Katherine Wu is a Rice alumni traveling with the Zeff Fellowship.
At the airport, Air China has a special line for the World University Games (WUG). When I told them I was an athlete, they had 2 attendants going, put special tags, asked whether the arrows were sharp and how many arrows were in there. I didn’t know, so I just said 23 arrows to not scare them. Though it’s prob more like 57 (I would know bc tsa counted each one last time when they banned me). Apparently I’m supposed to have a special universiade sticker or identification tag on my equipment. I trust Korea does things well. They asked for the invitation letter,etc. I asked if there was a problem, but they said no. They even took pictures of the tag to make sure it gets there.
Before landing, the flight attendant told me personally to stay in my seat on the plane and be the last one to leave. I have no idea how they knew I was an athlete. Maybe that’s why FISU wanted my flight info. They had a volunteer come to meet me at my seat and at they’ll escort me off the plane—nicely of course. She was nice enough to tell me that they’ll have an interview with me. Good thing she told me so I can put in my contacts and have my makeup done while everyone else was deplaning. I don’t know if Olympic athletes get this type of special treatment, but I’m liking this already.
They had people all around the terminal like check points to show us where to go. A sophomore from Wesley named Nicole had a sign that said “United States of America” so I followed her. I had an entire giant bus to myself transporting me from the airport to the village. All the volunteers wave and say “hi.” This city has been preparing. There’s a dedicated lane on the highway for University Games transport, demarcated with highway signs and lamination stickers on the ground.
The World University Games, or FISU Universiade takes place every 2 years in a different country. This year, it is set to take place July 28-August 8, which archery events being held July 27-31 (we start a little ahead of the opening ceremony). It is set up to be just like the Olympics—athletic village, opening ceremony, closing ceremony. The sports are the ones you see in the Olympics, with the 2021 World University Games being held in Chengdu, China. Due to Covid, I made the team in 2021 from US trials, but had to wait until 2023 to finally be able to participate. There have been more than 20,000 volunteers recuited for the Games, and they’ve been preparing for our arrival for 3 years. In these Games, there are 15,000 athletes set to participate in 18 different sports. The age cut off is that you have to be 25 or younger by the WUG year and be enrolled in a university. Many athletes trade clothing and pins throughout the event.
The dining hall options were crazy, with 5 different cuisines open 20 hours a day (only closed from 1-5am). Dragon fruit perfectly sliced, every single Chinese dish you can think of including sesame buns and custard buns. They had this yummy milky drink. Even the ice cream options are amazing. I sat with the rhythmic gymnast team from China. They are 19 and 21. They practice 8hrs a day, and I later learned that this is common across many sports including archery, as many countries have sports as their full time focus in college. Their coach was an Olympian in 2008 Beijing and was sitting with them.
There are so many volunteers, wearing the WUG uniform. When I get to the archery field, there was a line of volunteers at either side to greet me—same when I leave. They’ve seen rehearsals of the opening ceremony, but they’re not allowed to tell us what it looks like. Security is really tight here. At every entrance point, there is a camera that recognizes your face to allow you to enter. I don’t even need my badge, I just need my face uncovered.
When I got to my room, I had a perfectly made bed, a giant box full of snacks and panda mascot, toiletries, 3 different types of detergent, boom box, and USA backpack containing USA opening ceremony and medal stand outfits with white sneakers. There is also a washing machine in every room for us athletes. My roommate, a fellow archer, hasn’t arrived yet, but will in the next couple of days.