LAUSANNE – Over the next 24 hours, celebrations of the International Day of University Sport will break out across the world.
As the sun rises in Asia, Malaysia will get its sporty shoes on with many fun activities planned in the International Islamic University of Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi MARA.
In all, much like last year (below) more than 3000 students are expected to take part in these different venues and activities will include aerobics, a fun run, a blood donation drive, and a celebration of student athletes.
The Malaysian University Sports Council (MASUM) are encouraging all students to get on board on social media too, with the hashtags #sportingcampus and #thethinkingathletes
In Lebanon, pretty much all student-athletes will be helping out in conducting the activities on 20 September. The Lebanese Federation of University Sport (FSUL) have invited the entire Lebanese American University and Notre Dame University community, including students, faculty and staff to partake in some or all of the events.
“On campus, we will hold many fun activities including dodge-ball, freestyle table-tennis, 5-versus-5 tennis, a rugby league, 2×2 basketball and a cheerleading show,” said Sami A. Garabedian, Secretary of International Relations at the Lebanese Federation of University Sport (FSUL), who is a Member of FISU’s Education Committee.
Over in South Africa, a Campus Night Race was held on 18 September in the lead-up to the festivities which will interestingly also include an E-sport competition.
“The E-sport competition that starts on 20 September will see more than 12 universities participating,” said Dumisani Dondashe, Senior Operations Officer of University Sport South Africa (USSA). “The IDUS events will mostly be coordinated between three Universities, Sol Plaatjie University (SPU), Central University of Technology (CUT) and host University of Free State (UFS).”
“We set a target of having at least 500 students involved,” he added, “but we hope it will be even more. We have tried out interesting ideas like the Campus Night Race, which we started last year to great success.”
Expect campuses around the world to be buzzing with activity tomorrow, ensuring that this fourth edition of the International Day of University Sport is another memorable one.
Last year had set new participation records as hundreds and thousands of university students, institutions, cities and people came together to make the third edition of IDUS a resounding success. 97 countries participated in 2018, with nearly 500 sporting and recreational activities organised specifically for the occasion. The day was celebrated across the world not only by the National University Sports Federations, but also by their member universities and sports clubs.
The International Day of University Sport, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2015, is part of FISU’s endeavour to create stronger sporting cultures in universities and encourage physical activity.
