1983 Summer Universiade

The 1983 Summer Universiade, also known as the 1983 World University Games or XII Summer Universiade, took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between July 1 and 12, 1983. Over 2400 athletes from 73 countries participated. It was the first time Canada hosted these Games. Edmonton also hosted the 1978 Commonwealth Games.

XII Summer Universiade
XII Universiade d'été

Host city	Edmonton, Canada
Nations	73
Athletes	2,400
Events	118 in 10 sports
Opening	July 1, 1983
Closing	July 12, 1983
Opened by	Charles, Prince of Wales
Torch lighter	Jeanna Suzanne-Genrisson
Main venue	Commonwealth Stadium

The event was marred by tragedy from the death of Soviet diver Sergei Chalibashvili when he died eight days after hitting his head on the 10 m diving platform in competition while attempting a reverse 3½ in the tuck position. The official mascot of the event was Wugie the Owl; his name is an acronym of World University Games in Edmonton, and the Owl is the provincial bird of Alberta.

The Prince of Wales (now Charles III) opened the Universiade accompanied by the Princess of Wales (Diana), and other dignitaries and celebrities also visited.

In October 2005, Edmonton was selected as a potential bid candidate to host the 2011 Summer Universiade by the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).

Sports

•  Athletics (40)
•  Basketball (2)
•  Cycling
  • Road cycling (4)
  • Track cycling (8)
•  Diving (4)
•  Fencing (8)
•  Gymnastics (14)
•  Swimming (30)
•  Tennis (5)
•  Volleyball (2)
•  Water polo (1)

Venues

Venue	Events	Capacity	Status
Commonwealth Stadium	Athletics	60,081	Active
Northlands Coliseum		17,498	Defunct
Argyll Velodrome	Track Cycling		Active
Hawrelak Park	Road cycling		Active
Universiade Pavilion	Basketball	5,500	Active

Medal table

  *   Host nation (Canada)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Soviet Union (URS)	57	30	25	112
2	United States (USA)	12	20	21	53
3	Canada (CAN)*	9	11	18	38
4	Italy (ITA)	8	11	6	25
5	Romania (ROU)	6	12	8	26
6	China (CHN)	5	5	4	14
7	Nigeria (NGR)	5	0	0	5
8	Great Britain (GBR)	3	2	3	8
9	France (FRA)	2	4	5	11
10	Japan (JPN)	2	3	5	10
11	Cuba (CUB)	2	1	4	7
12	Australia (AUS)	2	1	2	5
13	West Germany (FRG)	1	6	3	10
14	Poland (POL)	1	2	1	4
15	Belgium (BEL)	1	1	0	2
16	Brazil (BRA)	1	0	2	3
17	Netherlands (NED)	0	3	0	3
18	Yugoslavia (YUG)	0	2	1	3
19	Tunisia (TUN)	0	1	2	3
20	Czechoslovakia (TCH)	0	1	0	1
	Senegal (SEN)	0	1	0	1
	Tanzania (TAN)	0	1	0	1
23	Austria (AUT)	0	0	1	1
	Bermuda (BER)	0	0	1	1
	Hungary (HUN)	0	0	1	1
	Jamaica (JAM)	0	0	1	1
	New Zealand (NZL)	0	0	1	1
	South Korea (KOR)	0	0	1	1
Totals (28 entries)		117	118	116	351

Participating nations

Around 2,400 athletes from 73 nations took part.