Dear friends,                                                                                                                                                                                     

I am very delighted to greet you here as we will close 2021 and welcome 2022 with anticipation. On behalf of the Executive Committee of Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF), I would like to take this opportunity to thank our member Federations, the universities, International University Sports Federation (FISU), Continental Federations, Asian Sports Federations, who have been through the challenges with us and provide us valuable support as ever to ensure another successful year in its unique form.

In the past year of 2021, as the pandemic continues to make face-to-face communities difficult all over the world and onsite university sports events are still very hard to deliver, which caused tremendous challenges to member federations. But it is encouraging to see with the massive campaigns in administering vaccination, some countries or regions began to resume onsite sports activities at local or national level. Knowing the fact that the virus can’t disappear right way, we are learning to live with it and adapt ourselves to the new normal, to resume sports events when the situation allows on the one hand; and strictly following preventive measures advised by medical experts on the other hand.

Thanks to the experiences gained in 2020, AUSF has become more poised than last year and convened 4 online Executive Committee meetings and 1 Steering Committee meeting regularly to cope with the challenges brought about the pandemic. To keep the sustainability of the Asian university sports movement, 2021 has seen two online events staged, Chess and Cheerleading championships. From 2-13 September, the 2021 Asian University Chess Championship was staged successfully, with 91 players from 13 countries taking part in the men’s and women’s category, repeating the successful footprint in the last year. The 3rd Asian University Cheerleading Championship was held online from 4 September to 15 October, bringing together 438 athletes and officials from 5 countries and regions to compete in 7 categories, boasting a large number of participants at this difficult pandemic situation.

Following the successful delivery of the first edition, AUSF celebrated IDUS 2021 with the second edition of the AUSF Run Challenge, in order to promote the IDUS spirit. Over 49,000 participants from 9 member federations took part in the running from September 19th to 21st. Besides the centralized event, AUSF member federations celebrated the festival in different ways to engage more participants at local level, such as Fit Challenge, Half Marathon, Yoga Session, as well as Educational Forum and Conferences etc.

We are delighted to see the MOUs with Asian Chess Federation and Wushu Federation of Asia, have been signed to promote Chess and Wushu among Asian youth, opening up more high level sports competition opportunities for our student athletes and coaches. Based on the mutual trust, we renewed the MOU with FISU-Oceania, continue to create sports and educational opportunities for member federations of both parties.

In November, with the support of all member federations and strategic partners, we completed the first ever online General Assembly successfully in the history of AUSF, allowing us to review our past work and plan our future. I believe it would certainly light our way to get through the pandemic challenges and make further progress with the direction fixed up in this session

Looking ahead to the next year, AUSF will be 30 years of age, we plan to organize a series of activities to mark the historic moment for the whole AUSF family. I hope you could take an active part in those activities and celebrate it in your own ways. In the short term, large-scale in-person events may not all be resumed soon, the online, offline or hybrid format of competition existing concurrently could become a kind of new normal. We will keep monitoring the evolvement of the pandemic situation and try our best to stage offline events gradually from the next year, 3 on 3 Basketball, Rugby 7s, Archery, Men’s Basketball, Football Cup and Chess Championship will be organized, if situation allows.

In the face of the spreading pandemic, we shall be more united than ever to care and help each other, be more proactive than ever to take decisive actions to sustain our shared undertakings. With solidarity and cooperation, we will be able to be confident to find the light out of the tunnel in the end, when our member federations will all resume their actions regularly, and students’ athletes together with their coaches will come back to venues to train and compete at national and international level.

As we wind down the year it is our honor and pleasure, on the occasion of the festive days, to wish you and your loved ones happy holidays, a prosperous 2022, and look forward to seeing you soon in person.