The 11th General Assembly of the European University Sports Association (EUSA), which took place from December 4 to 6 in Vienna, Austria, has successfully concluded.

At the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of EUSA, the organisation of the event was entrusted to the Austrian University Sport Federation - Unisport Austria, as EUSA was founded in Vienna in 1999.

 

The first part of the event was the European University Sports Conference, held on Friday, December 4, 2009 at the University of Vienna. The opening & welcome speeches were held by Mr Wolf Fruhauf, President of the Austrian University Sport Federation and member of EUSA Executive Committee; Alberto Gualtieri, the President of EUSA, and Georg Winckler, Rector of the University of Vienna.

Four main presentations were given at the Conference. First, Dr. Otmar Weiss, University professor for the Sociology of Sports at the University of Vienna introduced Major Developments & New Perspectives of University Sports. Matjaz Pecovnik, Secretary General of EUSA presented the new info system, implemented by EUSA, with the support of FISU. After a short break, Olaf Tabor, EUSA Executive Committee Member presented a virtual preview of what EUSA might be in 10 years, and the last presentation was given on Women in European University Sports by Iris Olberding, the Chairwoman of the EUSA Student Commission.

On Saturday, December 5, 2009 the main event of the General Assembly was held. The Assembly itself was held at the University building, which welcomed the delegates of almost all EUSA member federations. The delegates and guests were welcomed by Mr Alberto Gualtieri and Mr Wolf Fruhauf. Special recognition was given to the presence of guests from the International University Sports Federation (FISU) - Mr Stefan Bergh, Vice-President, and Mr Eric Saintrond, Secretary General; and Federation of African University Sport (FASU) - Dr Malumbete Ralethe, Vice-President. Congratulations letters were read from presidents of the international and continental university sport federations who were unfortunately unable to attend the celebration of EUSA. The President of EUSA also thanked the previous EUSA EC members and Technical Delegates for their presence and contribution to the development of EUSA in the last 10 years.

The Assembly was chaired by Mr Stefan Bergh, who was also the chair of the EUSA 1st Assembly in 1999. After a minute of silence in the memory of the late Mr Enno Harms, the Assembly was carried out reflecting the achievements and development of EUSA from 1999 to 2009, also thinking about the future direction of the organisation, the importance of cooperation with the EU, and the topic of gender equality. The delegates approved the reports of the Executive Committee, Student Commission, Annual Accounts, Modification of the statutes, activity programme and provisional budget 2010 and the date and venue of the next General Assembly. At the assembly, the following awards were given:

Best University: University of Ljubljana (SLO)
Enno Harms Fair Play: University College Cork (IRL)
Order of Merit: Dragoljub Bojić (SRB)
Photo Competition: Daria Timoshenko (RUS)

After the formal conclusion of the Assembly itself, a Gala Dinner was organised in the Ballroom of the Parkhotel Schonbrunn. At the Gala Dinner, reflections were given to the 10 amazing years of EUSA, emphasising the importance of the initiatives of individuals on one hand and all member federations on the other hand. In the light of the 10th anniversary, special recognitions were given to the people and institutions which marked EUSA in the past 10 years:

Best University 1999-2009: University of Ljubljana (SLO)
Most Active NUSA: University Sport Federation of Poland (AZS)
Order of Merit: Mr George E. Killian
Lifetime Achievement Award: Mr. Enno Harms

The Gala Dinner was accompanied by interesting cultural programme, carried out by several Austrian student groups and performers. In the end, special recognition and thanks was given by Mr Alberto Gualtieri and Matjaz Pecovnik on behalf of EUSA to the host of the Assembly, represented by Mr Wolf Fruhauf.

There will be no Assembly in 2010 due to harmonisation of calendar, financial/fiscal year and Assemblies. The next General Assembly will therefore be held in Eilat, Israel in March 2011.