European Universities Games - 2018

The European Universities Games is a multisport event with the goal of promoting friendly competition through multi-sports events, facilitating friendship and companionship between students and universities, promoting unity and tolerance, as well as promoting the quality of students’ standard of life.This project was also an opportunity to involve students and an awareness of the importance of health – enhancing physical activity through increased participation in, and equal access to sport for all. The integration was done by merit and respect supported by the values inherent in the sport practice, such as, fair play, social inclusion, equal opportunities and accesses, teamwork, value of practice. The event, provided all participants with the chance to engage in sport, its values as well as its importance for health, awareness and education.The team project prepared an educational plan that included the volunteers’ education and training sessions for the participants, prepared and shared the model of work with the partners (mostly universities), organised conferences and cultural programs that had the main objective of sharing the social values of sport among all the participants. As outputs of these actions we produced several conferences, reports, publications and press releases. EUG2018 will go beyond the event and we will be able to take Coimbra’s name to every other European country, placing Coimbra as a reference in this area, being decisive for the growth of the number of participants in European Universities as well as the redesign of the university sports organizations. We believe that our organizational model, involving students in all the steps of the event, as well as in all the decisions, contributing to their growth, is one of the landmarks of this event that should be shared with all the other university communities.In order to involve more people in university sports, in practice, the University promoted some sport events inside the academic community until the main event: “Experimenta”, “Liga Académica”, “Inter-Residências”.The project addressed the legacy issue, making sure that the Games were more than a simple big event. Creating a unique experience to all athletes, officials, volunteers also strengthened the immaterial legacy of the Games as a unique tool to promote education through sport, adding value to their CV not only as participants but as humans. The project had the legacy projects to deliver:- Improve UC Sports services.- Improve Sports Participation and Healthy Habits in the Population;- Programmes of sports for all;- Student athlete bylaws review;- Programmes to promote sport in students’ residences;- Partnership with National Federations for a high-performance project.- Create a Young Referees Development Programme; Partnership with National Federations for students referee recognition through students’ tournaments.- Scientific study on the impact of sports organisations and university sport in local communities; - All sports programme set for the rehabilitation of University sports facilitiesIt was possible to deliver these goals. The infrastructural legacy is delivered at the University Stadium and will allow the increase of the quantity and quality of sports activity and provide the University with the tools to develop better knowledge and carry out research on sport.The biggest challenge will be the immaterial legacy. Upgrading the university sports model and engaging the local and university community through sport, in a solution that will involve all and reinforce the unique tradition and the added value of well-educated people, knowledge and infra structures.Certainly, sports, its infrastructures, model and human resources will be absolutely different after the EUG2018.To go beyond sports was our purpose, organizing a premium event that inspires people for life and that will last for many years.