13 steps to take towards 2013 Summer Universiade
Exactly 100 days are left before the Opening Ceremony of the 27th Summer Universiade! Between March 28 and July 6, the Kazan 2013 SU organisers are to complete the five-year preparation for the biggest World University Summer Games in the history of FISU. However, everyone needs to get ready for this sporting extravaganza. We recommend 13 simple steps to those who would like to experience the magic of this historic event first hand.
1. Learn all 27 sports of 2013 Summer Universiade
The 2013 Summer Universiade will be the biggest one in the history of the World University Games, as the record-breaking number of sports (27) is included into the Games programme!
13 of them are compulsory for all Summer Universiades: athletics, basketball, fencing, football, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, judo, swimming, diving, water polo, table tennis, tennis, and volleyball.
14 optional sports are included into the programme of the Kazan Universiade on the organisers’ initiative: boxing, shooting sport, synchronised swimming, rowing, canoe sprint, sambo, wrestling, belt wrestling, chess, weightlifting, rugby 7, field hockey, badminton, and beach volleyball.
5 of the already mentioned sports – belt wrestling, rugby 7, sambo, synchronised swimming, boxing – will make their debut at the 2013 Summer Universiade.
This information will give you the whole picture of how massive and high-profile the 27th Summer Universiade is and how many sports stars from all over the world it is going to bring together in Kazan this July. All these sports can be memorised through cramming, but it’s better to turn studying into fun and games using visual images of each sport. All necessary information can be found on http://kazan2013.ru/en/sports_program.
2. Learn names of athletes of your favourite national team
Today sports fans make most incredible predictions for the Games medallists, and, of course, everyone sees their favourite team on the top of the podium. Your national team may have a good chance of winning, but this chance may not come true without the emotional support from the stands. So if you are a true fan, you should be informed about your favourite athletes, know their achievements and chances of winning at the Summer Universiade. This will allow you to better prepare for a meeting with your idols and have more fun and excitement when attending the competition. We remind that the 2013 Games are expected to bring together 13,500 athletes from 170 countries. Representatives of 130 countries, including such sporting nations as the USA, China, Japan, Great Britain, Korea, and, of course, Russia have already confirmed their participation in this summer’s premier university sports event.
3. Take vacation to attend Summer Universiade tournaments
Take care of your vacation beforehand. You won't forgive yourself if you miss out on the opportunity to see with your own eyes and to take part in this global sporting event. Presently, you should try to make adjustments to your holiday schedule, and if it is not approved yet, to convince colleagues and employers that you must go on vacation in July to support your favourite national team from the stands of Universiade sports venues. We are sure that you will not regret it.
4. Invite your friends from other cities to attend Summer Universiade
The Summer Universiade is a golden opportunity to meet your friends from other cities. This is a chance not only to have some private chat, remember good old things from the past, share present experience, but also an opportunity to plunge into the magical atmosphere of the sporting event. We believe that inviting your friends to the Games, you will give them a fantastic experience and something to remember. Don’t hesitate to contact your friends by phone or write them on Facebook or Twitter to plan your visit to Kazan in order to share the joy of victories of your favourite athletes with the people you love.
5. Get best seats
Better take care of tickets in advance if you want to get the maximum enjoyment and emotional vibe of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2013 Summer Universiade, as well as sports competitions. You can do this on http://www.kassir-kazan2013.ru/en/ or at special ticket offices of KASSIR.RU, the National Ticket Operator. Tickets vary from 30 to 300 rubles.
And the most informed fans of the 27th Summer Universiade have the chance of winning tickets to the most significant events of the Games from MegaFon, General Partner of the Games. Draw for tickets to the Games will be held via social media and radio. Do not miss your chance!
6. Learn 100 English words
English is one of the official languages of the 2013 Summer Universiade. So, knowing at least 100 words, you will be able to easily find your way around the city and make friends with visitors from all over the world that will come to Kazan for the Games.
So, we recommend that all those who are not good at English spend the remaining days learning the language. Today, plenty of opportunities are available for doing that. One can employ a private tutor or enrol to special courses, such as the EF English First online school that provides English courses to 5,000 volunteers in the build-up to the 2013 Summer Universiade.
7. Learn 100 facts about 2013 Summer Universiade
When will the Summer Universiade take place? How many venues will host the competitions? How many medal events are there at the Summer Universiade? When were the first World University Games held? It is impossible to embrace the spirit of the 2013 Summer Universiade without learning the history of the university sports movement and its modern history written during the preparations for the Games in Kazan. The list of must know facts will help you learn 100 facts about the Summer Universiade and offer an overview of milestone events that took place on the journey to the 2013 Games. A special section of the official Kazan 2013 website at http://kazan2013.ru/en/facts, and the 27th Summer Universiade call centre, which offers information services in three languages (Russian, English and Tatar) via the toll-free phone number 8 800 550 2013, will help you learn the World University Games inside out.
8. Brush up on history of Kazan to become best guide
Kazan’s preparations to host the Summer Universiade give a powerful incentive to study the 1000-year-old history of the city. Today, both young people and the older generation get more and more interested in it. You can join them to discover many unknown facts from the history of the host city for the 2013 Summer Universiade. It doesn’t matter whether this will become your hobby in the future or not, this knowledge will definitely be useful during the Games in Kazan. You will become the best guide for more than 100,000 visitors from 170 countries of the world who will come to Kazan from 6 to 17 July 2013.
9. Give Opening Ceremony tickets to your family members as a gift
A couple of tickets to the 2013 Summer Universiade Opening or Closing Ceremonies will, probably, be the most unusual and valuable gift for members of your family who will attend a once-in-a-lifetime show in the history of Tatarstan and, perhaps, in the history of Russia as well. They will get plenty of unforgettable experience and become part of the great story. Tickets can be purchased on the website at http://www.kassir-kazan2013.ru/en/ or at special ticket offices of KASSIR.RU, the National Ticket Operator. Hurry up, because greater part of tickets to the Ceremonies has already been sold.
10. Get fan gear
A variety of Summer Universiade branded apparel will help you join the ranks of Games fans and feel perfectly at home in the crowd of supporters in the stands during the competitions. OOO Trading House Forward, the Official Provider to the 27th Summer Universiade, has designed sportswear especially for the Games. The Kazan 2013-logoed clothing line is available at Forward stores and the official chain of Summer Universiade merchandise shops, run by KhoroShow.
11. Purchase Games souvenirs to bring back home as mementos
The World University Games in Kazan will become one of the most memorable ones in terms of a variety of promotion merchandise. But in order to avoid destroying the positive impression of the sporting event it is better to buy these items from official Summer Universiade licensees only. The ‘GosZnak’ (“ГосЗнак”) hologram will help check the souvenirs’ authenticity. Kazan 2013-logoed products are available at KhoroShow’s outlets, in Essen and SELGROS hypermarket chains, as well as in special mobile retail outlets at Kazan’s shopping malls, and in airports of Kazan and Moscow. One can also make a purchase through the official website of the Games www.kazan2013.com, as well as on the website http://eng.kazan2013.podarki116.ru/. Besides, specialised outlets will be opened during the Summer Universiade in Kazan to offer visitors and citizens of Kazan a whole range of products bearing the logo of the 2013 Games.
12. Take picture of Kazan 2013 countdown clock in Bauman Street
The 2013 Summer Universiade countdown clock was opened in Bauman Street – in the very heart of Kazan, exactly a year prior to the World University Games opening. During this time it turned into a tourist destination and attracts crowds of visitors now. That is why it became a good tradition to have a picture taken against the clock, counting minutes to the start of the historic event. And you, too, indulge in taking a memorable photo for your family photo album.
13. Take part in this year’s biggest sporting event!
There are no reasons to deny oneself the pleasure of participating in the historic event - the 27th Summer Universiade Kazan 2013. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the mega event which will go down in the history of Russia, Tatarstan, and Kazan. Probably only those who have already been Universiade participants can imagine how magnificent and breath-taking the event will be and what it takes to make this magic happen. 12 days, which took five years of painstaking preparations, will pass very quickly, and striking victories, spectacular records, dazzling shows, and the sense of belonging and togetherness between thousands of people from over the world brought together by the spirit of university sports will be long remembered both by Universiade participants and spectators. See you at the Summer Universiade in Kazan!