New events, new programmes have contributed to the growth and prestige of the eventLAUSANNE – With just one week to go before campuses around the world start buzzing with activity on 20 September, preparations are on in full swing to ensure this fourth edition of the International Day of University Sport (IDUS) is another memorable one.
Some of FISU’s member federations have planned to step it up by allocating funds from the FISU-NUSF projects to their IDUS plans.
National University Sports Federations (NUSFs) like Armenia, Kosovo, Albania, Moldova and North Macedonia have outlined activities and celebrations as part of these projects, for 20 September and beyond.
For the Armenian NUSF, the celebrations will also mark their 25thanniversary and will therefore be extra special. In addition to an extraordinary General Assembly that is being held on 20 September, there will be a cross-country running competition for students across 20 universities as well as a dragon boat race in which 12 universities are participating.
In Moldova too, a cross-country race will be held as well as a marathon in the city, among five different events that will take place from 15-20 September. As part of the IDUS festivities, there will also be a scientific congress from 19-21 September about health, olympism and sport.
While North Macedonia will hold a series of competitions in bowling and sport shooting from 1 October to 31 December, Albania will have a week-long celebration in four cities, in which they expect more than 7000 students to participate.
The goal of the FISU – NUSF projects is to continuously contribute to FISU member associations’ development and assist them in projects that help achieve strategic goals of the university sport movement.
Last year, IDUS set new participation records as hundreds and thousands of university students, institutions, cities and people came together to make the third edition of IDUS a resounding success. 97 countries participated in 2018, with nearly 500 sporting and recreational activities organised specifically for the occasion. The day was celebrated across the world not only by the National University Sports Federations, but also by their member universities and sports clubs.
Once again this year universities can not only participate, but in fact compete for prizes and the title of ‘most active university in the world’ as the University Step Challenge returns for a second time. It’s a fun challenge that encourages universities to get their students moving and will for 20 days from 1 to 20 September 2019.
The International Day of University Sport, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2015, is an ideal platform to promote university sports values and activities worldwide, and to reaffirm the importance of sport in the daily life of students. It is all part of FISU’s endeavour to create stronger sporting cultures in universities and encourage physical activity.
It’s almost time to say #LetsIDUS