Photo courtesy of SELL Games 2019 Organising CommitteeComprised of the letters of the host countries in their respective languages – Finland (Suomi), Estonia (Eesti), Latvia (Latvija), Lithuania (Lietuva) – the SELL Student Games is an international sports competition for students that takes place every year between the four host countries. In 2022, hosting rights will go back to Latvia for the 37th edition held on 20-22 May in the city of Riga.
The annual event is under the patronage of FISU and the European University Sports Federation (EUSA), in which FISU Acting President, Leonz Eder expressed his gratitude about what the event means for university sport.
“Our friends organising these Games have always done a fantastic job in their respective host cities,” says Leonz. “It is important that we have these kinds of student games, which not only allow for more athletes to compete regionally and exchange ideas in an informal atmosphere, but also allows our member associations to work with each other and learn from one another through hosting. This, for FISU, is a fantastic achievement in itself and is what we encourage between our members”.
The most recent edition held in 2019 was a big success. Held in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas, it marked the 35th edition of the event and attracted over 1300 students from seven different countries—namely Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Russian Federation, Poland and the People’s Republic of China. During this edition, students took part in 13 different disciplines, including athletics, basketball, rugby sevens, mini football, volleyball, swimming, powerlifting, table tennis, judo, badminton, orienteering, wrestling, and chess.
In 2022, the SELL Student Games will see a refreshed sports programme with some new sports on the list including basketball, volleyball, floorball and swimming. These sports, along with many more, will be very much welcomed by students, spectators and organisers after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With 2022 already set to be an action packed year for the return of international sports events, the 37th SELL Student Games are certainly unique and one to look out for on the sports calendar. More information about the previous edition of the SELL Student Games can be found here.
