SINCE IT'S ESTABLISHMENT

The Cyprus University Sports Federation (CUSF) was founded in 1986 by several sports personalities at the initiative of the President of the Cyprus Olympic Committee (COC) Mr. Kikis Lazarides. It was immediately recognized by the Cyprus Sports Organization (CSO) and accepted as a member of the C.O.C.

The first Executive Committee of the CUSF consisted of the following: President: Judge Takis Eliades, Secretary Lakis Zavallis, Treasurer: Antonis Ioannides and members: Ero Mitsidou and Kyriakos Nisiforou.

Immediately after its establishment the first concern of the Federation was the representation of the university sports of Cyprus at the Universiades, organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). Thus in 1987, a delegation of four athletes under the leadership of the Secretary of CUSF Mr. Lakis Zavallis and the guidance of the Sports master and trainer Mr. Dinos Michaelides (then Director General of the COC) went to Zagreb (Yugoslavia) where the CUSF was accepted as full member of FISU. Mr. Zavallis took the seat of Cyprus at the General Assembly and the athletes took part in the Universiade.

The first official national student championships were organized in 1988, when the present President of the CUSF, Dinos Pavlou, was elected as a member of the Executive Committee. Until then the championships were organized by the Higher Technical Institute and its Sports master Mr. Vassos Constantinou, who was seconded to the HTI, under the supervision of Mr. Pavlou, who was a Senior Lecturer, responsible also for the sports activities of the Institute.

In 1990 the sports master Mr Philippos Sophocleous was elected as a member of the Executive Committee and since then he undertook the responsibility of the Technical Advisor and the organization of the championships.

Football, basketball and volleyball were the sports in which the first championships were organized by the CUSF. The HTI, the Pedagogical Academy, the Cyprus College, the Philips College and the Frederick Institute of Technology were the initial participants.

After the success of the first championships, more institutions expressed their interest to participate and championships in athletics and cross-country were added. These institutions were the following: Forestry College, School of Nursing Intercollege, Institute of Hotel and Catering (now renamed as the Higher Hotel Institute of Cyprus) and after a short time the Americanos College, the University of Cyprus (which replaced the Pedagogical Academy) and the P.A. College were added.