Much ado about Universiade 2011
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Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 19, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Erzurum risks losing its host status for the 2011 Winter University Games, but not to a foreign city. Kayseri’s mayor asserts that the Eastern city is yet to prepare for Universiade, and believes that the events should be moved a little further West
It has been more than a year since Erzurum won the right to host the Winter University Games, Universiade, but its position is now being challenged by a fellow Turkish city.
Asserting that the Eastern city is yet to deliver on such a high-profile sports event, Kayseri Mayor Mehmet Özhaseki declared that he wold try to move the games to his city.
Speaking at a conference about the future of Kayseri, Özhaseki said the Central Anatolian city would be ready for the events on time.
"The Winter University Games will be held in Erzurum in 2011, but they haven’t laid a single brick yet," said Özhaseki, the Anatolia News Agency reported. "Our facilities on Erciyes Mountain will be finished by then. So we want host status."
The mayor added that Erciyes Mountain would be turned into a center for winter sports and tourism, with many facilities to be built on the mountain.
"We will set up a ski resort on Erciyes Mountain, especially for attracting tourists from the Middle East and Eastern Europe," said Özhaseki. "We will extend the current nine-kilometer skiing circuit to 160 kilometers and will be up to 5,000 tourists." "This investment convinces us that we are up for hosting the Winter University Games," the mayor added.
With the 32,500-seat Kadir Has Football Stadium to be opened next month as well as the buildings of Olympic swimming pools, track and field circuits, Kayseri believes that it will be a main center on Turkey’s sporting map.
Universiade 2009 kicks off in China
While Turkey is busy with internal matters about the forthcoming Winter University Games, Universiade 2009 started in China yesterday.
Universiade kicked off in China's far northeast with the Asian nation hoping a successful event will show it is ready to host a Winter Olympics, after last summer’s glittering Beijing Summer Olympics, Agence France-Presse reported.
Thousands of athletes from 45 countries and regions will participate in 12 sports and 82 events in Harbin city, which is well known for a spectacular ice festival held each year.
The event has long been seen in China as a warm up event for Harbin to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, with Chinese sports officials saying an announcement on making a bid could be made at the close of the Universiade.
International University Sports Federation president George Killian said China's preparations for the Universiade were outstanding and boded well for an Olympic bid, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
"The success of the Winter Universiade would lay a solid foundation for Harbin to bid for a future Winter Olympics," the agency quoted Killian as saying at the weekend.
About 2.6 billion yuan ($370 million) has been spent on upgrading or building new facilities in Harbin, a city of 3.1 million people.
In an effort to ease the city's traffic jams, the government has banned cars from driving every other day, with prohibited days depending on the last digit on each vehicle license plate.
The car ban is similar to one imposed in Beijing for last year's Summer Olympics.
In another attempt to ride off the success of the Beijing Olympics, chefs who cooked for athletes last year have been brought to Harbin to serve the university students. Heilongjiang boasts the coldest weather in China with the low yesterday forecast to be -22 degrees Celsius.
China, traditionally weak in winter sports but improving in recent years, is aiming for at least six gold medals, which it forecasts would place it in the top six nations.
Asserting that the Eastern city is yet to deliver on such a high-profile sports event, Kayseri Mayor Mehmet Özhaseki declared that he wold try to move the games to his city.
Speaking at a conference about the future of Kayseri, Özhaseki said the Central Anatolian city would be ready for the events on time.
"The Winter University Games will be held in Erzurum in 2011, but they haven’t laid a single brick yet," said Özhaseki, the Anatolia News Agency reported. "Our facilities on Erciyes Mountain will be finished by then. So we want host status."
The mayor added that Erciyes Mountain would be turned into a center for winter sports and tourism, with many facilities to be built on the mountain.
"We will set up a ski resort on Erciyes Mountain, especially for attracting tourists from the Middle East and Eastern Europe," said Özhaseki. "We will extend the current nine-kilometer skiing circuit to 160 kilometers and will be up to 5,000 tourists." "This investment convinces us that we are up for hosting the Winter University Games," the mayor added.
With the 32,500-seat Kadir Has Football Stadium to be opened next month as well as the buildings of Olympic swimming pools, track and field circuits, Kayseri believes that it will be a main center on Turkey’s sporting map.
Universiade 2009 kicks off in China
While Turkey is busy with internal matters about the forthcoming Winter University Games, Universiade 2009 started in China yesterday.
Universiade kicked off in China's far northeast with the Asian nation hoping a successful event will show it is ready to host a Winter Olympics, after last summer’s glittering Beijing Summer Olympics, Agence France-Presse reported.
Thousands of athletes from 45 countries and regions will participate in 12 sports and 82 events in Harbin city, which is well known for a spectacular ice festival held each year.
The event has long been seen in China as a warm up event for Harbin to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, with Chinese sports officials saying an announcement on making a bid could be made at the close of the Universiade.
International University Sports Federation president George Killian said China's preparations for the Universiade were outstanding and boded well for an Olympic bid, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
"The success of the Winter Universiade would lay a solid foundation for Harbin to bid for a future Winter Olympics," the agency quoted Killian as saying at the weekend.
About 2.6 billion yuan ($370 million) has been spent on upgrading or building new facilities in Harbin, a city of 3.1 million people.
In an effort to ease the city's traffic jams, the government has banned cars from driving every other day, with prohibited days depending on the last digit on each vehicle license plate.
The car ban is similar to one imposed in Beijing for last year's Summer Olympics.
In another attempt to ride off the success of the Beijing Olympics, chefs who cooked for athletes last year have been brought to Harbin to serve the university students. Heilongjiang boasts the coldest weather in China with the low yesterday forecast to be -22 degrees Celsius.
China, traditionally weak in winter sports but improving in recent years, is aiming for at least six gold medals, which it forecasts would place it in the top six nations.