Universiade Round and About history and stories of the International University Sport Federation from its De Coubertin to Primo Nebiolo

by Gian Paolo Ormezzano

Gian Paolo Ormezzano is a journalist and unabashed fan of sport, particularly Italian and University sport. His book on the World University Games, Universiade Round and About - history and stories of the International University Sport Federation from its De Coubertin to Primo Nebiolo is presented with an Italian passion, and comes close to being a love letter to the Universiade.

Ormezzano admits that the book is a story, and not a history, of the World University Games or FISU. Being a journalist, he defers to trained historians for that work. It is "not the fancy and serious book that FISU deserves and in time I am sure it will get," writes Ormezzano.

The book is not without bias, turning FISU leader Primo-Nebiolo into an Italian, do no wrong, demi-god, whom Ormezzano interviews three times in the book. Ormezzano also briefly interviews Emanuele Scarpiello, and Ignazio Loiacono, both administrators in Italian sport.

The book is a rough read for English readers and could have used a good native English editor and translator. The book is full of quaint colloquial phrases and Ormezzano is fond of using words like "goliardic" and "thaumaturgic" throughout the book. Fortunately, in this regard, the text runs less than 100 pages. 

At one point an attempt to explain the use of the word "goliardic" is made in an answer by Scarpiello during his interview. "Goliardic also means moderation, a sense of the right time, the intelligence of knowing when to start and when to end certain things. The goliardic ways are many; some even very serious. It is a polyhedron with many facets. If-as occurred in Turin in 1959, there is still no water in the pool, and a Czechoslovakian athlete doesn't know it and dives in, first you laugh, then you start to worry about him, then you're relieved when you find out that he was only shaken-up and bruised."  Okay, perfectly clear now. 

Occasionally though, Ormezzano strikes a chord, writing at one point, "The entire life span of FISU, which has mainly revolved around the Universiade but is nonetheless extremely multi-faceted, consists of solemnity, casual winks, rigorous protocol, last minute adjustments, noble slovenliness when necessary and sloven nobility when there is no other choice."

The book contains 107 numbered pages, several of which are blank, and 48 pages of pictures on unnumbered pages.  The photographs are well-chosen, and there are numerous depictions of games logos and mascots. The book lacks a table of contents. This, coupled with the fact that the chapters switch from narration to interviews halfway through the book makes the work difficult to navigate.

While the book does contain stories and history, and a table of data related to FISU records, but no results of events. There is no bibliography or footnotes to document the claims or confirm the stories.  For this reason, and Ormezzano's own admissions, this book should be considered a secondary document when doing serious research on the history of the World University Games.

107 pages, hardcover, Gian Paolo Ormezzano, October 1996, printed by Ages Artic Grafiche.

Review by Daniel Bell