Between September 23 and 25, European University Sports Association (EUSA) organized a special Convention for the Organisers of the upcoming European Universities Championships 2023, held in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The event was preceded by an Internal Seminar for Technical Delegates and Technical and Medical Commission members, held on 22 of September.

After the morning of arrivals and #beactive sports activities, the program kicked off, with the welcoming video address of EUSA President Mr Adam Roczek, welcoming the participants and wishing them a pleasant and productive stay at EUSA Convention 2022. 

EUSA Secretary General, Mr Matjaž Pečovnik greeted and welcomed all the present representatives of the Organizational Committees, Technical Delegates and Executives of the Technical and Medical Commission, wishing them a fruitful and productive two days of Convention and wished them a great future collaboration for the upcoming European Universities Championships 2023.

After the welcoming addresses and introductions of the present participants of the Convention, Assistaint Sports Manager, Mr Mariano Carcattela kicked off the programme with a presentation about EUSA, the objectives, activities, members of EUSA Office, educational events, projects, partnership projects and organizations, sport events, as well as the European Universities Games and Championships.

Next part of the program was reserved for the panel session on the topic of: European Universities Games, moderated by Ms Hristina Hristova, EUSA Communications Officer, having Mr Matjaž Pečovnik, EUSA Secretary General, Ms Abosede Ajayi Chair of EUSA Medical Commission and Mr Tomasz Aftanski, representative of the Organizational Committee of this year’s European Universities Games in Lodz, Poland. Questions about the experience of an organizational aspect, important key points, matters related to challenges, collaborations, finances, protocol, and the medical aspect of organizing the Games, were some of the many topics covered through this panel session.

The final part of this first day of EUSA Convention was covered by EUSA Sports Manager, Mr Miha Žvan and Assistant Sports Manager Mr Mariano Carcatella, speaking and presenting important information and documents related to the future European Universities Championships 2023. Matters such as key benefits of organizing EUC, documents and minimum organizational requirements, important aspects, technical and non- technical matters of inspection visits, EUC project management, registrations, and team structures, were presented and discussed.

The first day of EUSA Convention was later concluded with an official dinner, on which the participants were joined by two guests, Mr Bogdan Gabrovec President of the Slovenian Olympic Committee  and Mr Tomaž Barada Vice-President of the Slovenian Olympic Committee.

The second part of EUSA Convention was held on 24 of September, kicking off with a session devoted to the registration process of the upcoming European Universities Championships 2023 as well as the accreditation procedure, led by Mr Marianno Carcatella.

Mr Andrej Pišl, EUSA Communications and EU Project Manager, led a session on the topic of Visual Identity and Media, as another important key aspect of organizing the European Universities Championships 2023. Mr Pišl presented about how to build a strong visual identity, usage of logos, website and social media engagement, photo and video creation and implementation and branding.

Speaking and presenting about another organizational key point, the Result Management System was Mr Marin Furcic, explaining what EUSA Result Management System is, how it works, how the website, the results and match details are proceeded, covering how the draw on the General Technical Meetings work the responsibilities of the members of the OC for EUC 2023 during the process.

Another, very important matter related to the EUC 2023, Volunteers Program was presented by Ms Marianna Pikul, Head of Volunteers Programme for this year's European Universities Games in Lodz, Poland. Ms Pikul spoke about different aspects of the volunteers programme, volunteering areas, promotional plans, international volunteering programme, the educational and social part of the events, as well as sharing some crucial tips when it comes to volunteering recruitment.

The participants had the chance to also hear more on the topic of Diversity and Inclusion, presented by Mr Andrej Pisl, covering governance, media visibility, participation, as well as EUSA role and involvement in Educational events and EU Projects related to Diversity and Inclusion, such as  Inclusion in Sport (iSPORT), Gender Equality Toolkit for Generation Z (GETZ), Rainbow Youth for Sporting Equality (RYSE) , Innovating Football Leadership through Practice and Policy (iFlipp) and PROmoting GendeR Equality in Sports (PROGRES).

To wrap up this first part of the second day of the EUSA Convention, Ms Mirjam Sipos and Mr Nikola Vicentic, shared their experiences and best practices as part of the organized teams of European Universities Championships in Rowing and Combat Sports in 2019.

In the afternoon part, the organizers of the European Universities Championships 2023 presented their events in two parallel sessions. The presentations were followed by internal meetings and workshops with the EUSA Technical Delegates.

To finalize the last day of the EUSA Convention 2022 in Kranjska Gora, all participants were also invited to join the #letsidus #beactive sports activities, playing volleyball, basketball and badminton.

For more information, please see www.eusa.eu