SU Heads of Delegation visit Kazan Venues

KAZAN – On Thursday, April 4th, the Heads of Delegation started their inspection tour of the main venues of the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan next July. Divided into 3 groups, they visited the “Basketball Hall”, the “Central Stadium”, the “Central Stadium Track and Field Hall”, the “Rowing Centre” and the Universiade Village during the morning.

“I was impressed by the quality of the Basketball Hall. We intend to field a men’s and a women’s team that will battle for the gold medal, “said Martin Roberts, a delegate for Australia.

Paul Wedeleit, the newly elected Secretary-General of the German NUSF (adh), said: “After being present at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, I can tell you that the sports facilities and the Village here in Kazan are of a very high quality. The number of rooms is sufficient. We expect German teams to compete in nearly 20 sports and our delegation will include more than 230 participants (athletes and officials).”

The delegates then had the opportunity to have lunch in the new International Main Centre and were able to get an idea of the type of the meals to be served by the chefs during the Universiade.

In the afternoon, the Heads of Delegation visited the “Gymnastics Centre”, the “Burevestnik Indoor Swimming Pool”, the “Tennis Academy” and the “Saint Petersburg Volleyball Centre.”

“The facilities have new equipment and the majority is fully prepared. The Village is very comfortable and I think the athletes will find everything they need. The “Tennis Academy is undoubtedly the site that impresses me the most”, commented Noriaki Sekine, staff member of the Japanese Olympic Committee and delegate for Japan.

For Christopher Millard, a member of the French delegation who had already visited in September 2012 during the WUC Rowing, the progress of the works is quite impressive: “In a few months, the facilities are totally transformed and are worthy of international standards and can subsequently be reused. The bus rides are three times less time than when I visited last September and we note that the Universiade is a real tool of development for the city of Kazan.”

Village Mayor Farid Abdulganiev receives the key
The day ended with a ceremony during which Irek Fayzullin, Minister of Construction, Housing and Architecture gave the key to the Universiade Village to Farid Abdulganiev, Mayor of the Village.

(Source: David Vandenplas, Media Assistant)