LAUSANNE – Every year, on the occasion of the International Day of University Sport, there are two National University Sports Federations (NUSF) that set the benchmark with the number of activities and participants celebrating the day. It should therefore come as no big surprise that both the Hungarian and Russian NUSFs once again have big plans for the fourth edition of IDUS, which will be celebrated on 20 September.
“Keep moving!” says Professor Dr. Ádám Kiss, President of the Hungarian University Sports Federation. “Just three active sessions of 45 minutes each per week can change your life. With IDUS, the primary goal is to reach those who are not exercising enough, those whose physical activity is less than 150-300 minutes a week, as defined by the World Health Organisation.”
The International Day of University Sport has in fact, been officially recognised by the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) for this reason.
Last year, 180,000 students participated in more than 160 IDUS-related activities organised by the Hungarian University Sports Federation. The Russian Student Sport Union was a close second with 76 activities and 45,000 people taking part.
This time, more than 60 different events have been included in the IDUS national calendar in the Russian Federation – which includes sport events, festivals, conferences, seminars, exhibitions and flash mobs. The RSSU expects more than 30,000 students across the country will attend these IDUS 2019 celebrations.
The main venues for the all-Russian celebrations will be Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Republic of Chuvashia, the Tyumen Region, the Lipetsk Region and the Sverdlovsk Region. Leading sports universities and federal universities have announced numerous tournaments, races, quizzes and other activities.
After their great success in recent years, the Hungarian University Sports Federation is once again gearing up to manage around 180,000 students in 160 activities held in 36 locations across the country.
This includes countryside institutions where many interesting activities have been planned for approximately 30,000 students. The 36th edition of the traditional ‘5vös5’ 5km race will be held at the Eötvös Loránd University campus. Last year at this event alone, nearly a thousand people crossed the finish line.
The ‘Charity Health Walk’ will also take place for a fourth time, with institutional leaders, rectors, chancellors, university sport leaders and municipal leaders coming together to get moving for a good cause. All participants in this walk will make a contribution towards the Peto Institute in Budapest, which is a centre for disabled children.
“Sport is my greatest teacher,” says Tímea Nagy, double Olympic Champion fencer, six-time Universiade champion and President of The Universiade Champions Club. “Sport taught me everything. Honour, perseverance and humility. Sport taught me how to lose and how to stand tall even in the most difficult of situations.”
Nagy will be among a host of Hungarian sports stars who will lend their support to ensure this year’s edition of the Interantional Day of University Sport is another resounding success.
What remains to be seen is whether or not RSSU and HUSF will once again earn the title of most active NUSFs after IDUS 2019.
