University International Sports Festival

University International Sports Festival (Russian: Международный фестиваль студенческого спорта) is a regional sports event scheduled to be held by Russia in Yekaterinburg. The sports festival is scheduled to be held from 19 August 2023 to 31 August 2023, where 4,000 athletes aged 17 to 23 from 22 countries will contest for 193 medal events across 14 sports.[1] The event is also one of the main events to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Yekaterinburg.[2]

University International Sports Festival
Host cityYekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast
CountryRussia
Teams22 (planned)
Athletes4100 (planned)
Events14
Opening19 August 2023 (2023-08-19)
Closing31 August 2023 (2023-08-31)
Website

Developments

The sports festival was established after the cancellation of the 2023 Summer World University Games and suspension of Russian athletes in the 2021 Summer World University Games due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus are expected to participate in games, members of BRICS, SCO and CIS are also invited.[3][4]

On 28 January 2023, the first information bulletin was published on the official website of the University International Sports Festival in English and Russian.[5]

Preparations
  • An estimated 4,100 athletes from 246 universities from 94 countries of the world, including 23 universities in Russia are included in the games, where athletes could not be younger than 17 years old and no older than 26 years old. The organizing committee will recruit roughly 6,000 volunteers, which the games is expected to attract 250,000 spectaculars.[6]
  • The organizing committee will use the sports venues and athlete village, originally planned to host the cancelled 2023 Summer World University Games, for the sports festival.
  • In December 2022, nine months before the festival, Head of the Department of State Housing Construction Supervision of the Sverdlovsk Region Alexei Rossolov inspected the construction site of the water sports palace, community center and games village. When being asked about whether construction work was obstructed by western sanctions, Rossolov responded by saying that "western sanctions have always interfered and will interfere. But some [of the materials] were replenished thanks to import substitution, something was purchased in advance. We know what is changing for us.” [7]
  • In January 2023, Russian Minister of sports Oleg Matytsin revealed that the sports festival would not be competed in the format of national teams but university teams instead, citing that it is to "remove all psychological barriers for our colleagues from European countries" to let them "able to come to Russia without looking back at someone's discontent." Furthermore, he also revealed that Latin American and African nations would be invited as well in the festival.[8]
  • On 28 January 2023, the first two dormitories of the students' village were put into operation.[9]
  • In April 2023, the first meeting of the Festival Organising Committee was held, where Russian Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin, Deputy Minister of Finance Evgeny Kuyvashev and other officials attended the meeting. [10]

Symbols of the games

On 1 February 2023, the logo for the University International Sports Festival is revealed. The basis of the logo are "EKAT", four multi-coloured letters that reflects the natural diversity of the host city, its forests and lakes, rivers and mountains, fields and plains. Meanwhile, straight lines used to feature the Ural constructivism.[11]

Ambassador

On 19 April 2023, the committee announced that Anzhelika Timanina, Olympic and 11-time world champion in artistic swimming, will join as the sports ambassador of the festival.[12]

Official partners

Venues

The sports festival will be held in the following venues:[5][15]

  • Palace of Team Sports（Дворце игровых видов спорта）- volleyball, futsal
  • Rhythmic Gymnastics Centre (Центре художественной и эстетической гимнастики）- rhythmic gymnastics
  • Palace of Water Sports（Дворце водных видов спорта）- swimming, diving
  • Judo Arena（Дворце дзюдо）- judo, sambo
  • Ekaterinburg-Expo International Exhibition Centre （МВЦ «Екатеринбург-Экспо» и）- table tennis, badminton, boxing, basketball 3x3, taekwondo, wrestling
  • Greenwich Tennis Academy（Детской академии тенниса «Гринвич»）- tennis

Events

The following 14 sports will be contested in the games, and 189 medals distributed:[6][15]

Participating nations

Members of the BRICS, SCO and CIS are invited to partake in the games. The following countries are chosen by the organizing committee initially. Later in March 2023, the Russian ambassador to China revealed that 94 countries are expected to compete at the Festival, but whether these countries are sending athletes to the games is still unconfirmed.[1][3][6][16] In April 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko revealed to the press that 16 countries have expressed their readiness to take part in the festival, while the Russian ministry of sports has been working on inviting other countries to participate in the games; meanwhile the Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin revealed that Russia has invited athletes from Benin, Senegal and Togo to take part in the games to boost international cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports.[17][18]

Confirmed participants:

Countries which showed "interests" in sending university teams:[20]

Invited countries:

References
  1. Burke, Patrick (5 December 2022). "International University Sports Festival in Yekaterinburg expected to feature 22 countries". Inside the games. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  2. "In honor of the 300th anniversary of Yekaterinburg, the citizens will be presented with an enchanting light and music fountain (В честь 300-летия Екатеринбурга горожанам презентуют фееричный светомузыкальный фонтан)" (in Russian). Apiural. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  3. "More than 500 events to be held within the cross years of Russian-Chinese cooperation in the fields of sports (БОЛЕЕ 500 МЕРОПРИЯТИЙ ПРОЙДУТ В РАМКАХ ПЕРЕКРЁСТНЫХ ГОДОВ РОССИЙСКО-КИТАЙСКОГО СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА В СФЕРЕ СПОРТА)". Nao24. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. Rowbottom, Mike (18 October 2022). "New Russian-Chinese sporting initiative will involve International University Sports Festival". Inside the news. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  5. "University International Sports Festival - First information bulletin (English)" (PDF). Ekat 2023 (University International Sports Festival). Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  6. Rowbottom, Mike (19 October 2022). "Yekaterinburg's 2023 International University Sports Festival to attract 250,000 spectators". Inside the news. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  7. Sergeev, Igor (28 December 2022). "Auditors Kuyvashev raided the construction site because of the urgent task of Putin (Ревизоры Куйвашева нагрянули на стройку из-за неотложного задания Путина)" (in Russian). Ura News. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  8. Dolgopolov, Nikolay; Kozina, Anna; Trisvyatsky, Ilya (4 January 2023). "Oleg Matytsin: "Sport should not destroyed." Interview of the Minister of Sports to Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Олег Матыцин: "Спорт не должен разрушать". Интервью министра спорта "Российской газете")" (in Russian). Altai Sport. Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  9. Borisenko, Polina (26 January 2023). "The first two dormitories were opened in the Universiade Village (В Деревне Универсиады открыли первые два общежития)". Nakanune. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  10. "Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko Holds the First Meeting of the Festival Organising Committee". University International Sports Festival. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  11. "Meet and get used to it: logo of the University International Sports Festival approved". University International Sports Festival. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  12. "Anzhelika Timanina Becomes University International Sports Festival Ambassador". University International Sports Festival). 19 April 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  13. Gornovsky, Alexey (1 April 2023). "The organizers of the alternative Universiade in Yekaterinburg spoke about a new partner (Организаторы альтернативной Универсиады в Екатеринбурге рассказали о новом партнере)". Ura.ru. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  14. "Ural Federal University Becomes Festival Volunteer Programme Operator". University International Sports Festival. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  15. "Over 4000 people to participate in university sports festival (В ФЕСТИВАЛЕ УНИВЕРСИТЕТСКОГО СПОРТА ПРИМУТ УЧАСТИЕ БОЛЕЕ 4 000 ЧЕЛОВЕК)". TASS. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  16. Burke, Patrick (5 March 2023). "Russian Ambassador to China reveals plans for Summer Youth Games as countries draw closer after Ukraine invasion". Inside the games. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  17. "16 countries want to participate in the International University Sports Festival in Russia (16 стран хотят участвовать в Международном фестивале студенческого спорта в России)" (in Russian). Russkiy Mir portal. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  18. Berkeley, Geoff (26 April 2023). "Russian Sports Minister visits Africa in push to build international coalition". Inside the games. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  19. "Tajikistan will perform at the International Festival". 9 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  20. "The concept of the International University Sports Festival was presented to the consuls of nine states (Концепцию Международного фестиваля университетского спорта презентовали консулам девяти государств)" (in Russian). Oblgazeta. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
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