September 30, 2021
It is really good to see sports starting to make a true comeback this fall, with full in-person crowds and competitive events at all levels, from youth to seniors, and from grassroots to pros. With venue mask and vaccine mandates, and in some cases requirements for pre-event clearance via Covid testing, we are clearly not at full recovery at this point, but it certainly appears that we are on our way.
It is in that spirit of cautious, but not-yet-unbridled, enthusiasm for the return of sports events, that we bring you this September news update on the United States’ bid for the 2027 Summer World University Games.
The Competition is On! – United States Submits Intent to Bid and Pays Bid Fee
The international phase of the bid process was officially opened by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), world governing body for the World University Games, on Wednesday, September 1.
Wanting to be the first, or at least among the first, to enter the international bidding, on that day, Delise O’Meally, Secretary General of the U.S. International University Sports Federation (USIUSF), our country’s FISU member organization, completed and submitted to FISU the Letter of Intent to bid form for the 2027 Summer Games. Roughly simultaneously, North Carolina’s Bid Committee, Host City Partner for the bid, paid the bid fee to formally enter the selection process. South Korea, with its bid centered in a region that includes the lead bid city, Daejeon, did the same thing.
The opportunity for other countries or cities to enter the competition extends to January of 2022. While currently North Carolina and Daejeon are the only competitors thus far, there has been talk about other cities that may be interested in entering the fray. FISU has indicated that two years will be awarded – 2027 and 2029 – when the winners are announced in January 2023.
A Visit to the Mother Country of Olympic Sports
England may be America’s mother country, but everyone in Olympic sports knows that Switzerland is the mother country these days for global Olympic sports. (This is to take nothing away from Greece which birthed both the ancient and modern Olympic Games, or France where the idea for the modern Olympic Games originated.) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is headquartered in Lausanne as well as many of the international sports federations (IFs). Those among the IFs that are not headquartered there typically have at least a presence in Switzerland. So it makes sense that if you would like to make a splash in international Olympic sports, you should begin with a proper pilgrimage to Switzerland.
That is just what our delegation from the United States did during the week of September 6, 2021. The delegation was led by Dan Guerrero, President of the USIUSF, and Delise O’Meally, who is also a member of the FISU Executive Board. Dan and Delise were accompanied by Hill Carrow, Chair & CEO of the North Carolina Bid Committee; Ron Olson, Chief Medical Officer for the U.S. Team; and Neal Holden, President of BTI, a company which, on behalf of the USIUSF, does much of the logistical coordination for the U.S. Team’s participation in the Games.
The trip began in Lucerne, Switzerland, the site of the 2021 Winter World University Games to be held December 11-22, 2021. FISU was holding its Head of Delegations meetings to brief leaders of country delegations to the Games on things they need to know — from venues and accommodations to transport and safety protocols — about the upcoming Winter Games. While in Lucerne, U.S. delegation leaders, in addition to the opportunity to inform the other countries about America’s bid for the Games, were able to meet with FISU executives to learn more about the bid process and to discuss the opportunity of the Summer Games in the United States.
After several days in Lucerne, the U.S. Leadership Team traveled to Lausanne, where FISU has its headquarters. Meetings ensued with both FISU staff and international sport federation executives for sports that are included in the program of the Summer World University Games.
The U.S. delegation returned home with a new level of energy and enthusiasm for the Games as the concept for a Summer World University Games to be held in the United States, the year prior to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, received a very positive reception in the Mother Country.
Special thanks go out to Dan and Delise for leading the organization of the trip and enabling our U.S. Bid efforts to become more widely known among the FISU Family of Games decision-makers and participating countries’ delegation leaders.
International Day of University Sport
Created by FISU in 2016 and endorsed by the United Nations Education, Science, and Culture Organization (UNESCO), the International Day of University Sport (IDUS) is celebrated annually on September 20. The day is intended to confirm the importance of sport in universities as well as the role of universities in fostering physical and sport education in their communities. IDUS is typically celebrated with special events in more than 135 countries commemorating those university and community ties.
This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, the North Carolina Bid Committee, instead of a live event, celebrated IDUS through a multiplicity of social media posts across a number of NCBC’s social media channels.
News & Notes
- New Website: Positive praises for our new bid website have come from as far as London and Germany. If you have not had the chance to check it out, please visit www.ncwug2027bid.com.
- Site Tours: In preparation for developing its bid dossier, NC Committee members and staff have done Site Tours with several of local universities who will serve as our Host Institutions and Venue Partners for the Games.
- Presentations: The World University Games opportunity was presented 1) on Wednesday, September 22 to International Focus, Inc. of Raleigh which stages the local International Festival, sponsors international exchanges, supports the Triangle’s multicultural community, and in a recent OpEd piece in the News & Observer, advocates that now is the time for the region to seize the opportunity to become a Global City; and 2) on Monday, September 27, to the Arts & Culture Committee of the Wake County Board of Commissioners.
Support the Bid
You can support the bid in a number of ways: corporate sponsorship, individual contribution, volunteering, or shopping. Visit our new website at www.ncwug2027bid.com and join our team
Sponsors
