OLL represented at General Assemblies of international federations

On the 13th of October in Kusadasi, Turkey, the General Assembly of the European University Sports Association EUSA confirmed that Russian and Belarusian universities and teams are excluded from EUSA’s activities because of the war of aggression. According to the rules, the decision to this effect that the EUSA Board made previously had to be made by the General Assembly. During the discussion we ensured that this decision can only be changed when the original reason, i.e. the war, ends.

The most important decisions made at the General Assembly of the International University Sports Federation FISU were the elections. At the Assembly, held in Geneva on 17–18th of November, Leonz Eder from Switzerland was unanimously elected as President of the Executive Committee. Eder already acted as deputy President during the previous term. Luciano Cabral from Brazil was elected First Viced President, and the other four Vice Presidents come from China, Uganda, Germany and Poland.

The elections show a focus on competitions

Eight Europeans were elected to the 23-member Executive Committee of FISU. Unfortunately our preferred candidates from our neighbouring countries, Yngvild Larsen Shchei from Norway and Kairis Ulp from Estonia, narrowly missed being elected. Our other neighbour, the Russian candidate, was also not elected.

Various competitions are the most visible part of the international umbrella organisations’ work, and the majority of their income comes from competitions. This is also highlighted by the fact that it is getting increasingly hard to find willing competition organisers. The countries who organise Student World Championships had an advantage in the elections.

The development work on university sports aimed at all mainly takes place in various projects (such as FISU’s Healthy Campus) and committees. In terms of getting elected to the Executive Committee, the situation is also impacted by the fact that Nordic student sports rely on a strong student movement which carries out lobbying, while on an international level, university sports are part of the work of the universities. OLL’s Vice President Lari Koskinen was one of the few students – and indeed young people – taking part in FISU’s General Assembly.

A medal for Finland!

Rule changes were also made at both General Assemblies. EUSA changed its rules so that active member federations will have two votes at future General Assemblies as opposed to one. Activity is measured by organising EUSA events (competitions, training or meetings) or by sending athletes to the European Student Championships. OLL fulfils these criteria by a clear margin.

Remote meetings, for which OLL has been pushing for a long time, were added to FISU’s rules. Last winter the Federation did organise its Extraordinary General Assembly remotely, but now this option is available permanently.

EUSA’s General Assembly concluded in an awards ceremony and gala dinner, where the Finnish Student Sports Federation received an award. We received a joint Medal of Appreciation with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for the 100th SELL Student Games, which took place in Tartu last spring. Did you know that the annual Sell Student Games are open to all students, regardless of level?

In the main picture of the article, the delegations of Finland, Sweden and Norway with FISU president Leonz Eder (center).