The gold, silver and bronze medals as well as associated presentation materials for the upcoming 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade, the largest sporting event ever staged in Taiwan, were unveiled July 31 in Taipei City.
 
Created by award-winning local designers Chen Jun-liang and Huang Pao-chin, the medals as well as boxes, ribbons and trays all feature traditional Chinese characters for the first time in Universiade history, according to the Taipei Universiade Organizing Committee.
 
Jeng Fang-fann, commissioner of Taipei City Government’s Department of Sports, said that the design and selected materials incorporate features from Taiwan and East Asia, highlighting the skill of Taiwan’s artisans.
 
On the medals themselves, the strokes that make up the Chinese character for the Taipei Universiade are elongated, symbolizing young athletes’ lifelong pursuit of excellence, the designers said. The reverse features the words “2017 Taipei Universiade” in English and traditional Chinese characters encircled by the disassembled components of the event’s logo, a metaphor for cohesiveness and sportsmanship, they added.
 
The ribbons attached to the awards are yellow, blue and green for gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively. Red ribbons are fastened to medals for billiards, the demonstration sport for this year’s Universiade.
 
Bamboo was used to craft the boxes for the medals as well as the trays that will be used to carry them to the podium. According to the designers, the grain of the wood and upturned edges of the trays signify the spirit of advancement and pursuit of excellence.
 
In addition, TUOC also revealed bouquets featuring locally grown orchids and limited-edition dolls of Bravo, the Universiade mascot, which will be presented to winners in the collegiate sporting event.
 
Also known as the World University Games, the Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival staged every two years in a different city worldwide.
 
The 29th Universiade in Taipei involves 7,639 student athletes from 131 countries contesting 21 sports at 38 competition venues in Taipei, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, New Taipei and Taoyuan cities, according to the latest official announcement of TUOC July 31. (CPY-E)