Preparations for 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty discussed in Switzerland

Attending the assembly were President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, re-elected FISU President Oleg Matytsin and delegates of 167 national students' sports federations. Asset Abdualiyev who also happens to be the head of the Organizing Committee of the Winter Universiade in Almaty took the floor at the assembly to talk about the preparations for the 2017 Winter Universiade. The Winter Universiade will run from January 29 to February 8, 2017 in Almaty. 3,000 athletes will compete and 3,000 volunteers are expected to participate in the event. A 12,000-seat Ice Palace and a 3-seat Ice Arena are under construction in the city. Mr. Abdualiyev stressed that the athletic village for 5,000 athletes and delegates will be constructed in Almaty for the first time ever. "I am confident that the holding of the Universiade in the largest city of Kazakhstan with some 250,000 students will promote sport among students of the country," Mr. Abdualiyev stressed while delivering his remarks at the assembly.