Służewiec Racecourse hosts the opening ceremony

Although the Słuzewiec Horse Racing Track is mainly associated with horse racing, it also hosts concerts and fashion shows. This unique setting will be the venue for the opening ceremony of the European Universities Combat Championships. The event will start on Friday, August 22, at 7 p.m. 

The Służewiec Horse Racing Track is a place known and loved by successive generations of Warsaw residents and others. The facility is admired for its architecture and the greenery surrounding it. You don't need to know anything about racing to succumb to the magic of this place. It was opened in June 1939 and remains one of the capital's most important arenas to this day. It was here that the World Cross Country Championships were held in 1987, and bands such as U2 and The Rolling Stones played their concerts. With over 80 years of history, the Służewiec Racetrack is a venue where the most important horse races in the country have been held for years. This time, it will also be the arena for the inauguration of one of the most important academic sporting events.

Thanks to the cooperation between the University Sports Associstion of Warsaw and Słuzewiec Horse Racing Track, the opening ceremony of the European Academic Championships in combat sports will take place in this legendary venue in the capital. It is the perfect location to welcome student athletes from all over Europe after such a long break in organizing international events. The last European Academic Championships was held in Warsaw in 2015.

This unique event will combine the spirit of academic competition with the unique atmosphere of one of the most characteristic sports venues in the capital.

- The Słuzewiec Racetrack is an open place where both dedicated racing fans and people who are just discovering the world of this sport meet. More and more often, we are visited by families and friends who want to spend their weekend in an unusual way. Many of them feel the magic and attraction of this place on their first visit - says Urszula Zawadzka, acting director of the Słuzewiec Racetrack. As part of the opening ceremony of the European University Championships, participants and guests will be able to feel the spirit of sporting competition, and during the race days, to which I cordially invite you, enjoy a range of attractions such as racing fashion shows, VIP areas, hobby horse competitions, games for children, and a chillout zone. The Słuzewiec Racetrack is also a versatile event space – a venue for conferences, galas, concerts, picnics, film sets, and other cultural events.

The Opening Ceremony of the European Universities Combat Championships is an excellent opportunity to discover the unique qualities of this place and experience a special day in a sporting atmosphere.

The event will begin with a parade of countries and universities from which the athletes have come. There will also be artistic performances, including a choir from the University of Warsaw and a concert by the Warsaw University of Technology's entertainment orchestra. The event is scheduled to end at around 10 p.m.

The competition itself will be attended by 1,435 participants from 385 universities, representing as many as 32 European countries. From August 23 to 25, the battle for medals in karate, judo, taekwondo, and kickboxing will take place.

txt: Robert Zakrzewski
foto: Służewiec Horse Racing Track/ archiwum

The event is organized by EUSA, University Sports Association of Poland, University Sports Association of Warsaw, the Polish Taekwondo Federation, the Polish Judo Association, the Polish Kickboxing Association, and the Polish University Karate Federation.
Main Partner of the event is The City of Warsaw.
Event Partners are: The Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the Regional Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and the Służewiec Horse Racecourse.
Technical Partners are: Toyota W&J Wiśniewski, Grupa Ornecka/Reklawiz and SportData 

The European Universities Combat Championships are held under the honorary patronage of the Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and the Mayor of the City of Warsaw.
The Championships take place at facilities of OSiR Włochy, the Faculty of Management at the University of Warsaw, the ARCHE Hotels network and Arena Ursynow.