Universiades

The world "Universiade" comes from "university" and "Olympiad," and means Olympic games for students. The first World Student Games were held in Paris in 1923. Following the Paris Games, competitions with participants from around the world were held in many places in Europe. The 1939 games were in Monaco and Vienna in the years previous. The International Confederation of Students in the West and the International Students Union in the East began separate games. It was not until 1957 that athletes from both the Western and Eastern blocks met to compete in joint games held in Paris. Two years later in 1959, the first "Universiade" was held in Turin under the auspices of the International University Sports Federation (FISU). Since then, the event has been known as "Universiade."