EUniWell takes to the waters: a historic first sporting event at the Régataïades international rowing competition in Nantes
© Baptiste Mura
© Baptiste Mura
© Antoine Lièvre-Cormier
© Baptiste Mura
Where sport meets well-being
On a warm spring weekend in Nantes, the banks of the river Erdre came alive with the sound of oars slicing through water, team chants and laughter floating across the pontoons. The occasion? The 39th Régataïades Internationales de Nantes – considered France's largest international university rowing competition, organised since 1982 by the club Université Nantes Aviron. This year, for the very first time, EUniWell was in the boat.
For many students, sport is an opportunity to let off steam, keep fit and socialise – and the benefits are well-documented: physical activity has long been recognised as a powerful contributor to both physical and mental health. It is exactly this connection between physical activity, community and well-being that EUniWell champions through its Health and Well-Being work – and what better way to put it into practice than by bringing students from across Europe together on the water?
EUniWell enters the water
More than 50 students representing three EUniWell universities – Nantes Université (France), the University of Konstanz (Germany), and Semmelweis University (Hungary) – joined around 200 students from universities across France and Europe. They were among familiar faces – Swiss and Serbian teams returning for another year – and new ones, all gathered for two days of spirited competition on the Erdre. Crews raced over 1,000 metres on Saturday and 500 metres on Sunday, in a variety of boat categories for men's, women's, and mixed teams.
Ready, steady, row!
On the water, the EUniWell crews gave it everything they had – and it showed. The University of Konstanz arrived in impressive force with 24 rowers and dominated the men's small boat events, sweeping the entire podium. Semmelweis University claimed a fine second place in the women's small boats, while Nantes Université – including rowers from Ecole Centrale de Nantes – took silver in the women's eights. "At eight, coordination is that much harder and more physical, but it's the emblematic university category," the Nantes students noted. "Above all, it's a moment of sharing around the sport." All three EUniWell universities came away with medals – but if the results were a highlight, the real story of the weekend was what happened off the water.
All in the same boat
Because the Régataïades has never been just about racing. Antoine Lièvre-Cormier, the event organiser, summed it up warmly: “the shared meals were genuine moments of connection, with Nantes students sitting down to lunch alongside their German and Swiss counterparts; then the evening brought activities that mingled teams from Hungary and Serbia.”
As competitors turned into new friends, the Saturday evening ended as all great sporting events should: with a party, fireworks overhead, and not a language barrier in sight. "The event is far more than a competition," reflected Antoine Lièvre-Cormier. "It was a real weekend of sharing between teams and countries."
This is, in many ways, exactly what EUniWell looks like in action: students from different countries, cultures and universities finding common ground through a shared passion and building the kind of cross-cultural friendships that create memorable connections. Student-led initiatives like this one are at the very heart of what the alliance is about.
To be continued…
EUniWell hopes to be back on the start line next year with even more universities, and looks forward to supporting student participation in international sporting events across the alliance. Watch this space – and maybe start training.
Thank you to Baptiste Mura (journalist Ouest France) and Antoine Lièvre-Cormier for kindly providing photographs and quotes for this article.
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