The EUSA events in Croatian capital Zagreb, held between March 26-29, 2015 – Executive and Student Commission meetings, EUSA Conference, EUSA Convention and inspection visits, concluded with the special EUSA Gala, held on Saturday evening.

Over 200 participants and invited guests gathered at the Hotel Panorama in Zagreb, to celebrate past achievements and receive the formal recognition of their efforts and success.



The Gala was held in a formal, yet very friendly and relaxed atmosphere, accompanied by cultural and entertainment programme with traditional Croatian dance and music. Seven special EUSA awards were awarded during the Gala evening.



Most active National University Sports Association is determined by participation of teams and number of participants in the EUSA sports events; last year this relates to the European Universities Games Rotterdam 2014. Additional points were given for organization of any official EUSA event. Among EUSA members, there are a few associations which were especially active in 2014 and we are very happy to announce that the title of the most active NUSA - also in 2014 - is given to the Portuguese Academic Federation of University Sport – FADU Portugal. The award was presented by Mr Oleg Matytsin, EUSA Vice-President and received by Ms Filipa Godinho, FADU President.



The most successful National University Sports Association is determined by the results and final placement of the participants in the European Universities Games or Championships. The most successful national university sports association in 2014, regarding the results achieved by their teams at the EUG 2014, is the Russian Students Sport Union - RSSU. The award was presented by Mr Leonz Eder, EUSA Vice-President and received by Mr Oleg Matytsin, this time in his role as the President of RSSU.



The Best University Award is determined by the sports achievements and results in EUSA competitions.  Each team participating in the European Universities Games got points for their participation. The final ranking is a sum of all results where top placed team get additional points. There were 174 universities being represented in Rotterdam, and the most successful one was the Russian State University for the Humanities. Mr Adam Roczek, EUSA President, presented the award, received on behalf of the University by Mr Sergey Ponomarev, RSSU Executive Committee member.



The EUSA Photo Competition has been organised since 2009 and is being run the EUSA Student Commission. It gives the chance for participants to take photos and capture the right moment to reveal the true nature of the university spirit. For 2014 – similarly to the years before – the Student Commission members chose among the incoming photos the finalists - four photos, and the public voting began on the EUSA Facebook page. During the voting period, votes were cast from all over Europe, selecting the winning photo. The winning author is Mr Nuno Goncalves from Portugal for his photo, taken at the handball awarding ceremony at the 2nd European Universities Games, held in Rotterdam. Mr Bruno Barracosa, EUSA Student Commission Chairman presented the award to Mr Nuno Goncalves from Portugal.



EUSA annually awards the recognition for Fair Play, taking into account the play gesture/situation during the EUSA events which stand out the most. During the 2014 European Universities Games, one situation was specifically noble. “After first day of competition, Organizing Committee had to make some changes in the competition schedule. University of Minho did not have right information about match time, and were late about 1 hour for the scheduled game. Their opposing team decided to wait for them; even they had a possibility to win without playing the match and with this win, the Norwegian university team would be ranked second in the group, giving them theoretical advantage in the next round. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology team shown high fair play gesture, saying “we are here to play, not to win without playing”. The Enno Harms Fair Play Award was presented by Mr Alberto Gualtieri, EUSA Honorary President and Mr Miroslav Cerar, Vice-President of the European Fair Play Movement and received by Mr Daniel Bach Johnsen, member of the men’s handball team of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.



In 2014, the largest European university sport event was organised in Rotterdam between July 24 and August 8 – the European Universities Games. From the very start – in the bidding process, until the very end, the event had several important partners, one of which especially stood out. The Erasmus University Rotterdam took the Games as the highlight of their centennial anniversary celebrations, opening their Campus to the participants of the EUG2014, and fully supporting the event. Highest University representatives were directly involved in all stages of the event, including its Rector, President, Executive Board and other bodies. On behalf of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the award was given to Mr Daniel Sikkens, President of the Organising Committee and Member of the Erasmus University Board and was presented by EUSA President Mr Adam Roczek.



European University Sports Association – EUSA – celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2014. Throughout the years, this continental umbrella university sports body attained the recognition of the International University Sports Federation – FISU – as the associated member and the governing body of University Sport in Europe. The current FISU President started his position as the FISU Executive Committee member in 1990 and continued as the Vice-President of FISU between 1995 and 1999. He was the Chairman of the Committee for the Study of University Sport - CESU - between 1995 and 2011, and started his position as the President of FISU in 2011. His recognition and promotion of university sport values and philosophy clearly contributes to the development of the university sports on European, and also on global - international level. Mr Claude Louis Gallien, FISU President, was given the EUSA Order of Merit Award, presented by Mr Adam Roczek, EUSA President.