The 2029 FISU World University Games will have a full complement of exciting sports bringing high-intensity, fast-action international competition to the central North Carolina region.
The 2029 FISU World University Games will have a full complement of exciting sports bringing high-intensity, fast-action international competition to the central North Carolina region.
The sport of Archery has been competed in the World University Games since the 2003 Games in Daegu, South Korea, where it was an Optional Sport. Archery continued as an Optional Sport in the 2005 (Izmir, Turkey), 2009 (Belgrade, Serbia), and 2011 (Shenzhen, China) Games. Archery is now a Compulsory Sport of the Games, and similar to the Olympic Games, competition includes both recurve and compound bow events. Also like the Olympic Games, World University Games Archery includes competition at the highest levels, as world records were set in both the 2015 (Gwangju, South Korea) and 2017 (Taipei, Taiwan) Games. In the Men’s and Women’s recurve competition, South Korea has the most winners. In the compound competition, the USA has won the most medals in recent decades.
Artistic Gymnastics made its debut in the Summer World University Games in the 1961 Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, where it was an Optional Sport. The event became a Compulsory Sport in the following Games, in 1963 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and has been a featured sport of the Summer Games on a regular basis ever since. Competition for the Men consists of six events: Floor Exercise, Horizontal Bar, Parallel Bars, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, and Vault. Women compete in four events consisting of Balance Beam, Floor Exercise, Uneven Bars, and Vault. World University Games Artistic Gymnastics has included some of the most famous gymnasts in the world, including Nadia Comaneci and Ecaterina Szabo of Romania, both of whom went on to win gold medals at the World Championships and Olympic Games. One of the most popular sports of the Summer World University Games, Artistic Gymnastics has historically been led in the medal count by the Soviet Union/Russia, followed by China.
Athletics, which we know as Track & Field here in the United States, has been a part of the Summer World University Games since the inaugural Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. Athletics has consistently been the largest sport of the Summer World University Games program with over 1,000 athletes competing in more than 50 events. Athletics has featured some of the world's finest athletes in the world, perhaps as exemplified best by the 1970 Games (Turin, Italy) where 98 national, 49 World University Games, 2 European, and 2 World records were broken. Local athletes such as two-time Olympian Tisha Waller of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a bronze medalist in the World University Games in Sheffield, England, have also had notable success in the Games. Overall, the Soviet Union/Russia leads the medal count in Athletics, well ahead of the United States in second place.
Badminton was first competed at the Summer World University Games in the 2007 Games in Bangkok, Thailand, as an Optional Sport. Badminton in the Games has long been dominated by Asian countries. Though China and Chinese Taipei lead the way in Singles competition, European countries have made substantial gains in Doubles, challenging the dominance of the Asian nations. Badminton’s presence and popularity in the Games grew significantly in 2011 when Shenzhen, China, a badminton hotbed, hosted the Games, again as an Optional Sport. At World University Games that followed in 2013 (Kazan, Russia), 2015 (Gwangju, China), 2017 (Taipei, Taiwan), and 2019 (Naples, Italy), Badminton continued its presence in the Games as an Optional Sport. Thanks to the growth in participation and popularity of the sport, at the next Summer World University Games in Chengdu, China, Badminton will finally become a Compulsory Sport of the Games.
Men’s Basketball is one of the original sports competed in the inaugural World University Games in 1959. Women’s Basketball was added at the following Games in 1961 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Men’s Basketball has featured well-known athletes such as Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale, and Karl Malone. North Carolina and Triangle-area universities have been well-represented in the Games. Duke Head Coach, Mike Krzyzewski, led Team USA to Silver at the 1987 Games (Zagreb, Yugoslavia), Coach Roy Williams of UNC helped coach the US to Gold in the 1991 Games (Sheffield, England), and legendary coach Kay Yow of NC State coached the US Women to Silver in 1991 (Bucharest, Romania). Between Duke University, NC State University, and UNC Chapel Hill, there have been 14 women and 23 men representing TEAM USA – including noteworthy athletes such as Hubert Davis, LaQuanda Barksdale, and Mitch Kupchak (UNC); Johnny Dawkins, Monique Curry, and Bobby Hurley (Duke); and Tommy Burleson and Genia Beasley (NCSU). Thanks in part to their contributions, the United States leads the World University Men’s and Women’s Basketball medal count by a significant margin.
Diving became a Compulsory Sport in the Summer World University Games beginning in the 1961 Games (Sofia, Bulgaria). The United States first competed in Diving in the 1965 Games (Budapest, Hungary), where the US divers captured four gold medals. World University Games competition today in Diving includes 1-meter and 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform individual events, as well as 3
meter springboard and 10-meter platform Synchronized Diving events. The most famous Olympic diver of all time, Greg Louganis of the United States, competed in the 1983 Summer World University Games in Edmonton, Canada, and helped take Diving in the University Games to a whole new level. North Carolina-connected World University Games Diving athletes have included NC Swimming Hall of Fame member and Duke University athlete, Abby Johnston, and UNC Chapel Hill's Jack Nyquist, who competed in the 2009 Games in Belgrade, Serbia, and the 2015 Games in Gwangju, South Korea, respectively.
The sport of Fencing has been a part of the World University Games since the inaugural Games held in Turin, Italy, in 1959. With more than 300 competitors, Fencing is one of the larger and more popular sports of the Games. Events include all three weapons, Epee, Foil, and Saber in both individual and team
competition for both Men and Women, totaling 12 events altogether. Fencing competition in the Summer World University Games is at a very high level as many World University Games champions, such as fencing legends Time Nagy, Xue Tan, Pavel Kolobkov, and Marcel Fisher, among others, became Olympic Fencing champions as well. In the 2015 Summer World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea, Gillian Litynski, of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Fencing Team, competed for Team USA in Women’s Saber.
The sport of Judo has been connected with universities since its creation, as the sport was actually founded within the university system in Japan, and then spread by university personnel from those institutions around the world. Judo features individual and team events, with 8 weight classes each for Men and Women in individual competition, and 5 weight classes each for Men and Women in team competition (with each team consisting of 3 to 5 athletes). The sport was first included in the Summer World University Games in 1967 in Tokyo, where it was competed as an Optional Sport. Judo was again an Optional Sport each of the next two times the World University Games were in Japan, in 1985 in Kobe, Japan, and in 1995 in Fukuoka, Japan. In 2007 at the Summer World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand, Judo joined the sports program of the Games as a Compulsory Sport and has been
competed as such in each Summer Games since. As might be expected, Japan leads the medal count for Judo in the Games, both in overall medals and in gold medals.
Rhythmic Gymnastics is the only Compulsory Sport of the Summer World University Games limited solely to female athletes. Rhythmic Gymnastics features both individual and team events on a gymnastics floor using an apparatus. For individual events, the apparatus may be a hoop, ball, clubs, or a ribbon. For team competition, the apparatus may be 3 balls plus 2 ribbons, or 10 clubs. The sport, which combines elements of dance and tumbling and is known for its graceful athleticism, made its World University Games debut in the 1991 Games in Sheffield, England. Rhythmic Gymnastics has been held in every Summer Games since its debut with the exception of the 1999 Palma de Mallorca Games. It became a Compulsory Sport of the Games at the 2001 Summer World University Games in Beijing, China. Russia and Ukraine have been the most dominant at the event, with Russia winning a total of 54 Gold medals, 29 Silver medals, and 20 Bronze medals at the Games and Ukraine winning 19 Gold medals, 27 Silver medals, and 18 Bronze medals. The United States received its first World University Games medal in the event in 2019 (Naples, Italy) when Laura Zeng won the Bronze in the All-around.
The sport of Swimming has been a mainstay of both the Summer Olympic Games and the Summer World University Games since the first edition of each of those global events. It has been a Compulsory Sport of the World University Games since the launch of the Games in 1959 in Turin, Italy. Competition features an equal number of events for Men and Women, including 6 Freestyle events ranging from 50 to 1500 meters, 50 to 200 meters in each stroke (Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Butterfly), the 200 and 400 Individual Medleys, and 3 Relay events (2 distances in freestyle and 1 medley relay). The high level of Swimming competition in the Games became evident in 1967 in Tokyo where 9 World Records were set by the American team. Triangle universities have contributed many coaches and athletes representing Team USA in Swimming at the Games including Coaches Braden Holloway of NC State and Rich DeSelm of UNC, as well as World University Games champions and Olympians David Fox, Cullen Jones, and Ryan Held of NCSU and Sue Walsh of UNC. The United States leads in overall Swimming medals in the Summer World University Games.
Table Tennis was first held in the Summer World University Games as an Optional Sport in the 2001 Games in Beijing, China. It did not take long for Table Tennis to take on a more “permanent” status in the Summer World University Games, as it became the youngest of the Games’ Compulsory Sports when it was added to the Games sports program in 2005 (Izmir, Turkey). Table Tennis competition in the Games includes Individual and Team competition. Individual Competition consists of Men’s Singles and Doubles, Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. In the Team Competition teams include 3 to 5 players each. Since being added to the Games, Table Tennis’ success has mostly resided in the Asian countries of China, Korea, and Japan, with China being the most dominant. (Consider their performance in the most recent Summer World University Games in 2019 in Naples, Italy, where China took all 8 of the gold medals!)
The 2003 Summer World University Games in Daegu, South Korea, marked the initial appearance of Taekwondo in the Games as an Optional Sport. Since that time, Taekwondo has been in the Summer Games four more times and next year’s competition in the Chengdu, China, Games will be the sport’s sixth Summer World University Games appearance. Taekwondo in the Games consists of two types of competition: Kyorugi or Sparring competition and Poomsae or Forms competition. In Sparring, there are 8 weight classes each for Men and Women in Individual events, while Team events consist of four-person teams each in Men’s and Women’s competition. In the Forms competition, there are five events: Men’s Individual, Women’s Individual, Men’s Team (3-person teams), Women’s Team (3-person teams), and Mixed Team competition consisting of 1 male and 1 female athlete per team. As one might imagine in a sport that originated in Korea more than 2,000 years ago and is a major tradition in that country’s schools and universities, South Korea tends to dominate the medals count in Taekwondo in the Summer World University Games.
Tennis is one of the founding sports of the World University Games, where inclusion in the Games as a Compulsory Sport dates back to the inaugural Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. Tennis competition in the Games includes Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Teams. There are also overall Team awards given based on combined results of a country’s competitors in Singles and Doubles events. In the first Tennis competition in 1959, the earliest medals were won by European athletes from France and
Russia. In more recent years, Asian athletes have risen to the forefront with athletes from Thailand and Taipei respectively, capturing the Women’s and Men’s Singles championships in the most recent edition of the Games
in 2019 (Naples, Italy).
Volleyball is another of the Summer World University Games sports that has been included in the Games since the first World University Games in 1959 in Turin, Italy. At those Games, only Men’s Volleyball was included, but
it was joined two years later at the 1961 World University Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, by Women’s Volleyball. Due to the significant presence of Volleyball worldwide at the university level, FISU sets limitations on tournament participation in order to keep the Summer World University Games Volleyball competition at a manageable size. In this regard, currently the Men’s tournament is limited to a maximum of 24 teams, while the Women’s tournament has a limit of 16 teams. Volleyball is one of the most popular sports of the Games, typically drawing large spectator crowds, particularly at the competition finals. The Soviet Union/Russia holds the lead in the
medal count in Volleyball with a total of 31 medals, followed by Japan with a total of 20 medals. The United States has medaled seven total times in World University Games Volleyball, including winning the Gold in the Men’s competition during the 2001 Beijing Games.
Men’s Water Polo has been included as a Compulsory Sport in the World University Games since the first Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. That year seven teams competed in the event. Women’s Water Polo did not join the sports program of the Summer Games until the 2009 Games (Belgrade, Serbia). Water Polo in the World University Games has grown in popularity and participation through the years. Currently the Men’s tournament includes 16 teams, while the Women’s tournament includes 12. One of the standout Water Polo matches of the World University Games took place in the 1991 Games (Sheffield, England), where the U.S. Men edged out China for the gold medal scoring the winning goal with only 6 seconds to go in the match. Hungary, a traditional powerhouse in the sport of Water Polo, currently leads the medal count, followed by Italy in second, and the United States with 4 gold and 11 medals overall in third.
With the National Governing Body of the sport, USA Baseball, headquartered in the Triangle, combined with the high level of collegiate play in the area, Baseball is a natural to include as an Optional Sport in the Games. Baseball has been staged as an Optional Sport of the Summer World University Games on four different occasions, beginning with the first and only Summer Games in the United States to date, the 1993 Games in Buffalo, New York. At the Buffalo Games, NC State University’s Baseball Coach, Ray Tanner, coached the U.S. Men’s Baseball team. That team included three players from NC State – Andy Barkett, Pat Clougherty, and Terry Harvey – and one from Wake Forest University, Bret Wagner. Two years later at the 1995 Summer World University Games in Fukuoka, Japan, Baseball was again included in the Games as an Optional Sport. It was not until 20 years later that Baseball reappeared in the Games, this time at the 2015 Summer Games in Gwangju, South Korea. The sport’s most recent inclusion in the Games came two years later, at the 2017 World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan. Because Baseball has only been in the Games a few times, the medal table thus far is quite limited. Baseball-obsessed Japan leads the medal count, followed by Cuba. The United States has only won one medal in Summer World University Games Baseball competition, a silver in the Taiwan, Taipei, Games in 2017.
In 2015 the international sport governing bodies of Baseball and Softball combined into a single international federation, the World Baseball Softball Federation (WBSF). Combining the two governing bodies was essential to positioning Baseball and Softball for continued inclusion in the Olympic Games. The combination helps preserve equality in male and female participation in the Olympics, with Men competing in Baseball and Women competing in Softball. Similarly, gender equity is an important aspect of inclusion of Softball in the World University Games. The other key to inclusion is the high level of play of collegiate softball athletes, making for an exciting and highly competitive addition to the Summer World University Games.
The first-in-the-world Olympic Qualification Tournament for the new Olympic sport of Rugby Sevens took place right here in the Triangle at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary in 2015. The following year that same venue hosted the USA’s Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships. With such a world-class Rugby venue and its history of success in hosting major national and international events, Rugby Sevens is a logical choice as an Optional Sport at a Summer World University Games in North Carolina in Cary. Rugby Sevens has been an Optional Sport of the Summer World University Games two times previously, including in the 2013 Games in Kazan, Russia, and in the most recent World University Games, the 2019 Summer Games in Naples, Italy. Russia, Japan, and France currently lead the limited Rugby Sevens historic medal count in the Summer Games at this stage.
Arguably the greatest and most well-known Women’s Soccer player of all time, Mia Hamm, attended the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and competed for Team USA in the 1993 Summer World University Games in Buffalo, New York. Though no longer a Compulsory Sport of the World University Games, Men’s Soccer (a.k.a Football) has been featured in 18 editions of the World University Games (starting with the 1979 Games in Mexico City, Mexico), while Women’s Soccer has been included in 11 editions, beginning with the famous 1993 Summer World University Games, featuring Mia Hamm. Japan leads the medal count in Soccer with 17 total medals. The United States has some notable achievements in the Games including a silver medal for the U.S. Women’s Team and a bronze for the Men’s Team.
The sport of Archery has been competed in the World University Games since the 2003 Games in Daegu, South Korea, where it was an Optional Sport. Archery continued as an Optional Sport in the 2005 (Izmir, Turkey), 2009 (Belgrade, Serbia), and 2011 (Shenzhen, China) Games. Archery is now a Compulsory Sport of the Games, and similar to the Olympic Games, competition includes both recurve and compound bow events. Also like the Olympic Games, World University Games Archery includes competition at the highest levels, as world records were set in both the 2015 (Gwangju, South Korea) and 2017 (Taipei, Taiwan) Games. In the Men’s and Women’s recurve competition, South Korea has the most winners. In the compound competition, the USA has won the most medals in recent decades.
Artistic Gymnastics made its debut in the Summer World University Games in the 1961 Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, where it was an Optional Sport. The event became a Compulsory Sport in the following Games, in 1963 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and has been a featured sport of the Summer Games on a regular basis ever since. Competition for the Men consists of six events: Floor Exercise, Horizontal Bar, Parallel Bars, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, and Vault. Women compete in four events consisting of Balance Beam, Floor Exercise, Uneven Bars, and Vault. World University Games Artistic Gymnastics has included some of the most famous gymnasts in the world, including Nadia Comaneci and Ecaterina Szabo of Romania, both of whom went on to win gold medals at the World Championships and Olympic Games. One of the most popular sports of the Summer World University Games, Artistic Gymnastics has historically been led in the medal count by the Soviet Union/Russia, followed by China.
Athletics, which we know as Track & Field here in the United States, has been a part of the Summer World University Games since the inaugural Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. Athletics has consistently been the largest sport of the Summer World University Games program with over 1,000 athletes competing in more than 50 events. Athletics has featured some of the world's finest athletes in the world, perhaps as exemplified best by the 1970 Games (Turin, Italy) where 98 national, 49 World University Games, 2 European, and 2 World records were broken. Local athletes such as two-time Olympian Tisha Waller of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a bronze medalist in the World University Games in Sheffield, England, have also had notable success in the Games. Overall, the Soviet Union/Russia leads the medal count in Athletics, well ahead of the United States in second place.
Badminton was first competed at the Summer World University Games in the 2007 Games in Bangkok, Thailand, as an Optional Sport. Badminton in the Games has long been dominated by Asian countries. Though China and Chinese Taipei lead the way in Singles competition, European countries have made substantial gains in Doubles, challenging the dominance of the Asian nations. Badminton’s presence and popularity in the Games grew significantly in 2011 when Shenzhen, China, a badminton hotbed, hosted the Games, again as an Optional Sport. At World University Games that followed in 2013 (Kazan, Russia), 2015 (Gwangju, China), 2017 (Taipei, Taiwan), and 2019 (Naples, Italy), Badminton continued its presence in the Games as an Optional Sport. Thanks to the growth in participation and popularity of the sport, at the next Summer World University Games in Chengdu, China, Badminton will finally become a Compulsory Sport of the Games.
Men’s Basketball is one of the original sports competed in the inaugural World University Games in 1959. Women’s Basketball was added at the following Games in 1961 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Men’s Basketball has featured well-known athletes such as Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale, and Karl Malone. North Carolina and Triangle-area universities have been well-represented in the Games. Duke Head Coach, Mike Krzyzewski, led Team USA to Silver at the 1987 Games (Zagreb, Yugoslavia), Coach Roy Williams of UNC helped coach the US to Gold in the 1991 Games (Sheffield, England), and legendary coach Kay Yow of NC State coached the US Women to Silver in 1991 (Bucharest, Romania). Between Duke University, NC State University, and UNC Chapel Hill, there have been 13 women and 17 men representing TEAM USA – including noteworthy athletes such as Hubert Davis, LaQuanda Barksdale, and Mitch Kupchak (UNC); Johnny Dawkins, Monique Curry, and Bobby Hurley (Duke); and Tommy Burleson and Genia Beasley (NCSU). Thanks in part to their contributions, the United States leads the World University Men’s and Women’s Basketball medal count by a significant margin.
Diving became a Compulsory Sport in the Summer World University Games beginning in the 1961 Games (Sofia, Bulgaria). The United States first competed in Diving in the 1965 Games (Budapest, Hungary), where the US divers captured four gold medals. World University Games competition today in Diving includes 1 meter and 3 meter springboard and 10 meter platform individual events, as well as 3
meter springboard and 10 meter platform Synchronized Diving events. The most famous Olympic diver of all time, Greg Louganis of the United States, competed in the 1983 Summer World University Games in Edmonton, Canada, and helped take Diving in the University Games to a whole new level. Noteworthy, North Carolina-connected World University Games Diving athletes include Abby Johnston of Duke University and a member of the North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame, in the 2009 Summer Games in Belgrade Serbia. Additionally, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Jack Nyquist, who dove for Team USA in the 2015 Summer World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea.
The sport of Fencing has been a part of the World University Games since the inaugural Games held in Turin, Italy, in 1959. With more than 300 competitors, Fencing is one of the larger and more popular sports of the Games. Events include all three weapons, Epee, Foil, and Saber in both individual and team
competition for both Men and Women, totaling 12 events altogether. Fencing competition in the Summer World University Games is at a very high level as many World University Games champions, such as fencing legends Time Nagy, Xue Tan, Pavel Kolobkov, and Marcel Fisher, among others, became Olympic Fencing champions as well. In the 2015 Summer World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea, Gillian Litynski, of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Fencing Team, competed for Team USA in Women’s Saber.
The sport of Judo has been connected with universities since its creation, as the sport was actually founded within the university system in Japan, and then spread by university personnel from those institutions around the world. Judo features individual and team events, with 8 weight classes each for Men and Women in individual competition, and 5 weight classes each for Men and Women in team competition (with each team consisting of 3 to 5 athletes) The sport was first included in the Summer World University Games in 1967 in Tokyo, where it was competed as an Optional Sport. Judo was again an Optional Sport each of the next two times the World University Games were in Japan, in 1985 in Kobe, Japan, and in 1995 in Fukuoka, Japan. In 2007 at the Summer World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand, Judo joined the sports program of the Games as a Compulsory Sport and has been
competed as such in each Summer Games since. As might be expected, Japan leads the medal count for Judo in the Games, both in overall medals and in gold medals.
Rhythmic Gymnastics is the only Compulsory Sport of the Summer World University Games limited solely to female athletes. Rhythmic Gymnastics features both individual and team events on a gymnastics floor using an apparatus. For individual events, the apparatus may be a hoop, ball, clubs, or a ribbon. For team competition, the apparatus may be 3 balls plus 2 ribbons, or 10 clubs. The sport, which combines elements of dance and tumbling and is known for its graceful athleticism, made its World University Games debut in the 1991 Games in Sheffield, England. Rhythmic Gymnastics has been held in every Summer Games since its debut with the exception of the 1999 Palma de Mallorca Games. It became a Compulsory Sport of the Games at the 2001 Summer World University Games in Beijing, China. Russia and Ukraine have been the most dominant at the event, with Russia winning a total of 54 Gold medals, 29 Silver medals, and 20 Bronze medals at the Games and Ukraine winning 19 Gold medals, 27 Silver medals, and 18 Bronze medals. The United States received its first World University Games medal in the event in 2019 (Naples, Italy) when Laura Zeng won the Bronze in the All-around.
The sport of Swimming has been a mainstay of both the Summer Olympic Games and the Summer World University Games since the first edition of each of those global events. It has been a Compulsory Sport of the World University Games since the launch of the Games in 1959 in Turin, Italy. Competition features an equal number of events for Men and Women, including 6 Freestyle events ranging from 50 to 1500 meters, 50 to 200 meters in each stroke (Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Butterfly), the 200 and 400 Individual Medleys, and 3 Relay events (2 distances in freestyle and 1 medley relay). The high level of Swimming competition in the Games became evident in 1967 in Tokyo where 9 World Records were set by the American team. Triangle universities have contributed many coaches and athletes representing Team USA in Swimming at the Games including Coaches Branden Holloway of NC State and Rich DeSelm of UNC, as well as World University Games champions and Olympians David Fox, Cullen Jones, and Ryan Held of NCSU and Sue Walsh of UNC. The United States leads in overall Swimming medals in the Summer World University Games.
Table Tennis was first held in the Summer World University Games as an Optional Sport in the 2001 Games in Beijing, China. It did not take long for Table Tennis to take on a more “permanent” status in the Summer World University Games, as it became the youngest of the Games’ Compulsory Sports when it was added to the Games sports program in 2005 (Izmir, Turkey). Table Tennis competition in the Games includes Individual and Team competition. Individual Competition consists of Men’s Singles and Doubles, Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. In the Team Competition teams include 3 to 5 players each. Since being added to the Games, Table Tennis’ success has mostly resided in the Asian countries of China, Korea, and Japan, with China being the most dominant. (Consider their performance in the most recent Summer World University Games in 2019 in Naples, Italy, where China took all 8 of the gold medals!)
The 2003 Summer World University Games in Daegu, South Korea, marked the initial appearance of Taekwondo in the Games as an Optional Sport. Since that time, Taekwondo has been in the Summer Games four more times and next year’s competition in the Chengdu, China, Games will be the sport’s sixth Summer World University Games appearance. Taekwondo in the Games consists of two types of competition: Kyorugi or Sparring competition and Poomsae or Forms competition. In Sparring, there are 8 weight classes each for Men and Women in Individual events, while Team events consist of four-person teams each in Men’s and Women’s competition. In the Forms competition, there are five events: Men’s Individual, Women’s Individual, Men’s Team (3-person teams), Women’s Team (3-person teams), and Mixed Team competition consisting of 1 male and 1 female athlete per team. As one might imagine in a sport that originated in Korea more than 2,000 years ago and is a major tradition in that country’s schools and universities, South Korea tends to dominate the medals count in Taekwondo in the Summer World University Games.
Tennis is one of the founding sports of the World University Games, where inclusion in the Games as a Compulsory Sport dates back to the inaugural Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. Tennis competition in the Games includes Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Teams. There are also overall Team awards given based on combined results of a country’s competitors in Singles and Doubles events. In the first Tennis competition in 1959, the earliest medals were won by European athletes from France and
Russia. In more recent years, Asian athletes have risen to the forefront with athletes from Thailand and Taipei respectively, capturing the Women’s and Men’s Singles championships in the most recent edition of the Games
in 2019 (Naples, Italy).
Volleyball is another of the Summer World University Games sports that has been included in the Games since the first World University Games in 1959 in Turin, Italy. At those Games, only Men’s Volleyball was included, but
it was joined two years later at the 1961 World University Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, by Women’s Volleyball. Due to the significant presence of Volleyball worldwide at the university level, FISU sets limitations on tournament participation in order to keep the Summer World University Games Volleyball competition at a manageable size. In this regard, currently the Men’s tournament is limited to a maximum of 24 teams, while the Women’s tournament has a limit of 16 teams. Volleyball is one of the most popular sports of the Games, typically drawing large spectator crowds, particularly at the competition finals. The Soviet Union/Russia holds the lead in the
medal count in Volleyball with a total of 31 medals, followed by Japan with a total of 20 medals. The United States has medaled seven total times in World University Games Volleyball, including winning the Gold in the Men’s competition during the 2001 Beijing Games.
Men’s Water Polo has been included as a Compulsory Sport in the World University Games since the first Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. That year seven teams competed in the event. Women’s Water Polo did not join the sports program of the Summer Games until the 2009 Games (Belgrade, Serbia). Water Polo in the World University Games has grown in popularity and participation through the years. Currently the Men’s tournament includes 16 teams, while the Women’s tournament includes 12. One of the standout Water Polo matches of the World University Games took place in the 1991 Games (Sheffield, England), where the U.S. Men edged out China for the gold medal scoring the winning goal with only 6 seconds to go in the match. Hungary, a traditional powerhouse in the sport of Water Polo, currently leads the medal count, followed by Italy in second, and the United States with 4 gold and 11 medals overall in third.
With the National Governing Body of the sport, USA Baseball, headquartered in the Triangle, combined with the high level of collegiate play in the area, Baseball is a natural to include as an Optional Sport in the Games. Baseball has been staged as an Optional Sport of the Summer World University Games on four different occasions, beginning with the first and only Summer Games in the United States to date, the 1993 Games in Buffalo, New York. At the Buffalo Games, NC State University’s Baseball Coach, Ray Tanner, coached the U.S. Men’s Baseball team. That team included three players from NC State – Andy Barkett, Pat Clougherty, and Terry Harvey – and one from Wake Forest University, Bret Wagner. Two years later at the 1995 Summer World University Games in Fukuoka, Japan, Baseball was again included in the Games as an Optional Sport. It was not until 20 years later that Baseball reappeared in the Games, this time at the 2015 Summer Games in Gwangju, South Korea. The sport’s most recent inclusion in the Games came two years later, at the 2017 World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan. Because Baseball has only been in the Games a few times, the medal table thus far is quite limited. Baseball-obsessed Japan leads the medal count, followed by Cuba. The United States has only won one medal in Summer World University Games Baseball competition, a silver in the Taiwan, Taipei, Games in 2017.
In 2015 the international sport governing bodies of Baseball and Softball combined into a single international federation, the World Baseball Softball Federation (WBSF). Combining the two governing bodies was essential to positioning Baseball and Softball for continued inclusion in the Olympic Games. The combination helps preserve equality in male and female participation in the Olympics, with Men competing in Baseball and Women competing in Softball. Similarly, gender equity is an important aspect of inclusion of Softball in the World University Games. The other key to inclusion is the high level of play of collegiate softball athletes, making for an exciting and highly competitive addition to the Summer World University Games.
The first-in-the-world Olympic Qualification Tournament for the new Olympic sport of Rugby Sevens took place right here in the Triangle at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary in 2015. The following year that same venue hosted the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships. With such a world-class Rugby venue and its history of success in hosting major national and international events, Rugby Sevens is a logical choice as an Optional Sport at a Summer World University Games in North Carolina in Cary. Rugby Sevens has been an Optional Sport of the Summer World University Games two times previously, including in the 2013 Games in Kazan, Russia, and in the most recent World University Games, the 2019 Summer Games in Naples, Italy. Russia, Japan, and France currently lead the limited Rugby Sevens historic medal count in the Summer Games at this stage.
Arguably the greatest and most well-known Women’s Soccer player of all time, Mia Hamm, attended the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and competed for Team USA in the 1993 Summer World University Games in Buffalo, New York. Though no longer a Compulsory Sport of the World University Games, Men’s Soccer (a.k.a Football) has been featured in 18 editions of the World University Games (starting with the 1979 Games in Mexico City, Mexico), while Women’s Soccer has been included in 11 editions, beginning with the famous 1993 Summer World University Games, featuring Mia Hamm. Japan leads the medal count in Soccer with 17 total medals. The United States has some notable achievements in the Games including a silver medal for the U.S. Women’s Team and a bronze for the Men’s Team.
