Eurosport Varese 2019 - Eurosport History
THE EUROSPORT HISTORY
All the European schools, one competition
EUROSPORT was founded in 1976 based on an idea of two Physical Education teachers from the European Schools of Varese and Karlsruhe. These teachers decided to start a friendly competition between their two schools, selecting, training and preparing teams of male and female students to compete in the main school sports, hosting the tournament on a rotating basis.
The idea soon caught on and the then four other European Schools joined the two pioneering schools, running the competition every two years with all six schools taking turns to organize it. The organizing school was responsible to choose the sporting events in the competition. Thus, since 1979 EUROSPORT has occurred every two years, and at the end of each tournament the teachers of the participating schools meet to decide on the next host school, as well as discussing how to further improve the general organization of the tournament.
In the early days of Eurosport, with just six schools involved, the event was little more than an exchange between students on a school trip. The tournaments were very amateur in nature, with the teams having minimal equipment. Guest team members were hosted by the families and costs were low.
In 1991 the European Schools became nine, and so Eurosport naturally grew as well. The event was given a more official status with the introduction of the EUROSPORT Trophy. This coveted cup is kept by the school that wins the tournament three times in succession or five times in total. The victorious school then has the honour of replacing the EUROSPORT Trophy, which again up-for-grabs trophy under the same rules.
With this heightened status, the Eurosport tournaments of the 1990s acquired a more professional edge. The teams were better equipped, clothed and kitted out, and EUROSPORT gained sponsorship as the tournament costs outgrew what could be covered by the European Schools’ budget.
Once more the number of European schools grew, and by 2013 there were 13 teams competing. In that year the host school was Alicante. Thanks to the support of the government, the European School of Alicante was able to organise an extraordinary tournament. The highlights of the event included:
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All teams were accommodated in hotels with all meals covered
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Matches were held in sporting venues with facilities of a national standard
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Every team was provided with a bus for hotel-event transfers with police escort
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An outdoor “Paella Party” for the over 500 participants
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Opening and Closing Ceremonies with various forms of entertainment
Since 2013, EUROSPORT has taken on the nature of a highly professional sporting event. In the 2015 tournament held in Luxemburg, 14 schools participated and the previously set high standard was met and in some areas surpassed. Match results were published in real-time, and in parallel to the sporting events, music events, concerts, food fairs and other entertainment was organized. Trophies were given to the winners as usual, but in addition, prizes were also given to all participants. All matches were fully supported with professional referees, first aid services and massages before and after the games. Every sport zone was fully catered, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were top notch.
As of 2017, EUROSPORT was also open to Accredited European Schools, and the number of school participating grew to 16.
Eurosport Varese 2019 will have 20 participating schools, making it the biggest ever EUROSPORT event, with 600 pupils and 80 teachers.
Each school / team will consist of 30 students (15 male and 15 female). They will be accompanied by 4 teachers.
The event will consist of 2 team sports, a racquet sport and aquathlon (running and swimming). The organising school can choose between the following sports:
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Team sports: Basketball; Football; Volleyball; Handball
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Racquet sports: Table Tennis; Badminton.
The organizers of Eurosport Varese 2019 games have chosen the following:
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Volleyball.
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Futsal.
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Table Tennis.
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Aquathlon (compulsory)
The team that will get the highest score at the end of the competitions will win the 2nd edition of the “12 STARED CUP”.
The “EUROSPORT TROPHY”, put up for grabs from 1991 to 2015, had been won by the Varese team in Luxembourg, following their 5th victory in the Eurosport Games.
The points will be awarded for each single discipline with the highest score, equal to the number of teams participating in the games, to the minimum score of 1 point:
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Table tennis
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Female Volleyball
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Male Volleyball
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Women's futsal
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Male futsal
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Aquathlon (will score double)
The team that will score the highest total in the final rankings of the various disciplines will win the trophy. (In case of a draw the number of first places will be taken into account, and so on ...).
Participant European Schools:
- Alicante (Spain)
- Bergen (Netherlands)
- Brussels I (Belgium)
- Brussels II (Belgium)
- Brussels III (Belgium)
- Brussels IV (Belgium)
- Frankfurt (Germany)
- Karlsruhe (Germany)
- Luxembourg I (Luxembourg)
- Luxembourg II (Luxembourg)
- Mol (Belgium)
- Munich (Germany)
- Varese (Italy)
Participant Accredited European Schools:
- Europäische Schule RheinMain, Bad Vilbel (Germany)
- Ecole européenne de Strasbourg (France)
- Ecole internationale Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur à Manosque (France)
- Scuola per l’Europa di Parma (Italy)
- Europese School Den Haag Rijnlands Lyceum (Netherlands)
- European School UK, Culham (United Kingdom)
HALL OF FAME
EUROSPORT VARESE 2019
Via Montello 118, 21100 Varese