A group of nations came together on the 1st of December for the Battle of the Nations at Victoriastadion to compete in games of soccer, floorball and volleyball.
The competition was tough, and Malmö Nation won at the end of the day.
At 4pm, the bell goes off and the soccer game between Västgöta Nation and Östgöta Nation begins.
Filipe Vaz, a Portuguese exchange student, scores the first goal for Västgöta, marking the beginning of a tough and fast-paced competition. Östgöta scores next after 20 minutes and quickly after 5 minutes did Västgota triumph in the end with Dario Neves, another Portuguese exchange student, scoring the final goal.
Over the years as the tournament has been running, what remains the same is the thrill of competition. The stadium is filled with cheers and jeers during games – such as Malmö nation players shouting “Döda ÖGs!” when their game got intense, or the occasionally controversial referee calls that created a bit of fuss between the nations.
Competition throughout the day was tight, but Malmö Nation triumphed at the end of the day after proving successors of most of their matches.
However, what was different this year was the move towards a friendlier and fun-natured competition. There were no visible scoreboards or a call on the final point allocation at the end of every game. Players shook hands at the end of most games and people were mingling between the Nation members.
“I think the main point is having fun and talking to the people from the nation. But of course, I like the competition and to beat the other nations in order to put Västgöta nation at the top,” says Dario Neves.
The games were shorter in time than standard professional games but were several, and even the floorball matches consisted of smaller areas which allowed many games to occur simultaneously. This encouraged all players to get involved and try out the new sports.
“I really enjoyed the fact that I could try floorball- it was my first time ever,” said Filipe Vaz.
As for every tournament, months of prior training commonly take place. However, when asked about their training schedule and preparations, teammates Dario Neves and Filipe Vaz confessed that there were not any specific routines.
“We just had to come up with a strategy before the matches. But then again, the main point today, was to have fun, which we did,” says Filipe Vaz.
Nationsmästerskapen has been a long standing annual tradition at Lunds Universitet and support from the student body will see that this tradition continues.
“They should definitely continue these games and more often. I consider these kind of initiatives important, since first it is good for the people’s health and secondly you get to know new people and have a lot of fun,” says Dario Neves.
