FISU World University Games | |
---|---|
![]() The flag of the International University Sports Federation | |
Status | active |
Genre | sporting event |
Frequency | biennial |
Location(s) | various |
Inaugurated | 1959 1960 (winter) | (summer)
Organised by | FISU |
Website | fisu.net |
The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The Universiade is referred to in English as the World University Games or World Student Games; however, this latter term can also refer to competitions for sub-University grades students. In July 2020 as part of a new branding system by the FISU, it was stated that the Universiade was to be officially branded as the FISU World University Games. [1]
The most recent summer event was the 2021 Summer World University Games held in Chengdu, China from 28 July – 8 August 2023, after being postponed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [2] It effectively replaced the 2023 Summer World University Games, that was set to be held in Yekaterinburg, Russia. It was cancelled after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. [3] [4] The most recent winter event was the 2023 Winter World University Games held in Lake Placid, United States from 11 to 21 January 2023, after the 2021 edition scheduled to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [5] [6] [7]
The idea of a global international sports competition between student-athletes pre-dates the 1949 formation of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), which now hosts the Universiade, and even the first World University Games held in 1923. English peace campaigner Hodgson Pratt was an early advocate of such an event, proposing (and passing) a motion at the 1891 Universal Peace Congress in Rome to create a series of international student conferences in rotating host capital cities, with activities including art and sport. This did not come to pass, but a similar event was created in Germany in 1909 in the form of the Academic Olympia. Five editions were held from 1909 to 1913, all of which were hosted in Germany following the cancellation of an Italy-based event. [8]
At the start of the 20th century, Jean Petitjean of France began attempting to organise a "University Olympic Games". After discussion with Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Petitjean was convinced not to use the word "Olympic" in the tournament's name. [8] Petitjean, and later the Confederation Internationale des Etudiants (CIE), was the first to build a series of international events, beginning with the 1923 International Universities Championships. This was followed by the renamed 1924 Summer Student World Championships a year later and two further editions were held in 1927 and 1928. Another name change resulted in the 1930 International University Games. The CIE's International University Games was held four more times in the 1930s before having its final edition in 1947. [9] [10]
A separate group organised an alternative university games in 1939 in Vienna, in post-Anschluss Germany. [9] The onset of World War II ceased all major international student sport activities and the aftermath also led to division among the movement, as the CIE was disbanded and rival organisations emerged. The Union Internationale des Étudiants (UIE) incorporated a university sports games into the World Festival of Youth and Students from 1947 to 1962, including one separate, unofficial games in 1954. This event principally catered for Eastern European countries. [11]
After the closure of the CIE and the creation of the first UIE-organised games, FISU came into being in 1949 and held its own first major student sport event the same year in the form of the 1949 Summer International University Sports Week. The Sports Week was held biennially until 1955. Like the CIE's games before it, the FISU events were initially Western-led sports competitions. [9]
Division between the largely Western European FISU and Eastern European UIE eventually began to dissipate among broadened participation at the 1957 World University Games. This event was not directly organised by either group, instead being organised by Jean Petitjean in France (which remained neutral to the split), but all respective nations from the groups took part. The FISU-organised Universiade became the direct successor to this competition, maintaining the biennial format into the inaugural 1959 Universiade. It was not until the 1957 World University Games that the Soviet Union began to compete in FISU events. That same year, what had previously been a European competition became a truly global one, with the inclusion of Brazil, Japan and the United States among the competing nations. The increased participation ultimately led to the establishment of the Universiade as the primary global student sport championship. [8] [9]
Not recognized by FISU as Universiade or World University Games:
# | Year | Event | Body | Host city | Host country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1923 | International Universities Championships | CIE | Paris | ![]() |
2 | 1924 | Summer Student World Championships | CIE | Warsaw | ![]() |
3 | 1927 | Summer Student World Championships | CIE | Rome | ![]() |
4 | 1928 | Summer Student World Championships | CIE | Paris | ![]() |
5 | 1930 | International University Games | CIE | Darmstadt | ![]() |
6 | 1933 | International University Games | CIE | Turin | ![]() |
7 | 1935 | International University Games | CIE | Budapest | ![]() |
8 | 1937 | International University Games | CIE | Paris | ![]() |
9 | 1939 | International University Games | CIE | Monte Carlo | ![]() |
10 | 1939 | International University Games | NSDStB | Vienna | ![]() |
11 | 1947 | International University Games | CIE | Paris | ![]() |
12 | 1947 | World Festival of Youth and Students | UIE | Prague | ![]() |
13 | 1949 | World Festival of Youth and Students | UIE | Budapest | ![]() |
14 | 1949 | Summer International University Sports Week | FISU | Merano | ![]() |
15 | 1951 | World Festival of Youth and Students | UIE | East Berlin | ![]() |
16 | 1951 | Summer International University Sports Week | FISU | Luxembourg | ![]() |
17 | 1953 | World Festival of Youth and Students | UIE | Bucharest | ![]() |
18 | 1953 | Summer International University Sports Week | FISU | Dortmund | ![]() |
19 | 1955 | World Festival of Youth and Students | UIE | Warsaw | ![]() |
20 | 1955 | Summer International University Sports Week | FISU | San Sebastián | ![]() |
21 | 1957 | World Festival of Youth and Students | UIE | Moscow | ![]() |
22 | 1957 | World University Games | PUC | Paris | ![]() |
23 | 1959 | World Festival of Youth and Students | UIE | Vienna | ![]() |
24 | 1962 | World Festival of Youth and Students | UIE | Helsinki | ![]() |
Unlike other sporting events, the World University Games are recognized for the flexibility in their program, as since the second edition held in 1961, it has been up to the Organizing Committee and the National University Sports Federation of the host country to choose sports or optional competitions. according to the reality of the host country. However, there is a list of mandatory sports that are defined by the International University Sports Federation that is reviewed at the end of each edition as the games also serves as World University Championship in those sports. At the first edition held in Turin in 1959, only 8 sports were in the sporting program (athletics, basketball, fencing, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, volleyball and water polo). The first sport to be considered optional was diving, which was added to the second edition held in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1961. In addition, optional events were added in basketball and volleyball, when women's tournaments were played. In Porto Alegre 1963 the woman's basketball was dropped from the sporting program. In 1967, the third World University Judo Championship was held in Tokyo, and it was integrated into the fifth edition of the Summer Universiade as an extra sport, thus gaining the status of an optional sport and thus inaugurating a new type of sport at the event, which is that of the optional sport. Therefore, the sport with this status is not part of the fixed program and may be in this edition, but not necessarily in the next one.
Since 1960 until 1989, limited and fixed sports were held. Since 1991 Winter Universiade the host is allowed to choose some sports that are approved by FISU as optional sports.
Rank | NUSF | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 548 | 346 | 293 | 1,187 |
2 | ![]() | 493 | 446 | 417 | 1,356 |
3 | ![]() | 430 | 364 | 419 | 1,213 |
4 | ![]() | 409 | 337 | 251 | 997 |
5 | ![]() | 370 | 364 | 478 | 1,212 |
6 | ![]() | 260 | 221 | 284 | 765 |
7 | ![]() | 212 | 225 | 284 | 721 |
8 | ![]() | 182 | 185 | 179 | 546 |
9 | ![]() | 148 | 132 | 149 | 429 |
10 | ![]() | 120 | 105 | 121 | 346 |
Totals (10 entries) | 3,172 | 2,725 | 2,875 | 8,772 |
Rank | NUSF | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 207 | 188 | 180 | 575 |
2 | ![]() | 121 | 86 | 78 | 285 |
3 | ![]() | 112 | 119 | 106 | 337 |
4 | ![]() | 103 | 92 | 67 | 262 |
5 | ![]() | 74 | 66 | 76 | 216 |
6 | ![]() | 57 | 62 | 71 | 190 |
7 | ![]() | 57 | 57 | 55 | 169 |
8 | ![]() | 56 | 65 | 61 | 182 |
9 | ![]() | 54 | 40 | 25 | 119 |
10 | ![]() | 51 | 52 | 53 | 156 |
Totals (10 entries) | 892 | 827 | 772 | 2,491 |
The International University Sports Federation is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25. It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of national university sports organizations and currently has 165 member associations from five continents. Between 1949 and 2011, it was based in Brussels (Belgium); it was relocated to Lausanne (Switzerland) since 2011.
The 2013 Winter Universiade, the XXVI Winter Universiade, was a winter multi-sport event which took place in Trentino, Italy between 11 and 21 December 2013.
The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade, was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 university athletes from 162 countries participated in 13 mandatory and 14 optional sports, making the 2013 Universiade the biggest ever in the history of the event. For the first time in history a Cultural Universiade was also included, with many festivals and shows held simultaneously with the sporting events. The Universiade was organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and by the authorities of the Russian Federation.
Football was the optional sport at the 1979 edition. Between 1985 and 2019, football was a recognized mandatory sport. The women's football competition began in the 1993 edition as optional event. Due the creation of the FISU University Football World Cup in 2019, the sport will no longer be part of the Summer World University Games program starting at that year. With this change, the number of mandatory sports will be kept at fifteen, since the place will be occupied by badminton which after five editions as an optional sport turned a compulsory sport.
The Gymnasiade, or World Gymnasiade, or World School Sport Games, or ISF World School Sport Games is an international multi-sport event which is organised by the International School Sport Federation (ISF). It is the largest event among many other sport events held by the ISF. Aligned with the philosophy of the organisation, only individuals between the ages of 13 and 18 are eligible to compete.
The 2017 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXIX Summer Universiade and commonly called Taipei 2017, was a multi-sport event, sanctioned by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), held in the city of Taipei, Taiwan. It took place from August 19 to August 30, 2017.
Winter Universiade 2017, the XXVIII Winter Universiade, was a multi-sport winter event which took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 29 January to 8 February 2017. On 29 November 2011, FISU announced that Winter Universiade 2017 would be hosted in Almaty.
The 2019 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXX Summer Universiade and also known as Naples 2019, or Napoli 2019, was held in Naples, Italy, between 3 and 14 July 2019.
The 2019 Winter Universiade, the XXIX Universiade, was a multi-sport event for student and youth athletes which took place from 2 to 12 March 2019 in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk. The 2019 Winter Universiade was the third Universiade hosted in Russia and second as an independent country. The first Universiade, when Russia was a Soviet Republic, was hosted by Moscow in 1973, whereas Kazan, capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade. It is the first Winter Universiade hosted by Russia, and the second time that the event was held in a former USSR republic.
The Philippines has participated at the Universiade debuting at the 1967 Summer Universiade. From 1967 until 2007, athletes representing the country were sent by the University Athletic Association of the Philippines with sanction from Philippine Olympic Committee. Since 2011 it is the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP), a member of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), that has been sending competitors representing the country at the Universiade.
Gymnastics is a sport at the World University Games that was first contested in 1961 as an optional sport and turned compulsory sport in 1963 and since then it has been out of the program twice in 1975 and 1989. In 1973, for the first time a competition in apparatus was added to the program and would become mandatory in 1979. In 1991, rhythmic gymnastics was one of the two optional sports chosen by the organizers and was present with the same status in 1995 in 1997, becoming a compulsory sport in 2001. At the 2011 edition, aerobic gymnastics was also part of the program.
The 2021 Winter Universiade, officially known as the XXX Winter Universiade or 30th Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Lucerne 2021, was a multi-sport event for student and youth athletes that was scheduled to take place from 11 to 21 December 2021 in Lucerne, Switzerland, with preliminary competition in some events beginning 6 December 2021. The Games were to be hosted at venues in cantons of Central Switzerland, including Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schwyz, Uri, and Zug.
The 2021 Summer World University Games, officially known as the XXXI Summer World University Games and also known as Chengdu 2021, was a multi-sport event sanctioned by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), held from 28 July to 8 August 2023 primarily in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. It was the fourth edition of the Games hosted by China. This is also the first edition to be referred to as the "Summer World University Games" rather than the "Summer Universiade." The games marked the 15th anniversary of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
The Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games, commonly known as Lake Placid 2023, was a collegiate multi-sport winter sports held between January 12 to January 22, 2023 and had Lake Placid, New York, United States, as main host city. Alongside Lake Placid, events were also hosted by neighbouring cities of Wilmington, Saranac Lake, Potsdam and North Creek also located at the New York state. The event is also known as the 31st Winter Universiade as administered by the International University Sports Federation (FISU).
The 2023 FISU Summer World University Games (Universiade), officially known as the 2023 Summer Universiade or the XXXII Summer World University Games, and commonly known as Yekaterinburg 2023 or Ekaterinburg 2023, was planned to be the 32nd edition of the event, which was to be held from 19 to 31 July 2023 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
The 2025 FISU Winter World University Games, also known as the XXXII Winter World University Games, or the 32nd Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Turin 2025 or Torino 2025, is a multi-sport event scheduled from January 13–23, 2025, in Turin, Italy. The Piedmontese capital was confirmed as the host city for the games on 15 May 2021. This will be the 12th time in the history that the event will be held in Italy after occurring for the seventh time after the most recent 2019 Summer Universiade held in Naples.
The 2025 FISU Summer World University Games, officially known as the XXXII Summer World University Games and also known as Rhine-Ruhr 2025, is a multi-sport event scheduled to be held from 16 to 27 July 2025, in five cities in Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region in Germany. The region previously hosted the 1989 Summer Universiade in Duisburg, who also host sports during these games.
The 2027 FISU Summer World University Games, known also as the XXXIII Summer World University Games, or the 33rd Summer Universiade, and commonly known as Chungcheong 2027, is a multi-sport event scheduled from 1 to 12 August 2027 in Chungcheong Province, South Korea. The province was confirmed as the host city for the games on 12 November 2022. This will be the fourth time in the history that the event will be held in South Korea after being held for the third time after the most recent 2015 Summer Universiade held in Gwangju.
The 2029 FISU Summer World University Games, known also as the XXXIV Summer World University Games, or the 34th Summer Universiade, and commonly known as North Carolina 2029, is a multi-sport event scheduled from 11 to 22 July 2029 in the Research Triangle, North Carolina, United States. The bid was confirmed as the host region for the games on 10 January 2023 during the 2023 Winter World University Games held in Lake Placid, New York. This will be the second time in the history that the event will be held in United States after the 1993 Summer Universiade held in Buffalo.