NEWS RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
Cary, North Carolina: From Friday, September 16 through Wednesday, September 21, 2022, the North Carolina Bid Committee (NCBC) for the 2027 World University Games hosted the Evaluation Committee of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) in conjunction with NCBC’s bid for the 2027 FISU World University Games. Members of the FISU Evaluation Committee include Leonz Eder, President; Marian Dymalski, Vice President; Eric Saintrond, Secretary General/CEO, and Jing Zhao, Director of FISU Games.
“We have been thrilled to host the top leadership at FISU this week on their FISU Evaluation Site Visit as an important part of the bid process for the 2027 FISU World University Games,” said Hill Carrow, Chairman and CEO of NCBC. “The site visit has provided us with the opportunity to showcase North Carolina’s capacity and capabilities for delivering an incredible FISU Games in 2027, and the FISU executives have been very impressed with what North Carolina USA has to offer the Games.”
The FISU Evaluation Site Visit also included key United States organizations that are critical partners in the United States bid, the U.S. International University Sports Federation (USIUSF), the U.S. member of FISU; and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Participating from the USIUSF were Dan Guerrero, President; Delise O’Meally, Secretary General; and Lori Thomas, Board Member. USOPC representatives were Delise O’Meally in her role as Vice President of International Relations for the USOPC and Dragomir Cioroslan, USOPC Director of International Strategies and Development.
Dan Guerrero, President of the USIUSF and a former Baseball competitor in the World University Games, had this to say: “I believe we knocked it out of the park with this Site Visit. There is no better place in the world to host the World University Games than in North Carolina’s University Hub – an undisputed hotbed of college and university sports, featuring some of the world’s most well-known universities and the finest array of top-tier sports venues that you will find anywhere. We were clearly able to demonstrate that to the FISU Team, and I believe they were quite frankly amazed at the breadth and depth of the facilities, as well as our enthusiasm and passion for college and university sports.”
The FISU Evaluation Site Visit included important visits with key North Carolina university and political leaders. University executives included Kevin Guskiewicz, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Frank Gilliam, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Greensboro; Paulette Dillard, President of Shaw University; Jo Allen, President of Meredith College; Brian Ralph, President of William Peace University; JB Buxton, President of Durham Technical Community College; and Scott Ralls, President of Wake Technical Community College.
Jo Allen, President of Meredith College, emphasized to the FISU Delegation how well the colleges and universities across the region work together. “Our local colleges and universities have been working together on significant initiatives for years,” said Allen, “That presents a major advantage for the teamwork among our institutions that will be required to host the 2027 FISU World University Games. The good news is that the bid process has focused us on the amazing FISU Games opportunity, and we have especially enjoyed spending time with FISU leadership where we were able to discuss the various ways that we can deliver the best possible experience for the Games’ athletes.”
The FISU Delegation also met with a number of top political leaders in the state, including Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina, and Machelle Baker Sanders, North Carolina Secretary of Commerce. In addition, FISU leadership visited with each of the five Host City mayors, including Mary-Ann Baldwin, Mayor of Raleigh; Elaine O’Neal, Mayor of Durham; Pam Hemminger, Mayor of Chapel Hill; Harold Weinbrecht, Mayor of Cary; and Nancy Vaughan, Mayor of Greensboro. Other significant political figures included in the Evaluation Site Visit were Gale Adcock, North Carolina House of Representatives; Sig Hutchinson, Chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners; and Brenda Howerton, Chairman of the Durham County Board of Commissioners.
Governor Roy Cooper did an official hand-off of North Carolina’s Bid Book for the Games to Leonz Eder, President of FISU. Governor Cooper remarked, “Obviously we want the World University Games right here in North Carolina. The love of sports here in our state is a real passion and the Games will emphasize not only how sports can bring us all together across the world, but the importance of our colleges and universities. There are 130 colleges and universities in North Carolina, with 19 of those in the Games Host Region, and we know that this would be a fantastic place to host the Games.”
Leonz Eder, leader of the FISU delegation, expressed the great appreciation of the Evaluation Committee for the excellent and highly productive Site Visit, and echoed the Governor’s remarks when he said that “The North Carolina Bid Committee showed us their outstanding sports competition and training venues and their excellent Games Village sites. We met numerous Bid Committee members as well as state leaders in business, politics, community, and university education. University sports belong to the universities and to go back on these North Carolina university campuses with this event, indeed, makes North Carolina the perfect spot to host the FISU World University Games.”
The FISU World University Games are the largest event for student athletes on the planet and second in size only to the Olympic Games in terms of global Olympic multi-sport competitions. The 2023 World University Games in Chengdu will feature more than 7,000 athletes competing in 18 sports over a 12-day period. North Carolina’s Bid to host the 2027 World University Games is centered in the Triangle and Greensboro and is competing against the ChungCheong region of central South Korea. FISU, the International Governing Body for the World University Games is expected to choose the winner of the 2027 World University Games on Saturday, November 12, 2022.