Media Documentation Contents 1 Winter Universiade 2021 ......................................................................................... 4 1.1 Organisations Involved ..................................................................................... 5 1.2 History .............................................................................................................. 5 1.3 Postponement .................................................................................................. 7 2 Venues .................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Andermatt-Realp UR ........................................................................................ 9 2.2 Engelberg OW ................................................................................................ 10 2.3 Lenzerheide GR ............................................................................................. 11 2.4 Lucerne LU ..................................................................................................... 12 2.5 Stoos SZ ......................................................................................................... 13 2.6 Sursee LU....................................................................................................... 14 2.7 Zug ZG ........................................................................................................... 15 3 Sport ...................................................................................................................... 16 3.1 Sports ............................................................................................................. 16 3.2 Biathlon .......................................................................................................... 18 3.3 Ice Hockey ...................................................................................................... 19 3.4 Freestyle & Freeski ......................................................................................... 20 3.5 Snowboard ..................................................................................................... 21 3.6 Short Track Speed Skating ............................................................................. 22 3.7 Curling ............................................................................................................ 23 3.8 Figure Skating ................................................................................................ 24 3.9 Cross-Country Skiing ...................................................................................... 25 3.10 Alpine Skiing ................................................................................................... 26 3.11 Ski Orienteering .............................................................................................. 27 4 Host City Lucerne .................................................................................................. 28 4.1 Universiade Park ............................................................................................ 29 4.2 Cultural Programme ....................................................................................... 29 5 Delegations/Participants ........................................................................................ 30 5.1 Accommodation .............................................................................................. 31 5.2 Transport ........................................................................................................ 32 6 Universities ............................................................................................................ 32 6.1 Student Projects ............................................................................................. 33 6.2 World Conference ........................................................................................... 34 6.3 University of Lucerne ...................................................................................... 34 7 Volunteers ............................................................................................................. 35 8 Mascot ................................................................................................................... 36 9 Medals ................................................................................................................... 37 10 Sustainability and Legacy .................................................................................. 38 11 Finances ............................................................................................................ 39 12 Partners ............................................................................................................. 40 1 Winter Universiade 2021 The Winter Universiade is the largest winter multisport event after the Olympic Games. In 2021 the 30th occasion of this unique event will take place in Central Switzerland. The organisation is a joint project of the six cantons of Central Switzerland Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zug, and the City of Lucerne. The programme from the 11 to 21 December 2021 comprises ten sporting disciplines, to be contested at seven event venues. Around 1600 Students aged between 17 and 25 from more than 540 universities in 50 countries are expected to attend. Further information about the Lucerne 2021 Winter Universiade may be found here: www.winteruniversiade2021.ch Winter Universiade 30th edition 2021 Date 11 to 21 December 2021 Host City Lucerne Sports Biathlon, Curling, Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, Freestyle & Freeski, Cross-Country Skiing, Short Track Speed Skating, Alpine Skiing, Snowboard, Ski Orienteering Days of Competition 11 Venues Andermatt-Realp, Engelberg, Lenzerheide, Lucerne, Stoos, Sursee, Zug Notable 2nd edition in Switzerland after Villars 1962 Number of expected Athletes 1600 Team Officials 900 Volunteers 3800 1.1 Organisations Involved The successful realisation of the Winter Universiade depends on the interplay of three organisations: the International University Sports Federation FISU, the Association Winter Universiade Lucerne-Central Switzerland 2021 and Swiss University Sports. It was in 1959 that FISU launched the Universiades, now the largest multi-sport event for students. Since then, a total of 29 Winter Universiades and 30 Summer Universiades have already taken place. Unlike the Olympic Games, both Universiades are held in the same year and in a two-year cycle. In March 2016, FISU assigned the 30th winter edition to Central Switzerland with Lucerne as the host city. The six cantons of Central Switzerland and the city of Lucerne founded an association for the purpose of this major project. Government representatives from each of the six cantons and Lucerne’s city council are responsible for strategic decisions under the chairmanship of Guido Graf, Cantonal Councillor Lucerne. The organising committee, directed by the Managing Director Urs Hunkeler, reports directly to this board. The organising committee works closely with Swiss University Sports. The National University Sports Federation of Switzerland is a member of FISU and is in charge of the selection of Swiss athletes for the multi-sport event. It has set itself the goal of building a strong Swiss team for the upcoming Winter Universiade at home. 1.2 History Staged every two years in a different global city, the Winter Universiade is the world's largest winter multi-sports competition for university athletes. The rich history of the Winter Universiade began in Chamonix, France in 1959. Sixteen countries and 220 athletes took part in the first edition, with six sporting disciplines: ice hockey, ice skating, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined. Today, the programme has nine compulsory sports. The Swiss mountain village of Villars hosted the Winter Universiade’s second edition in 1962 which was a big success thanks to the support of the Swiss University Sports Association. Nearly 300 athletes from 23 nations took part, including teams from Japan, Lebanon and New Zealand. The Winter Universiade drew more than 500 athletes for the first time in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1983 and by the Sapporo 1991 edition in Japan, countries like the Soviet Union, United States and Japan were fielding delegations of more than 100 athletes each. The flawless execution of Sapporo 1991 helped Japan bring the Winter Olympics to Nagano in 1998 and paved the way for other major winter sports events in Asia. The 2005 Winter Universiade in Innsbruck, Austria, saw a record 2,223 participants from 50 countries and set the trend for night competitions. In another first at Innsbruck, women’s ski jumping was added to the programme, a full nine years ahead of its Olympic debut. In 2013, the Trentino Winter Universiade drew 2,668 competitors to the Italian Alps. Proving the Universiade as a launchpad to student-athletes’ future success, no fewer than 29 athletes who competed at Trentino went onto win medals at the Sochi Olympics, which took place just two months later. The most recent edition of the Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation, had nearly 2,000 athletes representing a record 58 countries, competing in 11 sports. True to its #WelcomeHome motto, Lucerne2021 represents the Winter Universiade’s return to Switzerland after nearly 60 years away. 1.3 Postponement In late August 2020, the International University Sports Federation (FISU), Organising Committee