On September 28, European University Sports Association (EUSA) hosted an online meeting with EUSA Members - National University Sports Associations (NUSA).

Over 40 participants from 24 countries, representatives of their respective organisations, attended the gathering and were greeted on behalf of EUSA by its Secretary General Mr Matjaz Pecovnik.

Ahead of the upcoming in-person meeting and October events in Kusadasi - EUSA General Assembly, EUSA-FISU Strategic Dialogue and EUSA Awards Gala, the agenda covered numerous topics, namely European Universities Championships (EUC), European Universities Games (EUG), the upcoming General Assembly, EUSA Anniversary and Conference, EUSA Associated Members and EU Projects.

The meeting began with a report about this year's European Universities Championships, with an overview on sports, organisers, numbers of participation and results about the summer season of the Championships that just finished, with an insight on the fast approaching first ever winter sports event - the European Universities Winter Sports Championship. Alpine Skiing, Snowaboarding and Snow Volleyball will be held between December 18 and 21 in Val di Zoldo, Italy.

Then the organisation of and the bidding process for the next editions of the European Universities Championships and Games was presented, marking as the interest in the EUSA events is growing bigger and bigger, also thanks to the great management and performances of the past successful editions.

While the EUSA members will soon meet at the General Assembly, EUSA-FISU Strategic Dialogue and EUSA Awards Gala in Kusadasi, Türkiye, also information was given on the next General Assembly, to be held in 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia. On the occasion of EUSA 25th Anniversary, a special conference and gala will be held in Vienna, Austria in November 2024, as a symbolic homage to the place where EUSA was founded in 1999.

Thereafter, the success of EUSA Associated Members programme was highlighted, describing the benefits included in this special status, currently having almost 80 Universities from 15 countries, to be approved by the General Assembly.

New EUSA Office staff members were introduced, focusing also on the important role covered by volunteers in interns hosted every year by the EUSA Institute in Ljubljana - contextualised within the European Solidarity Corps programme and Erasmus+ internships.

In the wake of mobility and cooperation partnerships in the field of sport, the meeting culminated with the presentation of the crucial role of EU Projects in EUSA Institute mission in education and social responsibility. EUSA Communications and Projects Manager Mr Andrej Pisl gave an overview of EU funding opportunities and how EUSA can help and engage its members. Special attention was given to the Enhancing Sport Organisations and Management (ESOM) project, co-funded by the European Union, focusing on good governance and sharing good practice, with the overall aim to strengthen management and event organisation in university sport.

Finally, an update was given regarding other EUSA-lead EU-supported projects, engaging members and partners all over the continent. New projects, co-funded by the European Union, which are about to start, are the cooperation partnetship Discovering university sport and supporting dual career (DiscoverU), enhancing sport and physical activity opportunities for students in higher education and increasing their participation in these activities; and small partnership Youth individual sports mindset (YouMind), focusing on mental health of young athletes. A closer look was also goven to future projects and funding initiatives that EUSA is interested in actively participating in.

The online meeting was also part of the ESOM project, co-funded by the European Union.