Sport

EUHL develops students' education and athletic qualifications

Published: 12. 4. 2022
Author: Tomáš Polanský
Photo: Photo Roman Bročko, EUHA
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The European University Hockey League (EUHL) was established in November 2013 by the European University Hockey Association (EUHA). Its main mission is fostering and maintaining a sustainable environment for the development of student-athletes, facilitating their success in both sports and education. This project takes inspiration from the established system that has been functioning for decades at many US universities.

It is the first international university hockey league in Europe. Throughout the nine years of its existence, more than 29 university teams from nine different countries (Slovakia, Czechia, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Romania) have participated. The competition has grown despite the impact the Coronavirus has had on it in recent years. The current season has even seen an increase in participants over previous years. Furthermore, negotiations are currently ongoing with certain universities from Czechia, Poland, the Netherlands, and Austria that could bolster the league's roster in the coming season.

Collaboration with educational institutions

The EUHA is an independent, apolitical civic association that also functions as an international organization of college and university ice hockey with influence that reaches beyond territorial borders. It aims to grow and promote sports activities, extracurricular interests, ice hockey, and other sports for the benefit of college and university students. Creating favorable conditions helps bolster young peoples' health and expand their physical and mental resilience in terms of sports and body culture, which in turn increases personal gratification and interest in informal education. The Association is constantly expanding collaboration with universities and colleges, bringing all sorts of benefits to students, including scholarships, individual studies, access to lectures and educational and exchange programs at colleges and universities all over Europe as well as the world. It is not just the students and players who have a chance to educate themselves, but the lecturers and coaches as well, who are also encouraged to broaden their horizons in numerous fields and grow pedagogically. The EUHA has agreements on collaboration with state and private institutions throughout the European Union as well as other countries around the world where its reach extends.

World Cup

The European University Hockey Association has signed agreements on collaboration with the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and the Students Hockey League (SHL) in Russia. This collaboration helps facilitate joint tournaments and matches combined with classes between the different colleges and universities whose teams play in the EUHL. The World Cup of University Hockey is an important event that has come to fruition thanks to this collaboration. Its first season was played in January 2018 in Slovak cities of Banská Bystrica and Brezno, and Polish Krynica. The participating countries from each association brought their very best rosters to this tournament in order to see who comes out the winner. Besides hockey, there were all sorts of classes and lectures held with the aim of helping move university hockey competitions and the organization of such sports events to another level. Last but not least, the Erasmus+ project organized several conferences concerning the dual education of European student-athletes, where players and coaching staff from teams and universities around Europe, the US, and Russia could share their experience and knowledge. The agenda was focused on different aspects of the academic and athletic life of students who want to succeed in both areas. The first World Cup of University Hockey season was met with a lot of positive feedback and it was a great experience for the participants, which has led to increased efforts to organize another iteration. The second season is set to take place in the autumn of 2022 with the participation of rosters from the United States, Canada, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia.

Charles University

Charles University Prague is one of the founding members, having been present at the initial negotiations about the opening season of the EUHL. Its team has participated in all the seasons of this international competition, even winning the entire championship four times. Manager and team leader, Miloš Fiala, M.Sc., Ph.D., sees many positive points in participating, “The students feel proud to play for their alma mater and compare their performance to that of other European universities. Being able to take part in dual education, which combines sports and studies, is a significant benefit. Another very positive point I see is the chance for students from different European universities to discuss the studies at their respective schools.” The Charles University team received support from its rector in the form of 250 000 CZK in the current season, which constitutes a quarter of all the expenses for the entire season. The EUHL has some Czech competition – the University League of Ice Hockey (ULLH in Czech), where the teams receive financial aid from the National Sports Agency (NSA). This agency provides no such aid to the EUHL, however. “Unfortunately, there are no programs at the NSA that we could draw funding from to improve the conditions for teams participating in the EUHL, even though it means universities get to represent the country on a European level.” Many Czech university teams were established with the help of the EUHA and have previously participated in the EUHL, but they left due to insufficient support and the ULLH being formed. The ULLH condition that forbids any of its participants from playing in the EUHL is another reason why many Czech university teams are missing out on the chance to compete for prestige in an international setting.

Home and foreign teams

The following Czech colleges and universities have participated in the EUHL: Charles University Prague, Tomáš Baťa University Zlín, University of West Bohemia Pilsen, Engineers Praha (consisting of Czech Technical University Prague, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, and Prague University of Economics and Business), Masaryk University Brno, Ostrava University, Palacký University Olomouc, Institute of Technology and Business České Budějovice, and the Brno University of Technology. The Slovak EUHL participants are: Pan-European University Bratislava, Matej Bel University Banská Bystrica, Slovak University of Technology Bratislava, Gladiators Trenčín (Alexandr Dubček University Trenčín together with the Institute of Management), Institute of International and Public Relations Bratislava, Prešov University, Constantine the Philosopher University Nitra, and Žilina University. Polish universities that competed are: Opol University, UHT Oswiecim, Podhale State College of Applied Sciences Nowy Targ, and Academy 1928 Krynica. Austria (Graz University), Hungary (Hokiklub Budapest), and Romania (Sapientia U23) each had a single team participating.

Current season

The current season is being played by CU Prague (Czechia), Sapientia U23 (Romania), UHT Sabers Oswiecim, Opole HK (both Poland), Gladiators Trenčín, UMB Hockey Team Banská Bystrica, Philosophers Nitra, and HC UNIZA Žilina (all Slovakia). The teams face each other two times throughout the season, once at home and once away. The regular season is followed by the play-offs, played by the six best teams. The Charles University has been historically the most successful club of all, winning a total of four championship titles. More information can be found at www.euhl.eu, www.students-athletes.eu

Miloš Fiala M.Sc. Ph.D.

From the left, former Czech Minister of Education Kateřina Valachová Ph.D., Rector of Charles University Tomáš Zima M.D., D.Sc., MBA, EUHA President Jaroslav Straka, ACUH (Association of Czech University Hockey) President Aleš Bachánek, EUHL Vicepresident Ľubomír Sekeráš.

Charles University team.

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