BERNE – On 20 May, 2017 the whole staff of the Swiss SU delegation met at the University of Berne. With the support of the team leaders, the coaches, the delegation committee, and the medial team, the athletes will be taken good care of during the Summer Universiade in Taipei from 19 to 30 August. Like the previous, university sports teacher Renato Maggi will once again be Switzerland’s Head of Delegation.
Invigorated by a shared breakfast, all attendees were provided with information by the delegation committee, covering departments such as travel, medical, or media. Having just arrived back from their reconnaissance trip, Head of Delegation Renato Maggi and Deputy Angelo Brack presented their first impressions of Taipei. Particularly interesting was the information regarding the Athletes’ Village and the competition venues. There is still some work to be done before the Opening Ceremony, but the Universiade is nonetheless being anticipated with great excitement.
It is well known that staying seated for too long has a negative effect on concentration. For this reason, the mind was loosened up a little in between – with an introduction to Wushu. The Asian martial arts discipline is still predominantly unknown in Switzerland, but will also be represented in the Swiss delegation in Taipei. Wushu team coach Yongmei Wu Fan brought three of her students, who impressed with their acrobatic performances. However, the participants could also get involved themselves and tried out various self-defense techniques.
The preparations for the Summer Universiade are proceeding at fast pace. On 4 August the whole delegation will gather for the Team Meeting in Zurich, and in about 80 days the Swiss delegation will march in to the Municipal Stadium in Taipei – hopefully the beginning of a successful Swiss team performance.
(Source: Sylvana Ulrich, SUSF)