
The Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival which is staged every two years in a different city and which is second in importance only to the Olympic Games.
The Summer Universiade consists of 12 compulsory sports (Athletics - Basketball - Fencing - Football - Gymnastics - Judo - Swimming - Diving - Water Polo - Table Tennis - Tennis - Volleyball) and up to three optional sports chosen by the host country. The record figures are 7,805 participants in Izmir, Turkey in 2005 and 174 countries in Daegu, Korea in 2003.
The Winter Universiade consists of 7 compulsory sports (Alpine skiing - Nordic skiing composed of jump, cross country & combined - Curling - Ice Hockey - Short-Track - Speed Skating - Figure Skating - Biathlon) and one or two optional sports also chosen by the host country, and gathered a record of 2,223 participants from 50 countries in Innsbruck, Austria in 2005.