European Universities Games Lodz 2022
July 17-30, 2022
Poland’s third-biggest city Lodz was the hosting city for the sixth edition of the European Universities Games. This event took the title of the biggest university sport event organised in Poland since the Winter Universiade in 2001.
After a break due to Covid-19, the European Universities Games finally returned this year. European University Sports Association (EUSA), in cooperation with the local Organising Committee, led by Lodz University of Technology, University Sports Association of Poland (AZS) and the City of Lodz, supported by key partners, prepared a memorable event, offering 20 sports, educational, social and cultural activities.
The European Universities Games in Lodz represents the largest multi-sport event in Europe this year. The biannual event, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, started with the official opening ceremony on July 17 at the Atlas Arena, where over 7000 people welcomed athletes, officials, referees, and volunteers of this year’s European Universities Games.
Athletes, official, volunteers and invited guests witnessed welcoming speeches, music performances, audio-visual acts, an amazing march pass with around 2000 athletes and officials proudly their universities and a ribbon cutting act as part of the Opening Ceremony, marking the start of this edition of the Games.
And after 15 days of competitions, the event concluded with a closing ceremony, held on Saturday, July 30, at the Lodz Sport Arena, following the women’s handball final match. The closing ceremony was held in the presence of the highest regional, city, university, and university sport officials, and showed highlights of each of the 20 sports featured at the 2022 Games, as well as giving a sneak-peak what we can expect at the next European Universities Games in 2024.
In the closing speech, EUSA President Mr Adam Roczek thanked the Organising Committee and host city partners and reflected on the event: “It was amazing restarting the university sport in Europe after the pandemic. These were Games of equal opportunities and solidarity, the Games of hope, the Games which proved that European University Sport Community is still strong and vital; the BEST Games Ever!” He also especially thanked the volunteers for their immense work.
Over 6000 people were directly engaged in the event, recording 4459 participants, representing 422 universities from 37 countries. Over 800 volunteers contributed to the success of the event, and other key people making the event a reality were members of the Organising Committee, EUSA representatives and staff, as well as a strong delegation of referees and judges, many of them nominated through European sport governing bodies.
The European Universities Games target athletes enrolled in higher education studies in Europe, and this year’s edition of the Games offered them chance to compete in 3x3 Basketball, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Handball, Beach Volleyball, Chess, Football, Futsal, Handball, Judo, Karate, Kickboxing, Sport Climbing, Swimming, Table Tennis (including Para Table Tennis), Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo and also featuring Sitting Volleyball and Para Power Lifting as promo sports.
Competitions in 3x3 Basketball and Football were also considered as European qualifiers for FISU University World Cups.
It is worth mentioning that thanks to the joined efforts of EUSA, AZS, and the local Organising Committee, 285 participants from Ukraine, representing 40 universities were able to take part in 16 sports. The Ukrainian student athletes were also very successful, winning 62 medals in the event.
Alongside the sport competitions, the Games focus on educational and social aspects of university sport in Europe, featuring workshops in the topics of Anti-Doping, Dual Career, Inclusion, Volunteering. Therefore, the Games offered a wide array of educational, cultural and social activities. Several educational events, including conference on volunteering, workshops on social skills, anti-doping, disabilities and inclusion, roundtable on dual career and other fun and educational activities have been carried out in July.
The European Universities Games in Lodz are being organised under the licence of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) by the Lodz University of Technology, University Sports Association of Poland (AZS) and City of Lodz, in cooperation with the EUSA Institute and several partners, including the Ministry of Education and Science, national and local tourism organisations, Polish Olympic Committee, national and local sports organisation, media outlets and is also supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
For more information, please see https://eug2022.eu