2011 WU Update: Universiade Torch Relay Kicks-off in Ankara

ANKARA – The Universiade Torch Relay brought excitement to Turkish capital Ankara. The Torch was placed on the platform which was prepared in the Anıttepe Jogging Track in Ankara. Participants in the Torch Relay were Health Minister Recep Akdağ, Deputy General Director of Youth and Sports Mehmet Kocatepe, TUSF President Prof. Dr. Kemal Tamer, Assistant General Managers, federation officials, Olympic and world weightlifting champion Nurcan Taylan and also many citizens took part. Next stop of the Torch Relay will be in Samsun.

Minister Akdağ stated that Erzurum has become an important tourism center. ‘Thanks to the Winter Universiade, Erzurum has became an important city. Sport is very important for everyone. Today the Universiade Torch was carried by Nurcan Taylan, she is the Olympic and world weightlifting champion.’

‘We experienced this great excitement together on a cold morning in Ankara. Hoping to meet on the Anatolian Peak’, Deputy General Director of Youth and Sports Mehmet Kocatepe said. TUSF President Prof. Dr. Kemal Tamer stated that the Games are only a few weeks away. ‘I believe that the 25th Winter Universiade will be the most spectacular which has been held up to date.’

‘Carrying this torch gives me a very good feeling’, weightlifter Taylan said. ‘I am very proud that the Winter Universiade is staged in our country. I hope it will be a good contest for the athletes and everyone involved. I hope we’ll have the opportunity to host the Olympics in the future. I don’t know if I can be competitor but I would definitely like to see those days’, she added.

‘With staging the Winter Universiade, Turkey will become one of the important centers of winter sports’, Minister Akdağ stated. ‘PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be in Erzurum on January 7th for the opening of the facilities, establising a great ski resort on the Anatolian Peak. I am very happy and proud with this accomplishment.’

Great Interest for WU Tickets

In the meanwhile, the ticket sales for the Games are a big success. So far 11,000 tickets for the Opening Ceremony have been sold. The tickets, which have been on sale since January 1st, are going fast. Only 1,500 tickets are left. ‘The Cemal Gürsel Stadion, the venue for the Opening Ceremony has a capacity of 20,000. ‘At the moment there are some 1,500 tickets left’, Spectator Services and Ticketing Committee Chair Dursun Katkat stated. ‘A total of 7,000 seats have been reserved for the athletes, VIPs, delegations, press and guests.’ Mr.Katkat also added that 2,500 tickets were purchased from outside Erzurum and 1,000 were bought by sports fans from abroad.

(Source: 2011 WU Media Dept.)