With the participation of more than a thousand student-athletes from more than twenty higher education institutions, the third festival of the Hungarian University-College National Championships, the MEFOB FEST, started in Győr, at the Széchenyi István University on 30 April. The opening ceremony gave a spectacular taste of the sport of cheerleading, and as part of the programme, awards were presented for the events that were completed on the first day.

At the MEFOB Fest, a joint event of Széchenyi István University and the Hungarian University and College Sports Association, in eleven sports - handball, futsal, volleyball, table tennis, ergometer rowing, rowing, dragon boating, ultimate frisbee, chess, water polo and cheerleading national championships, while in arm wrestling and e-sport a cup is organised for students of higher education institutions in Hungary between 30 April and 3 May. As well as promoting sport, the event is also about community-building, with recreational sports activities and evening parties. The programmes for each sport can be found here.

Although the competitions had been underway since Tuesday morning, the biggest MEFOB Festival ever was officially opened at the afternoon ceremony in the Győr Municipal University Sports Hall. The ceremony began with the entry of student-athletes from the participating universities.

A large number of university student-athletes attended the opening ceremony (Photo: Máté Dudás)

In his welcome speech, Prof. Dr. Ferenc Friedler, Rector and Vice President for Academic Affairs of Széchenyi University, said that sport is of great importance for their institution, which is involved in international competition, and that is why they are proud to host the event. "Sport is the best school to be successful in many other things, as it builds positive personality traits as well as physical fitness. Athletes have qualities that are also useful in academia. These include motivation, determination, perseverance and a focus on results and a willingness to put in the work to achieve them," he said. Prof. Dr. Ferenc Friedler also spoke about the excellent sports infrastructure of the Széchenyi University, which offers the opportunity for sports students to obtain a degree. "The uniquely located Győr campus facilities, the Bishop's Forest (Püspökerdő), the River Danube (Mosoni-Duna) and its backwater, as well as the sports park offer students numerous opportunities to play sports. This is supported by our sports association, SZESE, and our close cooperation with the sports clubs in Győr," he underlined.

The event was opened by Prof. Dr. Ferenc Friedler, Rector and Vice President for Academic Affairs of the Széchenyi István University, (Photo: András Adorján)

Prof. Dr. Lajos Mocsai, President of the Hungarian University and College Sports Association, said, "It is our common task and responsibility to overcome various diseases through sport and its effects. That is why I think it is important to organise more and more of these community-building events in our institutions." In his speech, he expressed his appreciation to Széchenyi University, for its outstanding infrastructure and for having undertaken to host the festival. He also thanked the national sports federations, who take university sport to heart, the dedicated staff who prepare the competitors, and the student-athletes who value their health, competitive spirit and the representation of their university.

Prof. Dr. Lajos Mocsai, President of the Hungarian University-College Sports Association, also drew attention to the community-building power of the event (Photo: András Adorján)

Péter Boncsarovszky, Mayor Commissioner for Youth Affairs of Győr, wished the participants to have a good time in the city and to come back later.

After the welcome speeches, the audience was treated to a spectacular cheerleading performance and the prizes for the competitions that ended on the first day were awarded.

The opening ceremony was highlighted by a performance of the Széchenyi István University cheerleading team (Photo: András Adorján)

Eszter Fehérvári (Széchenyi István University) won the women's professional category in ergometer rowing, while Benedek Pető (Széchenyi István University) won the men's category. In table tennis, the University of Pécs triumphed in both the men's and women's teams, as well as in men's and women's doubles. In cheerleading, the best team in the show cheer team category was the University of Debrecen.

More information about the event can be found on the mefobfest.hu website.