The 28th Winter Universiade, or the World University Winter Games, hosted in Almaty, Kazakhstan will see it’s opening ceremony take place from today 29 January at the figure skating arena. The biennial international event, which was last hosted in Granada in 2015, will welcome approximately 2,500 student athletes from 58 countries.
The 2017 Winter Universiade, is an international multi-sport event which is organised for university students and is held under the auspices of the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The event is one of only two senior multi-sport international winter events, alongside the Winter Olympics.
Six years of planning and construction has been put towards making the 2017 Winter Universiade a success. In that time, the organising committee have built an array of sporting facilities, including an all-new athlete village, and refurbished many more. 12 sports will be competed across the eight venues in 185 medal events.
The GB delegation will compete in seven of the 12 sports, including their first ever entry into the long track speed skating event. The first of GB’s teams arrived at the athlete village on 26 January – two days after the village’s official opening date.
GB’s 65-strong athlete delegation is littered with high-calibre athletes hoping to claim a spot on the international podium. Accompanying the GB student athletes are 31 members of support staff across a variety of roles, including: physiotherapists, medical officers, team leaders, coaches and HQ staff. GB’s Chef de Mission for the 2017 Winter Universiade is Neil Rogers, Head of International Programmes at British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS).
“I am delighted that Almaty will see the second-largest GB delegation at a Winter Universiade – and competing by some distance in the most number of sports! Being selected is a fantastic achievement for the athletes concerned – they are each part of national talent programmes, and this event will be a unique opportunity to experience the camaraderie and excitement of a multi-sport environment as part of their progression along the performance pathway. Almaty will provide a stunning backdrop to the team’s aspirations, and we look forward to a successful and truly World Class event,” said Neil.
The last day of action of the Games will be on 8 February, before the official closing ceremony – hosted in the same arena as the opening ceremony – will close the 11-day event.
A broadcast of the Games will be available in 80 countries and in addition to this, the organising committee are expecting more than 30,000 guests and tourists to attend the festivities.