The Committee for the Development of University Sport (CDSU), chaired by Stefan Bergh, discussed collaboration with Continental University Sports Federations, future development programmes and of course promotion of FISU and University Sports in a fruitful introductory meeting.
The first online meeting of the new CDSU was a success! The Committee Chair Stefan Bergh was able to welcome FISU President Leonz Eder, FISU Secretary General Eric Saintrond, as well as CDSU Vice-Chair Delise O’Meally from the United States and the other five CDSU Members, the Presidents of the Continental Federations: Lixin Liu (Asia), Alim Rachid Maluf Neto (America), Adam Roczek (Europe) and David Schmude (Oceania) and Ashraf Sobhy Mohamed Hussein (Africa), who was in a seperate meeting due to professional duties.
Of course the importance of a great collaboration between FISU and all the CUSFs – who are all represented within this committee – was mentioned as a backbone for the next fours years of work.
Overlapping sports calendars
Committee Chair Stefan Bergh and members of the FISU staff gave an overview of the current cooperation aspects between FISU and CUSFs. Communication, project funding and knowledge transfer were mentioned among challenges such as overlapping event calendars and low impact programs. Documentation (guidelines, regulations, MOUs) and sustainability were also addressed.
Set standards
All members agreed that as much as they will continue and acknowledge their differences – as they are more used to working with a regional approach – this was the place to set standards in accordance to FISU’s Global Strategy and to work both on joint programs and sports-related educational events.
FISU President Leonz Eder assured that his intention is to empower CUSF Presidents, granting them a stronger voice within the committee. FISU Secretary General Eric Saintrond insisted on the importance of CUSFs working together to address an overwhelmingly full international sports calendar and to find common solution to try to avoid overlaps.
As the Committee Chair, Stefan Bergh concluded by encouraging the CDSU to identify precise objectives and chart a collaborative path forward. Assuring that, despite the differences between its members, this committee can achieve great things together by working as a team.