International University Sports Federation
Encyclopedia
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU, English: International University Sports Federation), based in Brussels
, Belgium
is responsible for the organisation and governance of worldwide competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 28 . It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of national university sports organisations and currently has 153 member associations from 5 continental regions. It is the only international federation with more than 50 sports on its competition program.
FISU stages its events every two years. They currently include two Universiade
s (summer and winter) and 32 World University Championships.
Meanwhile FISU permanently links the academic world with sports by hosting a number of educational events – conferences, forums and seminars. These events closely assist in promoting sport as one of the main components of the educational system.
FISU sanctions other competitions open to university students, such as the biennial World University Bridge Championships in contract bridge
, "played under the auspices of the FISU".
, France
in May 1923. The following year saw the birth of the International Confederation of Students (I.C.S.), which held a congress in Warsaw
, Poland
. Several delegations took part and the movement was launched. From 1925 to 1939, many great sporting events were organized by the students and the I.C.S.: in Prague
, Czechoslovakia
in 1925, Rome
, Italy
in 1927, then again in Paris, Darmstadt
, Germany
(1930), Turin
, Italy
(1933), Budapest
, Hungary
(1935), Paris (1937) and Monaco
(1939). The Second World War
interrupted these meetings, but when peace was restored, France re-launched the World University Games
This peace was relative, because the shadow of the Cold War
soon divided university sport. In 1949, although the International Students Union (I.S.U.) organized games at which very few western countries participated, the International University Sports Federation (FISU), born the previous year in Luxembourg
, was officially founded and organized its first International University Sports Weeks bringing together the western delegations. These meetings took place notably in Meran, Italy (1949), Luxembourg (1951), Dortmund
, Germany (1953) and San Sebastián, Spain
(1955). In a new departure in 1957, the French Federation organized a World University Sports Championship, which brought together students from Eastern and Western blocks.
From this meeting came the desire to organize a universal event in which students from all over the world could participate. In 1959, FISU and the I.S.U. agreed to participate in the games organized in Turin by the Italian association: C.U.S.I. That year was undoubtedly the one that left the biggest impression on the federation. In fact, the Italian organizers baptized these 1959 games with the name Universiade and created the flag with a "U" surrounded by stars, which was going to begin its journey around the world, and replaced the national anthem
s at the medal-awarding ceremonies by the Gaudeamus Igitur. The Universiade in Turin was a success for the local executive committee and for the man who was going to change the future of the university sports movement: Dr Primo Nebiolo
. At this Universiade, which brought together 43 different countries and 1,400 participants, many non-member federations asked to become members of FISU. Adin Talbar
, the Israeli representative, forcibly lobbied the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to join FISU.
However, even though university sports finally led a peaceful coexistence, the modus vivendi
still needed to be established. In addition to the agreement that was made concerning national symbols (neither flags nor anthems) and on the program, FISU determined its philosophy in article 2 of its statutes by stipulating: "FISU pursues its objects without consideration or discrimination of a political, denominational or racial nature". From then on, FISU was to organize the Games on a worldwide level.
Ever since this important period, the Universiades continues to attract more and more participants. It went from a total of 1407 participants in Turin 1959 - including 985 student-athletes - to a total of 6009 in 1999 (Palma de Mallorca
, Spain) - including 4076 student-athletes - from more than 125 countries.
The Winter Universiades experienced the same success. In fact, the statistics show that 98 athletes participated in 1958 at the Universiade in Zell am See
, Austria
while 1007 participants came from 41 countries to the Universiade in Zakopane
, Poland
in 2001.
FISU has recently renewed the design of its emblem in order to improve the consistency of the emblems at the FISU events. The emblem consists of a black letter "U" printed on a white background, centered over 5 stars divided into two lines. The 3 upper stars are from left to right respectively: blue, black and red, and the 2 lower stars are yellow and green in the same way of the Olympic rings. The 'FISU' logotype, in black, is centered beneath the stars.
The FISU flag includes the emblem of FISU centered on a flag made out of white material.
The president of FISU is currently Claude-Louis Gallien.
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
is responsible for the organisation and governance of worldwide competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 28 . It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of national university sports organisations and currently has 153 member associations from 5 continental regions. It is the only international federation with more than 50 sports on its competition program.
FISU stages its events every two years. They currently include two Universiade
Universiade
The Universiade is an International multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation . The name is a combination of the words "University" and "olympiad"...
s (summer and winter) and 32 World University Championships.
Meanwhile FISU permanently links the academic world with sports by hosting a number of educational events – conferences, forums and seminars. These events closely assist in promoting sport as one of the main components of the educational system.
FISU sanctions other competitions open to university students, such as the biennial World University Bridge Championships in contract bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
, "played under the auspices of the FISU".
History
FISU was officially formed in 1949, but its origin goes back to the 1920s when the Frenchman, Jean Petitjean, organized the first "World Student Games" in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in May 1923. The following year saw the birth of the International Confederation of Students (I.C.S.), which held a congress in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Several delegations took part and the movement was launched. From 1925 to 1939, many great sporting events were organized by the students and the I.C.S.: in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in 1925, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1927, then again in Paris, Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(1930), Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(1933), Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
(1935), Paris (1937) and Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
(1939). The Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
interrupted these meetings, but when peace was restored, France re-launched the World University Games
This peace was relative, because the shadow of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
soon divided university sport. In 1949, although the International Students Union (I.S.U.) organized games at which very few western countries participated, the International University Sports Federation (FISU), born the previous year in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, was officially founded and organized its first International University Sports Weeks bringing together the western delegations. These meetings took place notably in Meran, Italy (1949), Luxembourg (1951), Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Germany (1953) and San Sebastián, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(1955). In a new departure in 1957, the French Federation organized a World University Sports Championship, which brought together students from Eastern and Western blocks.
From this meeting came the desire to organize a universal event in which students from all over the world could participate. In 1959, FISU and the I.S.U. agreed to participate in the games organized in Turin by the Italian association: C.U.S.I. That year was undoubtedly the one that left the biggest impression on the federation. In fact, the Italian organizers baptized these 1959 games with the name Universiade and created the flag with a "U" surrounded by stars, which was going to begin its journey around the world, and replaced the national anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
s at the medal-awarding ceremonies by the Gaudeamus Igitur. The Universiade in Turin was a success for the local executive committee and for the man who was going to change the future of the university sports movement: Dr Primo Nebiolo
Primo Nebiolo
Primo Nebiolo was an Italian sports official, best known as president of the worldwide athletics federation International Association of Athletics Federations....
. At this Universiade, which brought together 43 different countries and 1,400 participants, many non-member federations asked to become members of FISU. Adin Talbar
Adin Talbar
Adin Talbar, also Adin Theilhaber-Talbar, was Deputy Director of the Israel Ministry for Commerce and Industry, furthered German-Israeli cooperation and is the founder of the Israel Academic Sports Association ....
, the Israeli representative, forcibly lobbied the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to join FISU.
However, even though university sports finally led a peaceful coexistence, the modus vivendi
Modus vivendi
Modus vivendi is a Latin phrase signifying an agreement between those whose opinions differ, such that they agree to disagree.Modus means mode, way. Vivendi means of living. Together, way of living, implies an accommodation between disputing parties to allow life to go on. It usually describes...
still needed to be established. In addition to the agreement that was made concerning national symbols (neither flags nor anthems) and on the program, FISU determined its philosophy in article 2 of its statutes by stipulating: "FISU pursues its objects without consideration or discrimination of a political, denominational or racial nature". From then on, FISU was to organize the Games on a worldwide level.
Ever since this important period, the Universiades continues to attract more and more participants. It went from a total of 1407 participants in Turin 1959 - including 985 student-athletes - to a total of 6009 in 1999 (Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
, Spain) - including 4076 student-athletes - from more than 125 countries.
The Winter Universiades experienced the same success. In fact, the statistics show that 98 athletes participated in 1958 at the Universiade in Zell am See
Zell am See
Zell am See is the capital city of the Zell am See district in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The city has about 10,000 inhabitants.Zell am See is a tourist destination and a transportation hub for the region...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
while 1007 participants came from 41 countries to the Universiade in Zakopane
Zakopane
Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 2001.
World University Championships
The other important sport events of FISU are the World University Championships. The spreading of the university sport in the world created a new series of meetings and competitions to complete the program of the Universiade. FISU supports the competitions which represent the continuity of university sport and allows the federation to be better known. In 2004, FISU organised 25 World University Championships that attracted 4,845 participants from a total of 186 (of which 90 different) countries. In 2006, FISU staged 27 WUCs attracting 5,852 participants from a total of 209 (of which 90 different) countries and for 2008, 30 WUCs are attributed. WUC Sports Program: Archery - Badminton - Baseball - Beach Volleyball - Bridge - Chess - Cross Country - Cycling - Equestrian - Flat Water Canoeing - Floorball - Futsal - Golf - Handball - Field Hockey - Karate - Match Racing - Orienteering - Rowing - Rugby 7 - Sailing - Shooting - Softball - Squash - Taekwondo - Triathlon - White Water Canoeing - Waterskiing - Weightlifting - Woodball - WrestlingEmblem and flag
The Italian University Sports Center (CUSI) created the emblem for the 1959 World University Games, although the stars were originally curved around the bottom of the U.FISU has recently renewed the design of its emblem in order to improve the consistency of the emblems at the FISU events. The emblem consists of a black letter "U" printed on a white background, centered over 5 stars divided into two lines. The 3 upper stars are from left to right respectively: blue, black and red, and the 2 lower stars are yellow and green in the same way of the Olympic rings. The 'FISU' logotype, in black, is centered beneath the stars.
The FISU flag includes the emblem of FISU centered on a flag made out of white material.
Structure
FISU is composed of a General Assembly which represents the members (163 National University Sports Federations). It is FISU's main governing body. It elects the Executive Committee for a period of four years, which takes all the necessary decisions for the smooth running of FISU. Ten permanent commissions advise the Executive Committee in their specialised areas and so to simplify its duties. FISU is funded through subscription, organising and entry fees, television incomes, and marketing activities.The president of FISU is currently Claude-Louis Gallien.
The FISU Conference
The FISU Conference takes place at the same time as the Universiade, complementing the sporting aspect with sociological study and scientific research, thus illustrating the need to bring together Sport and the University Spirit. This FISU Conference also entitled "Conference for the Study of University Sport" tackles topics relating to the different aspects of sport and physical education.The FISU Forum
Since, like the Universiade, the Congress is biennial, FISU wished to give students and university sport officials the opportunity to meet more often to discuss subjects involving education, culture and sport, through Forum seminars. Practically speaking, Forum seminars will take place every two years, alternating with Universiade years, and each time in a different location.See also
- World University Orienteering ChampionshipsWorld University Orienteering ChampionshipsThe World University Orienteering Championships were first held in 1978.The current championship events are:* Relay - for three-person teams * Long distance* Middle distance...
- World Junior Teams ChampionshipWorld Junior Teams ChampionshipThe World Junior Teams Championship is a bridge competition for zonal teams of players up to about 25 years old.Now "under-26" means that players must be under 26 at the end of the calendar year. So they may celebrate their 25th birthdays during the year; Junior competition during calendar 2011 is...
—contract bridge teams including University students series
External links
- Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire official website
- City Events: Where cities meet sport —annual conference