Organisers are eyeing a record attendance at next year’s European Universities Games (EUG) in Lodz after registration for the event in Poland opened.
The current record for number of athletes at the Games was set in 2016 in Zagreb and Rijeka in Croatia, when nearly 5,500 competitors took part.
Lodz University of Technology, the main organiser of the 2022 event, has the capacity to host up to 6,000 athletes if needed.
Athletes are expected to come from more than 400 different universities from 40 countries.
Twenty sports are included on the programme – 3×3 basketball, badminton, basketball, beach handball, beach volleyball, chess, football, futsal, handball, judo, karate, kickboxing, muaythai, sport climbing, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, water polo and sitting volleyball.
“By organising EUG Lodz 2022, we are sending a clear signal to the academic community from all over Europe, but also to future students, that apart from a high level of education, you can develop your passion for sports at Lodz University of Technology,” said the university’s rector Professor Krzysztof Jóźwik.
“Kajetan Duszyński, a Tokyo Olympic athlete who transferred to our university from the Silesian University of Technology, may serve as an example here.
“Today, he is a medal-winning professional athlete and a doctoral student.