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 an optional sport at the 1979 edition and two of the optional sports at the 1985 edition of the Universiade. Between 1987 and 2019, it was a recognized mandatory sport. The women's football competition began in the 1993 edition as an optional event. Due to the creation of the FISU University Football World Cup in 2019, the sport is no longer part of the Summer World University Games program, as of that year. With this change, the number of mandatory sports was kept at 15, since the place was occupied by badminton, which, after five editions as an optional sport, became compulsory.
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 Winter 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.
Gymnastics is a sport at the World University Games. It was first contested in 1961 as an optional sport, and turned compulsory in 1963. 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; it would become mandatory in 1979. In 1991, rhythmic gymnastics was one of the two optional sports chosen by the organizers. It was present with the same status in 1995 and 1997, becoming a compulsory sport in 2001. At the 2011 edition, aerobic gymnastics was also part of the program.
Harvey Hill Carrow Jr. is an American-born sports tourism executive who has led the development of the sports tourism industry in the United States. He founded the National Association of Sports Commissions, now known as the Sports Events & Tourism Association, the national trade association for the sports tourism industry in the U.S. Carrow also founded the North Carolina Sports Association, the state trade association for the sports tourism industry in North Carolina.
The 2021 Winter Universiade, officially known as the XXX Winter Universiade or 30th Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Lucerne 2021, is a cancelled 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.
Sailing competition has been in the Universiade since the twentieth Olympic Games Sailing Regatta at the Universida of ESP. Olympic boardsailing was included at this premier of sailing at the UG. The boardsailing name changed to Olympic windsurfing after the Mistral equipment. There may be an event of Olympic sailing during the 2020s or 2030s. The current windsurfing class is called the IQ foil, with a new design that will have appeal to university students. The University Games Olympic Class Sailing Regattas were included in 1999, 2005, and 2011, and in 2019 as an optional sport.
The 2021 Summer World University Games (2021年夏季世界大学生运动会), 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 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. It was the fourth time the Games was hosted in China. This is the first time the Games was referred to as the "Summer World University Games" rather than the "Summer Universiade."
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 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 13–23 January 2025, in Turin, Italy. The Piedmontese capital was confirmed as the host city for the games on 15 May 2021. This will be the 7th time in the history that the event will be held in Italy and 2nd time in the city, as the 2007 Winter Universiade was also held there. The city is considered the birthplace of the event, as in 1959 Summer Universiade, its first summer and winter edition was also held there. Torino also hosted the 1970 Summer Universiade and is the second dual World University Games host city, as Sofia in Bulgaria is the first.
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 and Berlin as an outlying venue 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, officially as the XXXIII Summer World University Games and also known as Chungcheong 2027, is a multi-sport event scheduled from 1 to 12 August 2027 in the cities of the historical Chungcheong Province, South Korea. The region was confirmed as the host for the games on 12 November 2022. This will be the third time in the history that the event will be held in South Korea as the most recent time was the 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.
