The international Day of University Sport was celebrated with great fanfare for a fourth year running, as National University Sports Federations around the world held creative and fun activities to encourage more and more students to participate in sport and physical activity.
In Chinese Taipei, the day was celebrated with a double whammy as the first ever Asian University Badminton Championship was held, alongside a training workshop for media volunteers.
At the Badminton tournament, China expectedly dominated the medals with 2gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze.Even as the event tournament was about much more than just sport, the standard of competition was high.
Takuma Obayashiof Japan, who won the men’s singles said, “Iam very happyto play here and to defeat the Youth Olympic runner-up Guipu Linof China. I feel the players at this tournament areofa high standard and I gota lot of good exposure.”
The student athletes from a whole host of Asian countries were also exposed to local culture and cuisine, including a grand dinner with traditional music and dance.
At the same time as the Badminton Championship, the Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation also hosted a ‘Media Volunteer Workshop’from 20-22September thatfocused on training young volunteers to promote university sport.
“IDUS is one of our most important annual days; we gathered our volunteers to stimulate ideas. We are also arranging advanced courses with a combination of education, inspiration, and creativity,” said Ching-yu Tseng, the Secretary-General of CTUSF.
The lecturers in the workshop included representatives from FOX Sports Asia, United News, and other media organisations and the 30 participants were also taken attend part of the ongoing FISU-NUSF Seminar on ‘Media and Sport Development’.
Hungary meanwhile did it again! Mobilising thousands of students, the Hungarian University Sports Federation, partnered by over 20 higher education institutions, kicked off IDUS 2019 with a Charity Health Walk as part of the Eötvös 5km running event held on 19 September 19 in Budapest.
The Eötvös 5km race also ties tradition in nicely with the UNESCO proclaimed event, as it is one of the oldest university recreational sports events. It is organised every year for the benefit of different social organisations. This year it was for SUHANJ! Foundation, which is an integrative sports club where people with reduced mobility and disability play together in an open community of dedicated volunteers and amateur athletes.
Mózes Székely, the HUSF Secretary General and founder of the Charity Health Walk, also participated as a runner.
“We are strongly committed to further developing university sport in Hungary, not only with statements, but effectively with resources,” he said.
In Hungary, IDUS has evolved into a series of events lasting several days as various universities organise major sports events at this time of the year. Some of the more interesting programmes from this year’s celebrations included: Inclusive Sports Day, Dragon Boat Regatta, FIT-Night, Step Race, Aquatlon Race and a Tokaj Bike Tour.
