The 2021 Winter Universiade, officially known as the XXX Winter Universiade or 30th Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Lucerne 2021, is a cancelled multi-sport event for student and youth athletes that was scheduled to take place from 11 to 21 December 2021 in Lucerne, Switzerland, with preliminary competition in some events beginning 6 December 2021. The Games were to be hosted at venues in cantons of Central Switzerland, including Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schwyz, Uri, and Zug.
 | |
| Host city | Lucerne, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Motto | Welcome Home!, Bienvenue à la maison” |
| Edition | 30th |
| Events | 60 events in 10 sports (proposed) |
| Opening | 11 December 2021 (cancelled) |
| Closing | 21 December 2021 (cancelled) |
| Dates | Cancelled |
| Main venue | Swissporarena |
| Website | winteruniversiade2021.ch (archived) |
Lucerne, which was the only city to bid for the Games, was named host In March 2016.[1] On 29 November 2021, the Games were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Omicron variant.
Cancellation
editThe Games were originally scheduled to be held 21–31 January 2021, but were postponed indefinitely on 31 August 2020 due to COVID-19. In November, new dates in December 2021 were announced.[2] On 29 November 2021, only one week prior to the start of preliminary competition, it was announced that the 2021 Winter Universiade had been cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the Swiss government to prevent the spread of Omicron variant. The Games would not be rescheduled.[3]
Due to the cancellation, the handover to Lake Placid was held at a ceremony at the University of Turin in January 2022, concurrent with the lighting of the flame for the 2021 Summer World University Games in Chengdu (which, in May 2022, were subsequently postponed to 2023).[4][5]
Venues
editThe organisation of the event was a joint project of Central Switzerland's six cantons, the city of Lucerne, and the Canton of Grisons. The Games were to use existing infrastructure, with all sports facilities accessible by public transport.[6]
| Venue | Sports Venue | Discipline(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Andermatt-Realp (UR) | Realp Nordic Center | Cross-country skiing |
| Engelberg (OW) | Sporting Park | Curling |
| Jochpass 2222 | Snowboard, freestyle skiing | |
| Lenzerheide (GR) | Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide | Biathlon, Ski Orienteering |
| Lucerne (LU) | Regional Ice Center | Figure skating, short track speed skating |
| Stoos (SZ) | Franz-Heinzer-Piste / Maggiweid | Alpine skiing |
| Sursee (LU) | Sursee Ice Center | Ice hockey |
| Zug (ZG) | Bossard Arena | Ice hockey |
Sports
editThe 2021 Winter Universiade was to consist of 60 events in 10 sports, the smallest programme of a winter Universiade since Tarvisio 2003.
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Out of the three slots given to the organizing committee to add "optional", discretionary events to the programme, the Lucerne organizing committee added only ski-orienteering.[7] Freestyle skiing–a recurring optional event at the Winter Universiade, was promoted to the core Winter Universiade programme of "compulsory" sports beginning with these Games.[8]
Schedule
edit| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Event finals | CC | Closing ceremony |
| December | 6 Mon |
7 Tue |
8 Wed |
9 Thu |
10 Fri |
11 Sat |
12 Sun |
13 Mon |
14 Tue |
15 Wed |
16 Thu |
17 Fri |
18 Sat |
19 Sun |
20 Mon |
21 Tue |
Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremonies | OC | CC | |||||||||||||||
 Alpine skiing
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |||||||||
 Biathlon
|
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||||
 Cross-country skiing
|
2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||||||||||
 Curling
|
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
 Figure skating
|
● | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||
 Freestyle skiing
|
2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
 Ice hockey
|
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
 Short track speed skating
|
2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | |||||||||||||
 Ski-orienteering
|
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||||
 Snowboarding
|
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Total events | 6 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 60 | ||||||
| Cumulative total | 6 | 12 | 23 | 31 | 36 | 42 | 48 | 57 | 59 | 60 | |||||||
| December | 6 Fri |
7 Sat |
8 Sun |
9 Mon |
10 Tue |
11 Wed |
12 Thu |
13 Fri |
14 Sat |
15 Sun |
16 Mon |
17 Tue |
18 Wed |
19 Thu |
20 Tue |
21 Tue |
Events |
Marketing
editEmblem
editThe emblem was designed by Peter J. Wardis, consisting of six intersecting "U" letters that are arranged to form a snowflake, representing the six cantons hosting the Games (with Lucerne represented by a point at the centre of the emblem).[9]
Mascot
edit
Wuli, the Lucerne 2021 mascot was designed by Luisa Zürcher, an animation student at the Lucerne School of Art and Design, and was unveiled at a ceremony marking the one-year milestone before the Games. Zürcher's design was inspired by yeti folklore, the mountains and myths of Central Switzerland, and Fasnacht, the Carnival festival that has deep roots in the traditions of Central Switzerland. The name is a combination of the initials of "Winter Universiade" with the typical Swiss word ending "-li". It was chosen by the public in an online vote.[10][11]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Lucerne awarded 2021 Winter Universiade". Inside the Games. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Morgan, Liam (6 November 2020). "Lucerne 2021 Winter Universiade rescheduled for December". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Emergence of new COVID-19 variant forces cancellation of Winter Universiade". Inside the Games. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Turin set to host flag handover ceremony for FISU World Winter University Games". www.insidethegames.biz. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "FISU Executive Committee sets 2023 dates for Chengdu 2021 World University Games". www.insidethegames.biz. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "Lucerne 2021 Media Documentation" (PDF). winteruniversiade2021.ch. 26 March 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Ski orienteering added to Winter Universiade 2021 programme". International University Sports Federation. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ "Lucerne 2021 consider additions of moguls and ski orienteering to Winter Universiade programme". Inside the Games. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Luzern, Medienmitteilung (9 December 2015). "Official Meaning of the Lucerne 2021 Logo (Both Before and After the Bid)" (PDF). Unilu (in German). Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "The Lucerne 2021 mascot has been named and the name is..." International University Sports Federation. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Lucerne 2021 mascot named "Wuli"". Inside the Games. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.