2011 SU Update: CSU Visit

Shenzhen – Today, May 12th, the FISU Supervision Committee made an inspection visit of a number of the venues and the Universiade Village which will be used for the 26th Summer Universiade in 2011.

The FISU delegates were followed by numerous media as the presence of FISU President Killian has made quite a stir. The group first visited the Universiade Village which is located in the Longgang District. At the Village, Mr. Killian and his entourage were shown a typical model room for the athletes, fully furnished.

Next, the FISU delegates visited the MMC or Main Media Center. The MMC is composed of two buildings joined by the roof. This state of the art media center will house the IBC and the MPC. The main press conference room will have 200 seats.

On a tight schedule, the FISU convoy left for the Longgang Sports Center where the delegates visited the Tennis venue and the Cycling track.

Then, a surprise stop was made at the Dafen Oil Painting Village, where Mr. Killian was asked to unveil a Porcelain cup designed for the Universiade and where he received oil paintings of the four presidents of FISU, i.e. Mr. Petitjean, Mr. Schleimer, Mr. Nebiolo, and Mr. Killian himself. ‘This is a wonderful gift’, Mr. Killian told the OC delegates and the press. ‘The portraits are truly magnificent.’

In the afternoon, the inspection visit continued as the delegates traveled to the Bao’an district where they visited the Gymnasium, which will be used for Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics. From there they went to the Natatorium, the venue for Water Polo. Both venues are existing ones and will provide excellent competition and training conditions for our athletes.

Last stop for the delegates was the construction site of the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center. The Bay Sports Center is located in the central Nanshan District, Co-designed by a Japanese company and a Beijing-based company, the gymnasium of the center appears like a silkworm cocoon. That’s why it was named ‘Spring Cocoon’, echoing the design of the famous Bird’s Nest in Beijing. Occupying an area of 30.74 hectares, the center has a standard athletic field and a warm-up field and more than 20,000 spectator seats. It also has 3 VIP lounges, 6 VIP boxes, 1 media lounge and 1 sponsors lounge. The gym has a floor space of 54.430 square meters and can hold 13,000 spectators, with 10,000 fixed seats and 3,000 movable ones. It is composed of a competition hall and a warm-up hall, which can accommodate different kind of sports events. There are 2 VIP lounges and 30 VIP boxes inside the gym. 16 table tennis tables can be arranged inside the competition hall, while 32 training tables can be managed inside the warm-up area.

The day ended with an official meeting between the FISU EC members and the leaders of the Shenzhen Municipal Government.

C. Pierre, Press Officer