Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.
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 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 2009 Winter Universiade, the XXIV Winter Universiade took place in Harbin, China. Student athletes from 44 countries took part in the games.
The 2007 Winter Universiade, the XXIII Winter Universiade, took place in Turin, Italy from January 17 to 27, 2007.
The XXV Winter Universiade, took place in Erzurum, Turkey between 27 January to 6 February. Erzurum is the city at the highest altitude in Turkey, at 1,850 m (6,070 ft), and has over 320 cultural landmarks. Located in Eastern Anatolia Region, it is a city on the traditional silk road and has been governed by many cultures over the centuries. The Erzurum Ice Hockey Arena, located on the Cemal Gürsel Sports Campus, was newly built with an ice rink of 60m x 30m and 3,000 seats for spectators.
National Sports Academy was a private preparatory school for winter-sport athletes in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The academy was closed in 2015.
The 2015 Winter Universiade, the XXVII Winter Universiade, was a multi sport winter event held in Granada, Spain and Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia. On 14 March 2009, FISU announced that the host would be Granada because they were the only bid.
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 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.
Ukraine competed at the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain, and Štrbské Pleso/Osrblie, Slovakia. The Ukrainian team consisted of 52 athletes who competed in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, figure skating, Nordic combined, short track speed skating, ski jumping, and snowboarding. The team was not represented in curling, freestyle skiing, and ice hockey. Ukraine won 5 medals and shared 13th rank with Austria.
Ukraine competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 33 competitors in 9 sports. Oleksandr Abramenko won the only medal for the country, a gold in men's aerials freestyle skiing, earning Ukraine the 21st place in the overall medal table.
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 Czech Republic competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022.
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 Jan. 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 United States competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China which took place between 4–13 March 2022. In total, 65 athletes competed in six sports. It was the second largest delegation at the Games after the host China. Para ice hockey is represented by the most athletes, with 17.
South Korea competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China which took place between 4–13 March 2022.
Ukraine competed at the 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino, Italy. 92 Ukrainian athletes competed in 9 sports out of 12 except in curling, freestyle skiing, and speed skating. Ukraine won 9 medals, 3 of which were gold, and ranked 8th.
Figure skating at the 2023 Winter World University Games was held on January 13–15 at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles and ice dance.
Mykhailo Mykhailovych Kharuk is a Ukrainian freestyle skier, specializing in slamom. He's twice 2023 Winter Universiade medalist in parallel slamom (bronze) and parallel giant slalom (gold) events.
