The largest multi-sport event in Europe in 2022 concluded on 30 July as the European Universities Games came to a close. This wrapped up 14 days of competition in 20 sports organised by the European University Sports Association (EUSA), the University Sports Association of Poland (AZS), Lodz University of Technology, and the City of Lodz, Poland. The Games had opened on 17 July at Atlas Arena in Lodz and was attended by many dignitaries and government officials, including FISU Acting President Leonz Eder and FISU Vice President Marian Dymalski.
Photos courtesy European University Sports Association
This was the 10th anniversary of the first European Universities Games, first held in Cordoba, Spain in 2012. Lodz 2022 featured 4,459 participants from 422 university in 38 countries. This included 285 participants from 40 Ukrainian universities. Athletes competed in 3×3 basketball, badminton, basketball, beach handball, beach volleyball, chess, football, futsal, handball, judo, karate, kickboxing, sport climbing, swimming, table tennis (including Para Table Tennis), tennis, volleyball, and water polo. The games also featured sitting volleyball and para power lifting as demonstration sports, while the 3×3 basketball and football competitions served as European qualifying events for those two upcoming FISU University World Cups.
In addition to sporting competition, educational, cultural, and social events took place including a conference on volunteering, a roundtable discussion on dual career, as well as workshops on social skills, anti-doping, as well as disabilities and inclusion.
Photos courtesy European University Sports Association
Adam Roczek, EUSA President, spoke at the closing ceremony and reflected on the importance of the European Universities Games, especially following the pandemic. “It was amazing restarting the university sport in Europe after the pandemic. These were Games of equal opportunities and solidarity, the Games of hope, the Games which proved that European university sport community is still strong and vital; the BEST Games Ever!” he said.
The closing ceremony included the flag being passed to Zita Horvath, Rector of the University of Miskolc, as the two Hungarian cities of Debrecen and Miskolc will host the next European Universities Games in the summer of 2024.