The General Assembly of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) concluded with a special Gala at the Centennial Hall in Wroclaw on Saturday, April 9, 2016.

The event introduced a special blue-tie dress code, based on the traditional formal black-tie one. It started with a welcome drink and each of the guests were individually greeted by EUSA President Mr Adam Roczek.

EUSA Gala was dedicated to honour the achievements and top results, focusing on the past year.



The first award honoured the Best University in 2015 - determined by the sports achievements and results in EUSA competitions. 353 universities were represented in the 2015 EUSA Championships, and the most successful one was the University of Warsaw from Poland. The award was presented by Mr Oleg Matytsin, FISU President and former EUSA Vice-President and was received on behalf of the University by its Vice Rector prof. dr. Alojzy Nowak.



Next award recognised the Most Active EUSA member, determined by participation of teams and number of participants in the EUSA sports events. Additional points were given for organization of any official EUSA event. The most active NUSA – also in 2015 – was given to the Portuguese Academic Federation of University Sport – FADU Portugal. The award was received on behalf of FADU by its President Mr Daniel Monteiro and presented by FISU 1st Vice-President and former EUSA Vice-President Mr Leonz Eder.



Honouring EUSA members also the most Successful National University Sports Association Award was given. The most successful national university sports association in 2015, regarding the results achieved by their student athletes during the European Universities Championships 2015, is the University Sports Association of Poland - AZS. Presented by Mrs Ivana Ertlova, EUSA Executive Committee Member, the award was received by Mr Marek Roczki, AZS President and Mr Marian Dymalski, AZS Board Member.



Fair Play has been a core value of EUSA since our establishment and we always appreciate and are thankful to the organisations and individuals who contribute to this. In the recent years one person in particular has been very active in additional development and promotion of Fair Play.  His dedication to fair play reaches back to his sports career. Between 1958 and 1970 he was one of the most important athletes in gymnastics. During his impressive sports career he won 48 medals at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships and Mediterranean Games. And his sports results came in sync with his university education – he graduated at the Faculty of Law during his sports achievements, fully embodying dual careers. He was an attorney until his retirement but always remained in close contact with sport. He is one of the founders of the National Olympic Committee and the Olympic Academy – of which he is currently the President. He is the Vice-President of the Executive Committee of the European Fair Play Movement and a Member of the International Fair Play Committee. In 1998 he was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia for Sport, Tolerance and Fair Play. He is known around the world, not only for his sporting achievements, but also because of his positive and friendly personality, honesty and devotion to fair play in competition and life in general.
Mr Miroslav Cerar is a great advocate also of university sport and his personal engagement also lead to the recognition of EUSA as a fair play promotor in Europe and around the world, and it is our pleasure and honour to award Mr Cerar the EUSA Order of Merit, presented by EUSA President Mr Adam Roczek.



Being an positive icon in university sport throughout any challenges that faced university sport movement globally, in Ukraine and also personally, graduated from Kiev State Institute of Physical Culture, similarly to our previous award winner, during his sports career. He was a player of "Locomotive" volleyball premier league and national volleyball team. His story with the Sport Students' Union of Ukraine started in 1968 with management positions which he held until 1993, when he was elected first as President and later as Secretary General. During his career in SSUU, the student teams successfully competed at the Summer and Winter World University Games, as well as the European Universities Games and Championships, under his leadership as the Head of Delegation.
In 1997 Mr Valentyn Gavrylko was awarded by the Decree of the President of Ukraine the title of "Honored Employee of Physical Culture and Sports of Ukraine", for his personal contribution to the development of physical culture and sport movement in Ukraine. He received the national Excellence in Education award, Work and Valor medal, Honorary Diploma of the Ukrainian Parliament and Order of Merit.



EUSA started the European Universities Championships in 2001 with two sports – Basketball and Volleyball. And even though we now have Championships in 19 sports, it is not the quantity of the sports and participants that matters, but the quality. Organising the sports events is especially rewarding if the sports governing bodies are working with you and supporting your work. We are very proud that agreements with several organisations have been made, and we remain committed to continue this practice also in the future. We are especially happy to mark this year the 10th anniversary of introduction of Handball into our sport programme. Cooperation with the European Handball Federation started shortly afterwards, and gives a model of cooperation we hope to introduce also in some other sports. With strong involvement of Mr Frantisek Taborsky, EUSA Technical Delegate for Handball and long term EHF Commission member, the cooperation between organisations started with referee clinics and participation of EHF referees on the European Universities Championships and later during our Games.
Partnership between EUSA and EHF was reinforced by signing the cooperation agreement between the two organisations and I on behalf of the European Handball Federation, its President Mr Jean Brihault, received the award.



EUSA photo competition has been organised since 2009 on the initiative of 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. Among the incoming photos 10 finalists were chosen. The selection process involved public votes on the EUSA Facebook page, EUSA Student and Media & Communications Commissions and expert group, all together casting their votes from all over Europe, selecting the winning photo. The winning author is Ms Angela Gameiro from Portugal for her photo, taken during the European Universities Handball Championship organised in Braga, Portugal in August 2015. The award was presented by Ms Isabella Colafrancesco, EUSA Student Commission Chair.



EUSA annually awards the recognition for Fair Play, taking into account the play gesture/situation during the EUSA events which stand out the most. Last year, one such gesture was specifically noble. “In men's finals of the EUSA Rugby 7s Championship between the Italian Polytechnic University of Milan (ITA) and the Teaching National University SEU (GEO), the Italian University Team remained with only 6 players on the pitch without having the possibility to replace the missing player, due to injuries of the members of the team. At that moment the Georgian team decided to play the match with only 6 players instead of 7, to equalize the composition of the Italian team”.
EUSA Enno Harms Fair Play Award was received by prof. dr. Gia Kavtelishvili, the Rector of the Teaching National University SEU from Georgia and Mr Besik Khamashuridze, Coach of the University’s Rugby 7s Men Team and presented by Mr Alberto Gualtieri, EUSA Honorary President and Mr Christian Hinterberger, President of the European Fair Play Movement.



Last year, EUSA introduced a new award, engaging the organisers of the European Universities Championships. Each of the organisers of the 19 EUSA Championships presented their events’ logotype, submitting also the description and the story behind the logo. The voting process was similar to the Photo competition one – it involved public votes on the EUSA Facebook page, EUSA Student and Media & Communications Commissions and expert group.
From the description of the winning logo: “The logo depicts a person climbing to the top of a climbing wall. The figure shows the effort needed to reach the top. There is a climbing carabiner in place of a head. It symbolises the focus of the climber. The wall is made of triangles and the different shades of blue depict slopes of surfaces of the wall and that the route is very difficult. The colors of the logo are vivid and energetic what is characteristic for sport events. The message is that no matter how difficult the way is, we can reach our dreams (top of the wall in this case).” – the Organising Committee of the European Universities Sport Climbing Championship Katowice 2015. The Award was received by Mr Boguslaw Oleksy, President of the Organising Committee EUC Sport Climbing 2015 and presented by Olaf Tabor, outgoing EUSA Treasurer.



The guests were also able to enjoy cultural programme with top Latin American style dancers and live music performances.