Emerging student leaders helped deliver the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade

Meet a collection of FISU Student Ambassadors that played an integral part at the 30th Summer Universiade

FISU Student Ambassadors standing tall during their time last summer at ‘The Academy’ in Kazan, Russia

FISU Student Ambassadors were out in force in southern Italy during the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade – holding down roles within team delegations, the organising committee, and inside FISU itself.

FISU Student Ambassador Julianna Király met up with several fellow members of the FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy classes of 2017 and 2018. She chatted them up on their mutual love of university sport, of wanting to improve their sports management skills, and the experience of taking what they learned in the univeristy classroom and leadership academy and then applying than during a demanding multiday sports event.

ADAM PRATCHETT

United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland (GBR)

Adam Pratchett (far left) with the 2018 FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy crew in Kazan

The 25-year old FISU Student Ambassador was the head of student sports at the University of Nottingham, one of the four national student officers back in the UK. He applied to the FISU Academy and then there got ranked there in the top.

Following his well-received leadership style and proactive work ethic, he earned the right to work alongside FISU at the Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade.

“It’s pretty crazy, from one small decision to where I am now,” Pratchett said.

His role in Krasnoyarsk was to manage a team of 12 volunteers and also to manage the commentators of FISU international broadcasting. Their role was to train up the volunteers as research assistant and commentators.

“We were really given quite big roles, and they were trusting us as ambassadors, and knew that we have the abilities to do it, and that was great.”

He proved himself and was lucky enough to work with FISU again also at the Summer Universiade at broadcasting. Beside others, he was doing time-stamping and logging the live sports broadcasts to news edits, which is more administrative and develops different skills than what he used in the Winter Universiade.

Since Napoli, Pratchett is back working at the Finnish Paralympic Committee as European Paralympic Youth Games Officer, with the emerging leader staying he will stay involved with sport in the future.

ANDREA IPPOLITO

Centro Universitario Sportivo Italiano (CUSI)

Andrea Ippolito (far left) is joined by article author and fellow 2018 Student Ambassador Julianna Király (centre) and Gabriele Candela, Italy’s next FVLA participant during the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade

Andrea Ippolito was an obvious choice for the CUSI of Italy to send as a delegate to the 2018 FISU Volunteer Leaders’ Academy.

Following in the footsteps of Filippo Corti, Ippollito was Italy’s second delegate to participate at the event. Andrea grew up within the CUSI family as his father is the vice-president of the organization – not to mention his father also held the role of head of the delegation during the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade.

Ippollito started in the local center in Sardinia as an athlete, then moved to Rome for studies. It’s during his time in the Italian capital city where he got closer to the central organization.

This was the third Universiade where Ippollito has participated, following previous positions during Shenzhen 2011 and Taipei 2017. Both at Taipei and Napoli he was working to solve any problem that appears regarding the Italian delegation, starting from accreditation, and transportation. Ippollito’s mentor is Antonio Dima, General Secretary of CUSI, who told him what to do and how to do it, preparation that certainly came in handy for his jobs during the Universiade.

Ippollito will continue working for CUSI on their trendsetting Project SPIN – sport of the inclusion of disabled people. This includes the mentoree turn mentor as he helps Gabriele Candela, future participant of the FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy to be the next FISU Student Ambassador of Italy.

KRISTY HAVILL

University and Tertiary Sport New Zealand (UTSNZ)

Kristy Havill (left) of New Zealand formed part of the core of the Sport Management Centre during the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade

Kristy Havill was on Sports Scholarship at Lincoln University in her native New Zealand for clay-target shooting during her undergraduate studies in Sport and Recreation Management. Havill participated at the 2018 FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy, where she managed to finish the over weeklong course as one of top 10 participants. Her reward was the possibility to work at the Summer Universiade in Napoli.

„There’s nothing quite like actually being on the ground at the Universiade to learn and grow your skills” she said.

Havill worked in the Sport Management Centre, communicating with different functional areas to solve problems so that the Universiade can run as smoothly as possible.

She feels it was a big responsibility; she enjoyed being a part of such an experienced team who have been in these roles at many past Universiades and World University Championships.

Havill says she would love to work in sports for the rest of her life – we will see where the road takes her!

MARKÉTA ŠTENCLOVÁ

Czech University Sports Association (CUSA)

A lover and practitioner of sports, Markéta Štenclová excels in both the classroom and while putting on events

Markéta Štenclová completed her bachelor and her master studies in Prague at Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports. During this time, she studied abroad as an Erasmus Exchange student in Tallinn, Estonia. Štenclová is very fit and is a daily practitioner of sport herself. As a tradition in the Czech Republic, she goes rowing on the river every year, and runs regularly.

Since 2017 she has been working for the Czech University Sports Association.

During the Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade, Štenclová worked as a contact between the athletes and the leaders of her country’s delegation, She also took on great responsibilities for the delegation’s media efforts, along with providing service for the athletes – everything from transporting objects large and small to and from competition venues to picking up team meal boxes.

At the Summer Universiade, her role was to manage the media appearance of the Czech athletes’ and their performance. A passionate photographer, she has been to all venues during the event and recording the results of the Czech athlete’s both on social media channels and on the associations’ website.

While Štenclová represented the Czech Republic as the first Czech participant at the 2018 FISU Volunteer Leader’s Academy, you can expect to hear more from this emerging student sports leader as she will continue to represent the Czech Republic again this September in Kazan during the 2019 edition of FVLA.