The Torino 2025 FISU World University Games have been riveting so far but from the slower pace of life to delicious espresso, mouth-watering pizza and generally good weather, the capital of Piemonte region has proven to be quite the pleasing culture shock for student-athletes from around the world.
“It was so exciting when I first landed here in Turin,” began Canadian women’s ice hockey player Scout Watkins-Southward, a master of education student at the University of Toronto. “This is my first time in Italy and obviously it was a big travel and everyone here was so excited. We had a tour downtown and our residence is amazing and it has been so cool to be here,” she added with a warm smile.
Being culture shocked is a very common phenomenon for athletes and the ice hockey team from Canada has experienced a wide range of emotions while discovering the culture in the host city.
Food to die for… but what’s up with the bidet?
Émilie Lussier, who studies at Concordia University in Montreal, can’t get enough of the pizza and gelato in Torino, which she describes as “very good”, and the various statues she has seen during her downtown walk with her teammates.
However, the leisure and sports recreation major was a little shocked to see a bidet in her residence bathroom, an encounter she deemed very funny because as she put it, “In Canada, we don’t have that so the first thing we said when we entered the bathroom was, ‘What is this? Is it a sink?’” she laughed..
But back to the food. A profound feature of Torino is its culinary culture, which is the cornerstone of its identity and reflects the elegance in the dishes prepared in Piemonte. Popular cuisine ranging from vitello tonnato, bagna cauda, grissini, and of course the famous pizza, just to name a few, has been etched into the cultural fabric of the city. It is for this mouth-watering food that people, tourists especially, gather in numbers at restaurants around town.
Speaking of restaurants, the Canadian women’s hockey team was in for a surprise when it discovered Italy’s riposo, the traditional mid-day break. “We made a reservation for dinner the other day and we wanted to eat at 18h but all restaurants were closed until seven, which was quite surprising,” Lussier said.
Pace of life and the hockey culture
In North America, hustle culture is quite the norm. Watkins-Southward was shocked at how slow-paced life in Torino is compared to her home country.
“My teammates and I have been talking a lot about the pace of life here and how we are really enjoying it because in North America, we praise the hustle culture and even in our universities we feel this pressure of constantly go go go, as athletes especially. Coming here and realizing that no one is in a rush and is just chill is great to see.
“They close down their stores for like five hours and you are like ‘Wow, what is everyone doing?’” she queried with curiosity.
“It is just nice seeing everyone at ease and that everything is at peace and we have talked about it a lot as a group and we are really enjoying that part of Italy. As student-athletes, experiencing this culture has given us this perspective to life that we can still be successful and great athletes at a slower pace and that is okay.”
The hockey culture in Italy is a tad different, as expected. In Canada, for example, where ice hockey is the national sport, players are used to smaller ice surfaces.
“The rinks here are larger than that of Canada and we aren’t used to that but after winning two games I believe that is a great adaptation,” said Lussier.
Locals becoming fans
Women’s hockey is on a mercurial rise in many parts of the world, and more and more people are becoming fans. Watkins-Southward was stoked when she saw numerous supporters in the stands cheering for them. “I wasn’t expecting to see so many fans here cheering for us and everyone is so happy that FISU is here, that all these teams are here and showing up.”
Lussier and Watkins-Southward believe Canada can learn quite a few things from Italy like their “better coffee” and “fresh pizza”, among other things. The latter added, “As Canadians, it is stereotypical that we are very friendly, which is true and I have seen that the Italians are not just friendly as well but they see us coming through and want to chat which I feel like we can take back with us to Canada. You know, you see other teams at the Games, you stop and then you chat because you never know who you will meet,” she concluded.
The Torino 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 13-23 January. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv. Click on the link to find the full schedule.
Written by Esther Owusua Appiah-Fei FISU Young Reporter, Ghana
The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.
We warmly thank FISU Official Partner Qiaodan Ltd. which provides remarkable uniforms to FISU Family and International Technical Officials since 2015. Qiaodan is a valuable partner for FISU as it continued to provide its support during the postponement of events due to the global pandemic, and recently extended the relationship with FISU up to and including 2025.