Registration for European Universities Games 2024 starts

Registration for the 2024 European Universities Games is now open. The Games will be held in the Hungarian cities of Debrecen and Miskolc from 12-24 July 2024, and will be the biggest University sport event organized in Hungary since the 1965 Summer Universiade.

The registrations can be submitted by the national university sport bodies in Europe, under the umbrella of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) - the license-holder of the European Universities Games.

The EUG 2024 edition will be held under the slogan “More than Games” and is expected to welcome a great number of athletes from across Europe’s leading universities, who will be able to represent their respective universities by competing in 17 different sports and also take part in a wide range of educational and social activities. The sports offered are 3x3 Basketball, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Handball, Beach Volleyball, Chess, Football, Futsal, Handball, Judo, Karate, Kickboxing, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Volleyball and Water Polo. Student athletes with disabilities are especially invited to take part in Para Table Tennis.

The European Universities Games are the largest academic multi-sport event in Europe, held every two years in different European university cities, engaging athletes enrolled in higher education studies across Europe to take part in high level sport competitions.

Alongside the sport competitions, the Games also put a strong focus on educational and social aspects of university sport in Europe, supported by sessions covering different topics. Part of the educational activities of the Games is also the Observers Programme, engaging also the future organisers of the EUSA flagship events.

Debrecen and Miskolc are two university cities with a combined population of 850 thousand people and a longstanding tradition of commitment to sport. In terms of infrastructures, both cities can boast modern sports facilities that will welcome individual athletes and teams in their effort to achieve excellent results. Everything is already in place in Hungary, and the Organizing Committee, in close collaboration with the Hungarian University Sports Federation, a giving their outstanding efforts to prepare the two cities to be the joint venue and the perfect setting for the next EUG.

Universities of Debrecen and Miskolc have a combined population of 40 thousand students attending 14 universities and 8 faculties. Both institutions have outstanding education, research, and innovation capacities, with academic results recognized in international terms, on the basis of which they play an important role in achieving objectives of national strategy and in the country’s development of the economic and sports life as well.

EUSA and the Organizing Committee are working closely together in assuring the conditions which will enable quality sports competitions in a fair-play manner, and also offer educational and social activities in a safe way. The event is the result of the exemplary cooperation between many local actors and national institutions and will also serve as a great opportunity to showcase the two cities and their broader environments as an interesting and attractive place for visitors and bring advantages for the development of the whole country.

The last edition of the European Universities Games, hosted in Lodz, Poland in 2022 was a successful multi-sport event with over 6000 people directly engaged in the event, recording 4459 participants, representing 422 universities from 38 countries and over 800 volunteers that contributed to the success of the event. Looking to the future in this same spirit, the European Universities Games in Debrecen and Miskolc in 2024 are preparing to follow the successful path traced by previous EUG editions.

Community in Sport

In this month’s What’s up student column EUSA European Solidarity Corps volunteer Jennifer Campbell focuses on the topic of Community in Sport, expressing her views and personal experiences. She has build this article on answering a few points related to creating and the meaning of community in sport.

What is the concept of “community”?
Community creates a sense of family, acceptance and belonging. In the oxford dictionary, Community is described as “A form of social, and often spatial, organization centered on common interests and/or a locale”. In reality, the sense of togetherness that is created from a community feels so much more powerful than just a “casual” organization of those with common interests. It can be one of the most valuable tools to feel empowered, motivated and positively challenged.

What does “community” mean to me?
My most formative experiences with sport have had community at the center of them. I have played team sport from a very young age and the impact of community became apparent to me when I was a student at University . I played for the Women’s University football team during my four year bachelor degree. Every year, I became more involved in the club; becoming first team captain before becoming involved in the running of events and finally becoming Treasurer of the club and being a part of the three committee leaders leading the club.

The relationships I built during my time there were the primary motivators that pushed me to become more involved in the club and strive to make the club bigger and better.

Sharing the common interest of winning matches, growing the capacity of the club and opportunity for women in sport created a real sense of unity and empowerment. The club really fed my passion for people, sport and organized fun.

How does having a community positively impact young people?
Encouraging children to play team sport from a young age is beneficial in so many ways. Sport has many positive mental and physical aspects; the social aspect and sense of community being some of them. Being a part of a supportive and collective environment can help children to grow their social-emotional skills and find healthy ways to process and navigate the harder sides of navigating socializing and emotions. With sport, comes the experience of victory and loss, agreement and disagreement, approval and criticism and communication challenges; these are all important life experiences. By introducing children from a young age to some of life challenges at a young age in a safe environment where they feel secure can be formative in their ability to navigate life later in life.

Sport can also be used as a tool to highlight social problems and issues such as LGBT inclusion, gender equality and equal opportunity, accessibility and diversity issues. The team dynamic and sense of togetherness can create the opportunity to break down barriers and challenge preconceived prejudice and ideas. It is often that humans connect better with a problem when they see the direct impact on people they care about around them. This then makes sport so much more than just a game, but instead a crucial agent for change.

To conclude, community can be a powerful tool - through forming a strong support network athletes can strive for success in focused team goals, personal goals and feel a sense of human connection in shared experiences.

The author of this article Jennifer Campbell is a volunteer with the European University Sports Association as part of the European Solidarity Corps. She actively trains and plays for a women's football club in her hometown Glasgow.

Are you a student with an opinion? We are looking for new contributors for our student column every month. Feel free to contact stc@eusa.eu to offer a piece or propose a topic.

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