The Great Britain 7s squad which won Bronze at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan
British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) and Swansea University are proud to announce that their bid to stage the International University Sports Federation (FISU) 2016 World University Championships in Rugby 7s has been successful. It will be the first World University Championships to be hosted in the UK for 14 years.
The Championships, which are provisionally scheduled to take place in July 2016, will attract over 600 competitors from 30 countries and will be hosted at the University Sports Village and neighbouring Swansea rugby venues.
The bid to host the competition was prepared by Swansea University and submitted as a partnership with BUCS. It has received the support of the Welsh Rugby Union, Sport Wales and Swansea Council and has also been backed by British Lions, Wales and Ospreys second rower Alun Wyn Jones.
The World University Rugby 7s Championships are held every two years. The 2012 championships took place in Brive, France, where both Great Britain’s men’s and women’s teams were crowned World Champions beating France and South Africa in their respective finals. Great Britain has a long and successful history of participation in FISU Rugby 7s and has medalled in each of the last five events. The next championships will take place in Brazil in 2014.
Swansea University’s Singleton Park Campus will provide a Championship Village for the competition utilising the campus accommodation, catering and social facilities alongside its world class sports facilities.
Professor Noel Thompson, Pro Vice Chancellor at Swansea University said: “The successful bid to host this truly global sporting event is a great accolade for the University, the region and Wales. The 2016 FISU World University Championships will further signal Swansea University’s commitment to stage world class sporting events, following on from the hosting of both the FIT European Touch (rugby) and IPC European Athletics Championships in 2014. Rugby continues to be a priority sport for the University and with outstanding facilities and an integrated Championship site Swansea University will deliver a memorable experience for competitors, spectators and officials from across the globe.
BUCS, the national governing body for higher education sport in the UK which is responsible for delivering Great Britain teams into international competitions, supported and developed the bid in conjunction with Swansea University. BUCS has significant experience in hosting and competing at world class championships and will work with the University to ensure the 2016 event is ranked among the very best.
BUCS CEO Karen Rothery said; “This is great news for university sport in Britain. The Championships will not only provide an opportunity for the public to see high quality Rugby 7s, it will also bring significant profile to Swansea University and opportunities for volunteers and leaders in sport in Wales to get involved in a really exciting event.”
Swansea was awarded the Championships at a prestigious ceremony held in Brussels on Saturday night (9 November) in which 33 sports were attributed to 24 countries across 5 continents, a reflection of the global nature of the World University Championships.
