EUSA Insider:
Anna Barbanti
Age: 25
Place of Birth: Bologna, Italy
University: University of Barcelona (ESP)
Published: 16 January 2018
Briefly describe how and why did you get involved in Rugby 7s?
I have always been very active and very much into sports, when I was 16 years old I was playing in a volleyball team. Rugby is not a popular sport in Italy particularly ladies rugby. Fortunately in my town, Pesaro, we had one of the six teams of ladies Rugby 7s teams existing in 2008 in the whole country. I decided with one of my highschool classmates to try to build a team to join the school championship. I really liked playing volleyball, but I loved playing rugby. So I joined the rugby team and since then, I never looked back.
"I really liked playing volleyball,
but I loved playing rugby. "
What do you study? How do you balance your study, trainings and competitions?
I am a PHD student of Marine Turtle Genetics. Since sport has always been a part of my life, I learnt to organize my schedule and manage my study time so that it was always possible to me to train as much as I wanted and compete. I have to admit, though, that when the competition involves a 8-hour bus ride, it is really hard to find the strength to wake up and go to school then, and to work now, on Monday morning.
Tell us about your experience of the European Universities Championships 2017. Is this your first time at an EUSA event?
This was my first time at the EUSA event. I think it is a great opportunity for players and students to meet people from different countries in a sportive environment. Most students don’t get that kind of experience otherwise, particularly if they join a team only to have fun, which is common in university teams.
"...a great opportunity for players and students to meet people from different countries in a sportive environment."
Personally, I had a great time! I understood the actual difference between the level of my sport in Spanish universities and other countries that were participating. I felt like my whole team was really excited to be there and to play at their best, which made the experience even better and created an atmosphere of general joy about participating.
In 2018 the European Universities Games 2018 will take place in Coimbra, Portugal, do you hope to be there? Why do you think university sport events are important?
Unfortunately we didn’t classify for the next Championship so I won’t be in Coimbra. I think university sport events are important because they make non-sporty people appreciate sport, and remind people who used to play sport and then stopped, that they could give it another go!
This is your chance! What is your message to European students like yourself?
Having teammates is like having a family! Join Rugby and play sports!
EUSA would like to congratulate Anna and the rest of her team on their performances in Milan, and we hope to see the University of Barcelona compete again in Rugby 7s at the European Universities Games 2018 in Coimbra!
