2018 was a busy and productive year for our Federation. We have organized several high-quality events with much active participation from the members. The 2018 Calendar was highlighted by 2 Championships which were also the Qualifying Tournaments of FISU League and Cup, the 10^th General Assembly and the 2^nd FISU – AUSF Strategic Dialogue. In particular the Dialogue presented an excellent platform for FISU, AUSF and its member federations to strengthen communication and establish a wide-ranging, multi-tiered and comprehensive opportunity for friendship and cooperation.

In the past 2 decades, we crossed the river by feeling the stones – a famous  Chinese saying - and strived to find out a suitable model to promote the steady and fast progress of university sports in Asia. Based on our practice, it was found that in the hope of having a dynamic and developed AUSF, to give top priority to the exploration and cultivation of AUSF flagship events was the best option. Thanks to the collective leadership of the board members and joint efforts of all the member federations, it is encouraging to see that AUSF has basically fixed its calendar with 3x3 Basketball, Football, Basketball, Taekwondo, Table Tennis to be held in even numbered years and 3x3 Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Badminton, Karate and Futsal in odd numbered years. Resulting from the global strategy of FISU, Basketball 3x3 and the Football Cup are not only the flagship events of AUSF, but also the Qualifying Tournaments of FISU League Finals and FISU World Cup – Football. I am delighted to see that most of the 2019 events have already been attributed.

This year, the 5^th Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the inaugural AUSF Football Cup was held in Jinjiang, China. As the Qualifying Tournaments for FISU events, the competitions were highlighted by high-performance teams, professional technical teams nominated by AFs or IFs, wide-ranging media coverage, efficient organizing etc. For 2 consecutive years, Asian teams captured the Champions of 3x3 FISU World University Basketball League Finals.

Beside the Championships, 2^nd FISU-AUSF Strategic Dialogue and 10^th AUSF General Assembly were also held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this October. The Dialogue provided a platform for over 100 delegates from FISU, AUSF, EUSA, and FISU-Oceania engaging university sports to discuss key issues that affect the university sport sector. It was highlighted with the theme of Social, Economic and Political Impact of University Sports as well as attempting to discover challenges facing the development of university sports. According to the comments from different parties, the topics of the Dialogues were more interesting and targeted.

Following the Dialogue, the 10th AUSF General was held with 25 out of 38 members present. During the Assembly besides the reports by the executive committee, the legal committee was established with Mr. Feng Jinwen from China being nominated as chair of Legal Committee. He will lead the Committee to review and enhance the existing regulation and laws to better serve and protect the rights of member federations.

At the same time, Timor-Leste, Brunei, Laos and Myanmar applied to be AUSF members, bringing the total AUSF membership to 42. During the Assembly, AUSF inked a partnership agreement with Kelme China. Co. Ltd., a Spanish sports brand company who will sponsor AUSF Championships with sports equipment in 2019. In addition, China announced to offer 20 scholarships to student-athletes from AUSF member federations to study in China. Last but not least, the AUSF extended the strategic partnership with FISU-Oceania based on previous successful cooperation, through which both parties looked forward to working together on more joint-projects during the next MoU period.

The achievements of the year has been very encouraging and inspiring. On this occasion, together with my colleagues in AUSF Executive Committee, I would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to all the member federations, the Organizing Committees of past and future events, the participants, our Partners, International University Sports Federation, Continental University Sports Federations, and all the individuals who are passionate about university sports and the youths. Once again, I wish you all a Happy New Year in 2019! See you in 2019! Let’s Work Hard and Dream Big together!