The General Assembly of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) was held on April 8 and 9, 2016 in Wroclaw, Poland.

The electoral Assembly was hosted within the UNESCO heritage complex Centennial Hall in Wroclaw and started with the welcome speeches by Mr Adam Roczek, EUSA President, and Mr Marian Dymalski, representing the host – University Sports Association of Poland (AZS).



EUSA President also invited special guests to address the participants. The President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) Mr Oleg Matytsin, who is also an outgoing EUSA Vice-President, expressed his satisfaction on the development and growth of the continental federations, giving EUSA as a good example. Representatives of the continental university sports bodies of Asia (AUSF) Mr Shen Zhen and Africa (FASU) Mrs Penninah Kabenge also addressed the participants.



Special speech was given by Mr Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Sport Unit DG Education and Culture of the European Commission. Mr Le Lostecque recognised the active contributions of EUSA in the current programmes and implementations of activities reflecting policy papers and goals of the European Commission. EUSA is active not only as a partner in the European Week of Sport, but is also part of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Human Resources Development in Sport (XG HR), in the topic of volunteering. Moreover, EUSA is a reliable partner, involved in several project supported through the Erasmus+ programme.



This year’s EUSA Assembly was attended by over 200 participants, members of the EUSA Executive Committee, Honorary members, delegates of 38 member federations and representatives of partners’ organisations, including the European Commission, International University Sports Federation (FISU), African and Asian continental University Sports Federations, European Fair Play Movement (EFPM), European Paralympic Committee (EPC), European Union of Sports Press (AIPS Europe), European Chess Union (ECU), European Handball Federation (EHF), International Dance Organisation (IDO), high representatives of universities, organisers of EUSA events and other guests.



Before the formal start of the agenda points, a special Letter of Recognition was presented by EUSA President Mr Roczek to the Federation of University Sport in China (FUSC) and the French University Sports Federation (FNSU) for the example of good cooperation between the organisations, directly and also through EUSA. Special Letter of Recognition was also presented to Wroclaw as one of the active cities in hosting European University Sports events.



On the proposal of EUSA Executive Committee Mr Leonz Eder, outgoing EUSA Vice-President was confirmed to chair the Assembly. Mr Eder thanked the members for the honour and task entrusted to him and explained the running procedures. Before confirming the agenda, a minute of silence was held in honour of the late EUSA Technical Delegate for Golf Mr Rob MacPherson.



Ms Johanna Olsson from Sweden and Ms Madelon Koetsier from the Netherlands were proposed and approved as the scrutineers for this year’s Assembly.



EUSA President Mr Roczek pointed out the major highlights of the achievements of EUSA and its Executive Committee, focusing on the time from the past General Assembly which was held in Denizli (TUR) in 2014.



EUSA Secretary General Mr Matjaz Pecovnik gave a more detailed overview, reflecting first on the successful 2nd edition of the European Universities Games, held in Rotterdam in 2014. The event also got the recognition of the European Commission by being the first event to receive the funding from the Erasmus+ programme for not-for-profit sports events.



Mr Pecovnik continued with an overview of the 2015 season of the European Universities Championships featuring events in 19 sports, with 3.867 participants from 40 countries, representing 598 universities teams.



In 2015 the EUSA Conference was held for the first time in its extended 2-day format, bringing together over 180 participants from Europe and beyond. The theme Advancing University Sport brought people to Zagreb in April 2015, with interesting plenary sessions and diverse workshops.



The financial report was presented by Mr Olaf Tabor, outgoing Treasurer. Mr Tabor noted that despite the challenges, EUSA managed to successfully conclude the last two years and that it is important to be financially sustainable.



EUSA Auditors Mr Zoltan Rakaczki and Mr Liviu Marian Matac confirmed that the financial audit has been done and congratulated the Executive Committee and the EUSA Office for their transparent, effective and efficient operation.



EUSA Honorary President Mr Alberto Gualtieri also took the floor, commending the work of the Executive Committee and other EUSA bodies in the past term.



The Assembly Approved the Executive Committee Report and Accounts before moving on to the next point – proposal of the modifications to the EUSA Statutes. On the proposal of AZS Poland, the number of Executive Committee members got enlarged by two members, reflecting also the growth of the organisation.



Next the Activity Plan and Provisional Budget 2016-2017 were presented by EUSA President and the Treasurer, with the approval by the EUSA member federations delegates. The presentation of the next EUSA General Assembly followed. In 2018 the EUSA Assembly will be held in the Spanish capital Madrid. On behalf of Spanish University Sport Committee (CEDU) and the hosting partner Camilo Jose Cela University the introduction and welcome was given by Mr Aitor Canibe Sanchez, EUSA Executive Committee member.



Last point on Friday’s agenda was the presentation of all the candidates for the positions to be elected the next day - the President, Vice Presidents, Treasurer, Executive Committee members at large and the Auditors.



EUSA General Assembly continued on Saturday. The last item on the agenda of the outgoing Executive Committee members was the official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Sports Journalist Association AIPS Europe, European Union of Sports Press and the European University Sports Association (EUSA). The President of AIPS Europe Mr Ioannis Daras expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation agreement, noting that neither AIPS or himself are strangers to university sport. EUSA President added that such cooperation is very appreciated and will be beneficial to both organisations.



The Assembly then discharged the Executive Committee members, mandate 2012-2016 and gave them a big applause before proceeding to the elections of the new board.



The elections, supervised by Mr Thomas Loher, EUSA Legal Advisor, brought new EUSA Executive Committee for the next 4-year term.



Mr Adam Roczek (POL) has been reelected as the President of the organisation, with Mr Haris Pavletic (CRO) and Mr Kemal Tamer (TUR) as Vice-Presidents. Mr Lorenz Ursprung (SUI) has been elected Treasurer. Newly elected Members of the EUSA Executive Committee are also: Mr Bruno Barracosa (POR), Mr Francis M.M. Cirianni (ITA), Mrs Ivana Ertlova (CZE), Mr Ceslovas Garbaliauskas (LTU), Mr Tarmo Jaakson (EST), Mr Dmitry Kiselev (RUS), Mr Panos Razis (CYP), Mr Aitor Canibe Sanchez (ESP), Mr Jean-Francois Sautereau (FRA), Mr Bill Thompson (GBR) and Mr Milan Zvan (SLO).



EUSA President Mr Adam Roczek thanked the Assembly for the trust on behalf of the incoming Executive Committee and invited the EUSA Legal Advisor and former Auditor to present the results of the voting for the hosting city of the European Universities Games 2020.



The decision between two excellent bid – Tampere (FIN) and Belgrade (SRB) – was not an easy one, and the 5th edition of the EUSA Games in 2020 will be held in Belgrade, the Serbian capital.



After the emotional official announcement, the Vice-Mayor of Tampere Mrs Anna-Kaisa Heinamaki congratulated their rivals and wished them best of luck with the organisation. The President of the University Sports Federation of Serbia Mr Sinisa Jasnic thanked Tampere members and acknowledged their strong bid. He then thanked the bidding team and EUSA for their vote of confidence and welcomed everyone to Belgrade.



After signing the Attribution agreement for the 2020 Games, the Assembly was concluded and the celebrations and social activities continued in the evening with the annual EUSA Gala.