Season’s greetings
Season’s greetings from Panathlon International
Season’s greetings from Panathlon International
The 50th Panathlon International General Meeting took place in Lausanne (Switzerland) on Saturday 11 June 2022 followed by the Extraordinary General Assembly.
During the General Assembly, the PCU Committee Treasurer Prof. Dr. Francis baron Van Loon informed the membership about the PCU Committee activities in the past year.
Finally, the results of the Antwerp University and Panathlon Drawing & Photo Contests were announced to the Membership and all participants were invited to vote for the Honourable commendation of one of the 15 finalists of the Drawing Contest.
Find more photos here.
On 12 June we celebrate the proclamation of the Panathlon Day.
An initiative is promoted to remember that in that distant June 12, 1951 in Venice this voluntary organization was born.
This year it was celebrated with the 50° General Meeting at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Thanks to the Panathlon office team for the great job they are doing. And congratulations to the whole Panathlon Family!
50° General Ordinary Meeting Panathlon International will take place in Lausanne on 11 June 2022 beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Click on the link for live streaming: https://lite.owncast.live/PanathlonInternational/50-General-Extraordinary-Meetinghttps://lite.owncast.live/PanathlonInternational/50-General-Extraordinary-Meeting
The PCU Committee representatives attend the program of the General Ordinary Meeting and Extraordinary Assembly.
During the program the exhibition of the 6th Antwerp University and Panathlon Drawing Contest will take place in the Auditorium “SYNATHLON” Quartier UNIL-Centre Bâtiment Synathlon, 1015 Lausanne.
The University of Sussex (England, UK) is the winner of the Enrico Prandi Fair Play Trophy 2022.
The Enrico Prandi Trophy, a prestigious award, unique in the world of university sport and the highest merit a university can achieve in relation to ethics in university sport.
After every match of the PCU Games the referees award Fair Play points to each team based upon conduct of the delegation and Fair Play on the field. The winner of the Fair Play ranking receives the Enrico Prandi Trophy.
The basketball and volleyball teams of the University of Sussex were so friendly to support another team from England (University of Keele) and a team from Rwanda (INES Ruhengeri) when they needed replacement players due to injuries and late arrivels. What a great example of Fair Play and Universal Friendship!
This is the second time the University of Sussex has received the Fair Play Trophy. The first time the Men’s Basketball team received it in 2017. And for the fourth time the Enrico Prandi Trophy goes to England. Congratulations!
The 4th PCU International University Bridge Trophy – in support of the Olympic principles of Fair Play and Universal Friendship – was organized from 28 to 30 October in the University of Antwerp’s Hof van Liere. Two days before the start of the event, an online Pairs tournament was organized to welcome all interested participants unable to travel. In total almost 100 bridge players representing 31 universities in 19 countries participated in one of the competitions of the PCU Bridge Trophy.
The first PCU Committee event organized live on venue after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the tournament welcomed on venue participants from Belgium, Ireland, the Netherland and Latvia.
Represented teams:
– Dublin City University (Ireland)
– KdG University of Applied Sciences (Belgium)
– KU Leuven (Belgium)
– Riga Technical University (Latvia)
– University of Antwerp (Belgium)
– University of Liège (Belgium)
– University of Nijmegen (Netherlands)
On 26 October, 25 pairs faced of during the PCU Bridge@Home online pairs tournament on the digital platform BBO. After 24 digital boards, the team representing the University of Antwerp (Belgium) took home the victory; second place was taken by a team from ISCTE University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal) and third place was won by a team with students from Indira Gandhi National Open University (India) and the University of Glasgow (Scotland). Despite the very late/early hour for some participants, due to the time difference, all players stayed online until the end of the tournament to play their final games.
Only two days later, on 28 October, the PCU Bridge Trophy Opening Ceremony was organized, where participants were welcomed by Prof. Dr. Francis baron Van Loon, Honorary Rector of the University of Antwerp and representatives of organizing partners Bridge Club DUA and the Flemish Bridge League (VBL). The tournament was then officially opened by Dr. Koenraad Keignaert, head of the Organizing Committee, who invited all participants to join the Opening Reception. The night ended with a Welcome Pairs tournament organized for all participants and extra invitees.
After a short night’s rest, participants faced a full day of bridge on Saturday 29 October; with 64 boards being played in total (4 rounds of 16 boards), only taking a break for lunch time. After a nail-biting last long game both finalists were known: the University of Liège (Belgium) and Riga Technical University (Latvia), with other teams qualifying for their respective final games on Sunday. After this long day, participants were able to enjoy a late dinner in an Antwerp City center restaurant, after which some players decided to enjoy the Antwerp nightlife.
On Sunday, the final games (of 24 boards) took place to decide all teams’ final ranking. An exciting final led in the end to the University of Liège (Belgium) taking the title, ahead of Riga Technical University (Latvia) who finished in second place. The University of Liège is the third PCU Bridge Trophy Champion, following in the footsteps of the University of Leipzig (Germany, 2019) and University of Montpellier (France, 2020). In the game for third place KU Leuven (Belgium) managed to take home the bronze medal, beating Dublin City University (Ireland).
After a standing lunch during which final results were confirmed by the referee, the Honouring & Closing Ceremony was held during which all teams received an Honouring Certificate from PCU Bridge Trophy president Dr. Koenraad Keignaert. For the top-3 teams cups and medals were awarded.
During the PCU Bridge Trophy the finalists of the University of Antwerp & Panathlon Drawing & Photo Contest were exhibited. The exposition of the 15 artworks and 10 photographs from students all over the world was an excellent addition to the tournament and cultural program. Participants to the PCU Bridge Trophy were also able to vote for their favourite painting and win a small prize.
After a weekend full of bridge, fair play and international friendship, all participants returned home; while during the Closing Ceremony the dates of the next edition of the PCU Bridge Trophy were confirmed: 22-24 April 2022 (back to the usual mid-April).
Full results of all games of the PCU Bridge Trophy 2021 are available here.
All photos from the event can be found on Google Photos.
It’s time for everyone to listen to children and young people, everywhere!
It’s World Children’s Day, celebrated on 20 November each year to advocate, promote and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for children.
Rights of the Child in Sport are proclaimed in the Panathlon International Charter.
All children have the right:
✅ to practise sports
✅ to enjoy themselves and to play
✅ to live in a healthy environment
✅ to be treated with dignity
✅ to be trained and coached by competent people
✅ to take part in training that is adapted to their age, individual rhythm and competence
✅ to match themselves against children of the same level in a suitable competition
✅ to practise sport in safe conditions
✅ to rest
✅ to have the opportunity to become a champion, or not to be a champion
Illustration by @haekal.jpg
The International Symposium on Evidence-based Prevention of Sporting-related Match-fixing took place on 15 November 2021 at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and was live streamed in Zoom.
The final results of Erasmus+ EPOSM project were presented to all partners and public.
EPOSM project (“Evidence-based Prevention Of Sporting-related Match-fixing”) is a Erasmus+ collaborative partnership between academic and on-the-field organisations which studies sporting-related match-fixing in different sport disciplines on a European level and organizes tailor-made training sessions.
Its objectives are: (1) raise awareness about the prevalence of sporting-related (i.e. non-betting related) match-fixing, (2) stimulate moral judgment regarding sporting-related match-fixing, and (3) share and transfer this knowledge.
These two years project (2020-2021) is co-funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Ghent University in partnership with IRIS and 9 other European partners.
Panathlon International is the partner of EPOSM project and was called upon to collaborate mainly because of its familiarity with the complex sports landscape, its extensive network and the sport-practice competence of its members.
Panathlon International President, Pierre Zappelli, welcomed participants of the Symposium.
The speakers discussed the prevalence of sporting-related match-fixing, stressed the importance of the role of the sports organization and the athletes themselves, the importance of cooperation, sharing information and awareness rising.
Dear Panathlon friends,
I’m honored and pleased to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the PCU Committee in a world finally rising up again after the pandemic that impacted all of us. But even in the background of this tragic event, the PCU Committee continued its growth as the university sport oriented platform of Panathlon International, organizing and endorsing university sport events with the focus on fair play and ethics in student sport.
With the introduction of an extended interactive online platform the last 2 years, we managed to reach out to students worldwide at a moment that the organization of live sport events was impossible in most parts of the world. The combination of our efforts on venue and online, resulted in 2020 in a membership and network membership of 299 universities and university colleges in 85 countries. Figures that make me proud and humble. Consequently, the PCU Committee is proud to express gratefulness to all students and university sport professionals that share our values as an active participant in one of our many events.
In 1999 the basis of the PCU Committee was established as an independent initiative of Belgian and Dutch students, the “European Student Football Championship”. Over the years the number of sports was extended and the initiative was incorporated in the non-profit association IFIUS. In 2011, the association became part of Panathlon International and the initiative was welcomed by the 2011 President of the International Olympic Committee J. Rogge. Today the PCU Committee is a respected part of the Panathlon movement with activities and events for students, universities and university colleges worldwide, in an area that makes a difference: Student Fair Play and Ethics in University Sport.
It is symbolic that on our 10th anniversary, we are able to organize our first live events again since 2019, the PCU Bridge Trophy 2021 in October and the PCU Chess Cup 2021 in December. This development strengthens our believe that soon all our activities and events will be organized in normal circumstances in a world looking forward again.
Finally, on behalf of the PCU Committee Executive Board, I wish to thank all persons and organizations that contributed to the success of the PCU Committee these last 10 years, especially and foremost Panathlon International and its past and current Presidents, Enrico Prandi, Giacomo Santini and Pierre Zappelli.
Best personal regards,
Peter Verboven
President PCU Committee (Committee Panathlon Clubs of Universities)
Dear Friends
it is with great pleasure that I join all of you to bring my greetings and those of Panathlon International on this occasion.
Ten years have passed since Panathlon International, with a resolution of the International Board, has authorized the establishment of the Committee of Panathlon Clubs of Universities (PCU). A choice to support and disseminate the principles of our Association through sport and art within the large international student community.
Many initiatives have been carried out in these years to promote our values: from the International University Games, to Trophies, to Graphic and Photographic Competitions. A very lively, active, and dynamic activity that has also led to an excellent synergy between Panathlon International and the University of Antwerp.
The University has also hosted several Assemblies and Congresses of Panathlon International, a path full of initiatives and commitment to convey the values in which we believe, education, fair play, moral training in sports and civil life.
Even in this juncture, during which the Pandemic has dictated its rules, you have shown to be determined and close to young people, maintaining the activity and communication and at the same time promoting remote actions.
Now we must look to the future. Each of us, regardless of organizational roles, must contribute to the growth of our Association, transforming into concrete actions our purposes and trying to become protagonists on the territory of the values that inspire us. After this period we need it even more! Times change and require more and more commitment, dedication, and passion, but these are characteristics that we sportsmen know well and that do not discourage us.
Long live Panathlon International and the Clubs of Universities!
With the cordial appreciation and affectionate wish of the entire International Board, I wish you a happy anniversary!
Rapallo, 21 September 2021
Pierre Zappelli
President
Panathlon International