating Czech and Slovak Republics, followed by  host country Poland, Great Britain, Switzerland and Italy.

Heads of Delegation Meeting

From September 11th to 13th the FISU Family met in Torino for the Heads of Delegation Meeting for the 2007 Winter Universiade. Heads of Delegations of more than 20 countries were present for this three-day visit of the competition venues and athletes’ accommodations.
All delegation officials were very much impressed with the Olympic standard snow and ice sports venues and Athletes’ Villages and are looking forward to bring their athletes to Torino to compete in the 23rd Winter Universiade.

On the last day of the meeting the draw for the ice hockey competition took place. Pool Torino will consist of RUSSIA, CANADA, SLOVAKIA, USA and KOREA. Pool Torre Pelice will consist of CZECH REPUBLIC, FINLAND, ITALY, JAPAN, KAZACHSTAN and GREAT BRITAIN.

3rd World University Match Racing Championship

The third World University Match Racing Championship, which took place in Palma de Mallorca, Spain from September 19th to 24th ended with the splendid victory of skipper Mark Dorling from Australia.

Mark and his team defeated Jose Ponce from Spain by 2-0 in the Semi-finals. He then competed against the well-known Skipper from Mallorca, Manuel Weiller for the title. Manuel was the best against Pierre Morvan (FRA). During the Semi-finals he won by 2-0.
Only two races were needed to know the winner and it was Mark Dorling without any doubt. He was faster and tactically cleverer than Manuel, the Spanish skipper.

French skipper Pierre Morvan did well in the B final beating Jose Ponce by 2-1. He reached the third place on the podium. 

2nd World University Woodball Championship

At the 2nd World University Woodball Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, which took place from September 26th to 28th, Thailand and Chinese Taipei remained the great winners of the 2nd World University Woodball Championship in Bangkok.

In the men’s tournament Weerasak Imjarouen from Thailand, who is also a great Golf player with Hcp 0, finished with the best score of the whole championship, 88 strokes, and took the Gold medal. Together with his team mates Jongkol Pimparieu, Nirum Navin and Peerapong Kaewkarmkarn Thailand won also the first place in the men’s team competition (783), one single stroke ahead of Chinese Taipei (784) with Pei-Yu Ku – also winner of the silver medal in the individual competition, Kuo-Liang Lee, C.H.Lee and Hsich-Hsin Yu. In this very high level competition, Korea won the Bronze medal in the team ranking.

In the ladies competition Hui-Jung Wang had a very good last round with 96 strokes. That result pushed her on the first place (294), while Siao-Hui Wu, leading after 2 rounds hat 103 strokes. So she lost her leading position after two rounds and took silver (295), only one point behind Wang. The best five players came from Chinese Taipei, where Woodball was invented in 1990. In the team ranking Chinese Taipei was unbeatable (792), followed by the host country Thailand (865) and Korea (941).

In the mixed competition Lee/Huang from Chinese Taipei won with two strokes less then the second mixed double from the same country, Yang/Wang, followed by Thailand’s Navin/Auefue on the third place. Overall, the most successful delegation from Chinese Taipei won three gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal, followed by the host country Thai-land with two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Korea was third in the medal standings with two bronze medals in the team competitions.

2nd World University Boxing Championship

The 2nd World University Boxing Championship took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from October 3rd to 9th. As boxing is one of the most popular sports in Kazakhstan, the turn-up for the Opening Ceremony and the fights was huge. A great number of former Kazakh World and Olympic Champions witnessed the Opening Ceremony, which was attended by the Deputy-Minister of Education, Mr. Byrganym Aitimova. AIBA Secretary-General Doganeli Caner, was present as well.

The level of the athletes present at the championship was very high, since a number of World and Olympic Champions were participating in this FISU event. The athletes were able to show their talent in front of a full house, an audience of ‘connaisseurs’ who appreciated the fine art of pugilism. The Kazakh and Russian athletes dominated the medal podium of this second edition of the championship. 115 participants from 14 countries participated.

Mr. Zakiryanov Kairat Hairullinovich, President of the Organising Committee and President of the Kazakh NUSF, but also Rector of the ‘Kazakh Academy of Sport and Tourism’ officially appointed FISU Secretary-General Roch Campana Honorary Professor of the Academy. An emotionally touched Campana accepted this honorary function with a lot of pride.

9th World University Badminton Championship

The 9th World University Badminton Championship took place in Wuhan, China from October 10th to 15th. A total number of 154 participants from 16 countries were present in Wuhan. The team competition was very much contested as two European and two Asian teams qualified for the semi-finals. So the semis were battled out on two different continents. On the one hand there was the ‘European’ Semi-Final between RUS and GER, which the Russian team won 3-1. RUS won the first two matches, the mixed doubles and the women’s singles. GER won the men’s singles to somewhat even the score to 2-1. The women’s doubles was very exciting with RUS taking the first set, losing the second 18/21, but however hard GER tried it was not quite enough, as RUS won the last set and therefore booking its ticket for the final.

The other semi-final was an Asian tête-à-tête between TPE and CHN. The matches were very exciting and long. CHN won its first two matches (mixed doubles and men’s singles), TPE won the 3rd match which was the women’s singles. CHN won the fourth match (women’s doubles) and its place in the final. So CHN and RUS met in the final, but it was a one way game. Indeed, CHN easily defeated RUS by a straight 3-0 victory. 

All other competitions were dominated by the Asians, with China winning the gold in the men’s and women’s singles and women’s and mixed doubles, whereas Chinese Taipei won the gold in the men’s doubles.

3rd World University Bridge Championship

At the 3rd World University Bridge Championship, in Tianjin, China, which took place from October 21st to 26th, the host team became the new world champion. Their achievement is the result of the team members’ strenuous efforts. During the two months prior to the championship, they received concentrated training, seriously analyzing the convention cards of every team taking part in this championship. Silver went to Team USA and bronze went to Team Poland B.

FISU President Receives Honorary Degree of Doctor Honoris Causa

The University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw awarded the Degree of Honorary Doctor of Physical Education Sciences to FISU President George E. Killian. In the welcoming address at the occasion of the Annual School’s Festival, which this year adds splendour to the 60th Anniversary of this University, Prof. Dr. Tadeusz Koszczyc, Rector of the University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw, said, that the highlight of the ceremony program is the conferment of this award upon Mr. George E. Killian. ‘In recognition of his outstanding achievements, his contributions to university and world sports, as well as his publishing and educational outcome and winning personality, the High Senate of our School on June 22,2006 resolved to grant him the title of doctor honoris causa.’

Universiade Evaluation Commission Visits Bidding Cities and Meets Putin

In October, the Evaluation Commission for the 2011 Summer Universiade visited two of the five candidate cities. First the Commission members travelled to Poznan, Poland.

The FISU Evaluation Commission was composed of Secretary-General Roch Campana, Treasurer Roberto Outeiriño, FISU Assessors Leonz Eder, Marian Dymalski and Sinisa Jasnic as well as Hedwige Hankart, Assistant to the Secretary-General. The commission inspected the existing venues and and the different hotels in the city centre.

FISU Secretary-General Roch Campana underlined that Poznan has taken into consideration many remarks from previous visits and has improved since the two first bids for 2007 and 2009. ‘I am very impressed by the dynamism of the city, by your new buildings and projects’, he said to the Polish Press. ‘The city has changed its outlook, has become a smiling place with news buildings, industries, plans and new sport facilities, Campana said.

Together with FISU President George E. Killian and his wife Marilyn, the Evaluation Commission for the 2011 Summer Universiade then travelled from Poland to Russia, where the FISU representatives were very warmly welcomed at Moscow International Airport.

It was an extreme honour and privilege for the FISU Evaluation Commission to be received by the President of the Russian Federation, Mr.Vladimir Putin, in his Presidential Office at the Kremlin. The Russian President started to speak very relaxed. “Dear friends and colleagues, I am very happy to welcome you here in Moscow even if the reason of your visit is the city of Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan”, he said. Mr. Putin added that Russia hosted the Universiade only once, in 1973 in Moscow, and he expressed his opinion that Kazan is the very best city to host such an event in 2011. Exactly located in the middle between East and West with more than 100 nationalities and ethnic groups, living in peace and harmony in Tatarstan, the bidding city is predestined to organize the Summer Universiade, the Russian President said. “Whatever your decision will be your visit in my country is already very helpful in our relationship”, Mr. Putin added.

After the meeting with Putin, the Evaluation Commission continued its travel to Universiade Candidate city Kazan. During the three-day visit there, the venues were visited and inspected. The citizens of Kazan gave a warm welcome to the FISU delegates and seem to be very eager to host the Universiade. 

If you want to learn more about the candidate cities for the 2011 Universiades we invite you to surf to the FISU homepage where you will find links to the different Summer and Winter candidates.

2005 Summer Universiade Izmir, Turkey Voted Best Collegiate Multi-Sport Event

The 2005 edition of the Summer Universiade in Izmir Turkey has been voted, ‘Best Collegiate Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event’ by SportsTravel Magazine, the sports world’s event magazine. Based in Los Angeles, California, SportsTravel magazine has served the sports-related travel and event industry since 1997. It is the only publication written and designed to serve the people who organize and manage sporting events of all types at all levels. The magazine is read by more than 14,000 industry decision makers. SportsTravel magazine announced the winners of the 2006 SportsTravel Awards at the recently concluded TEAMS 2006 Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.

FISU is proud to see that its major event, the Summer Universiade, features among the biggest sporting events of the world such as the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup and the Super Bowl.