EUSA-FISU seminar 2023 hosted in Val di Zoldo

The second edition of the EUSA-FISU Seminar took place in the beautiful Val di Zoldo, Italy, from March 23-26. The event was attended mostly by secretary generals and office staff of the National Universities Sports Association from Europe, as well as European University Sports Association (EUSA) and International University Sports Federation (FISU) representatives.

EUSA-FISU Seminar Opening

On March 23rd, participants arrived and the first part of the seminar was held in Hotel Valgranda. Participants were welcomed in Val di oldo by the the 1st Vice-President of EUSA Haris Pavletic, Acting President of FISU Leonz Eder (via video address) and President of CUS Venezia Massimo Zanotto.

EUG2022 Lesson Learnt

Several topics were discussed and presented in the corse of the event. The programme started with What's Up EUSA and FISU, where the university sport and educational events, meetings, projects and other activities were presented. A panel discussion was held on the EUSA Games 2022 – lessons learnt, discussing the European Universities Games Lodz 2022 from various aspects like evolution, the challenges, legacy of the event and some advice for future organisers. The legacy of sports events was presented, with a focus on the World Universities Games in Lucerne. Despite the event eventually not being able to be held due to the pandemics, the legacy of the event was many-fold.

Evolution of EUSA Sports events

An overview of the EUSA Sports events was presented, including the European Universities Games, European Universities Championships, EUSA endorsed events and new initiatives; and similar was also made for FISU Sports events.

Panel discussion on sustainability

The program then continued with a panel discussion on sustainable sports events. Different topics like the sustainability strategies of organisations, sustainability of sports events from the environmental, social and economic perspectives, and project initiatives like the Green Sports Hub Europe were presented and discussed.

Presentation of winter initiatives

The EUSA Goes Winter was the last presentation of the day. EUSA Secretary General Matjaz Pecovnik introduced the event with a short speech, followed by a presentation by the VUS Venezia President Massimo Zanotto, focusing on the the first edition of the European Universities Winter Championships which is going to take place in December 2023.

Presentation of FISU Winter events

Other Winter University Events were presented as well, starting with the FISU World University Games Winter, focsing on Lake Placid 2023 and Torino 2025, as well a good practice example of the national university sport championship from AZS Poland and FederCUSI Italy.

Group photo with the Mayor of Val di Zoldo

The present attendees were also greeted by the Mayor of Val di Zoldo Camillo de Pellegrin, as well as by President of Val di Zoldo Tourism Consortium Marzia Balestra, Silvia Sartor on behalf of Antonio Siracusa from Val di Zoldo Funivie and Gianni Nobile, representing ProDolomiti.

Skiing activity for the participants

Participants were also able to enjoy two different #BeActive sport activities. One group had the chance to do alpine skiing and enjoy the skiing routes, and the other other group had a winter hike expedition, enjoying the scenic views.

New initiatives

New initiatives that EUSA and/or FISU are currently exploring to introduce to the programme were also discussed, including winter ones like Ski Orienteering, Ski Mountaineering, Snow Volleyball, as well as summer ones like Padel, Jiu-Jitsu, Flying Disc, Dodgeball, Kickboxing and Functional Fitness.

Presentation of EU-funded project BRAVA

Apart of the sport-focused projects and initiatives, also an example of a dual career initiative and potential EU funding opportunities was presented, using an example of the Brand Value Alignment through Dual Career (BRAVA) project.

Representatives of EUSA, FISU and local hosts

The program of the seminar was wrapped up with the speeches of the EUSA Secretary General Mr Matjaz Pecovnik, 1st Vice President Haris Pavetic and President Adam Roczek. They all thanked the attendees for the participation and advocated for future and stronger collaborations.

EUSA-FISU Seminar Audience

The event was supported by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.