The 2015 Winter Universiade will be exceptionally held in two countries - Spain and Slovakia. The Spanish organizers had a problem with the construction of the sports facilities (including the jumps), so ice hockey and curling will be held in Granada, and ski jumping and biathlon competitions will be available in the Slovak resorts of Osrblie and Štrbské Pleso.
The Universiade, also known as the Student Games, is one of the most important sports events organized by The International University Sports Federation (FISU). It takes place every two years for an odd year. It was organized for the first time in 1959 in Turin - it was the Summer Universiade, and 407 competitors from 43 countries took part in it. A year later, the Winter Universiade was held in Chamonix, France. Since 1981, both editions, summer and winter, have been organized in the same year.
Winter Universiade 2015 - meeting in Slovakia
Since 1959, there have been 27 summer and 26 winter universiades. This year's event will be exceptionally held in two countries - from January 24 to February 1, players will compete with each other in two Slovak centers, while for the period from February 4 to 14, the event will move to one of the most important tourist resorts in Spain, Granada.
The Slovak part of the Winter Universiade will be held in two resorts: Štrbské Pleso and Osrblie . In the first one, you will be able to watch cross-country skiing and ski jumping, while in the second - biathlon competitions. Ice hockey and curling competitions will take place in Granada, Spain.
It is worth mentioning that the Winter Universiade will be held in Štrbské Pleso for the third time - the previous ones took place in 1987 and 1999. The competitors will meet on the HS 100 hill, as well as on the cross-country tracks under the Tatra Mountains.
The bronze medalist of the 2012 Olympic Games, Danka Barteková, will be the face and ambassador of the 27th Winter Universiade . The official opening ceremony of the largest Slovak festival of academic sports will take place on January 24 at 18:00. The cultural program is scheduled for approximately 90 minutes, after which the Universiade fire will be lit.
Poles at the Universiades
Poles can boast of many successes at the Universiades. It was here that the first summer Student Games in history (in 1924 in Warsaw) took place. We have not won a single medal only once (at the 10th Winter Universiade in the Spanish resort of Jaca, in 1981), and the most - 30 - we won at the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan in 2013. We only missed one competition (in 1967), and hosted the event twice (in 1993 and 2001, in Zakopane).
The official mascot of the 2015 Winter Universiade is the nice goat "UGGI" . It comes from the Sierra Nevada mountains and symbolizes - in the words of the author of the project - nobility, skill, endurance and balance, i.e. features related to sport.
A writer by profession, a passion of a cat. One day he will see what is behind the Urals - good to Vladivostok. So far, when he can, he enjoys the sun of the countries of southern Europe. And it's also fun;)
