This Move Won't Get Any Votes...Sports People Aren't That Gullible...

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October 02, 2008

2015 Summer Universiade Bid: CIS praises Prime Minister Harper's support

OTTAWA (CIS) - Canadian Interuniversity Sport is delighted to announce that the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, has pledged support in principle to CIS in the bidding process to host the 2015 Summer Universiade.
All three orders of government officially confirmed their support for Edmonton's bid at a press conference in Alberta's capital on Thursday afternoon. "A successful 2015 Summer Universiade Bid will provide Albertans and Canadians the opportunity to host the world and experience the excitement of this major multisport event," said CIS President Dick White. "The support in principle for the Edmonton bid process demonstrates the commitment towards developing an integrated and comprehensive approach to the long term development of Canada's future Olympians."
The International University Sports Federation (FISU) circulated the call for bids on September 1st, 2008. Canada plans to submit a letter of intent to bid to FISU on October 8 and the final bid package by March 15, 2009.
Competing bids for the 2015 Summer Universiade are expected from Spain (Vigo), South Korea (Gwangju), Poland (Poznan) and Brazil (Rio de Janeiro).
Canada has hosted the Summer Universiade once, in Edmonton back in 1983.
The Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival that is staged every two years. It is second in size and scope only to the Olympic Games.
The Summer Universiade consists of 13 compulsory sports and up to five optional sports chosen by the host country. It is estimated that the 28th Summer Universiade hosted in Edmonton in 2015 would attract over 7,000 student-athletes, 2,000 coaches and team officials, 1,250 officials, 1,200 dignitaries, 250 media and 6,500 volunteers from 140 countries.
The Summer Universiade plays an important role in the Canadian Sport System and developing Canada's future Olympians. Forty-seven Canadian Olympians from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics participated at recent Summer Universiades, including Olympic gold medalist Carol Huynh and bronze medalist Tonya Verbeek.
The next three Summer Universiades will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2009, Shenzhen, China, in 2011, and Kazan, Russia, in 2013.