Citizens and tourists take pictures in front of a sculpture in the shape of the logo of the 26th Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, a city of south China's Guangdong Province, on Aug. 20, 2011. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- "Olympic Games Standard, fantastic experience, lifetime memory," heads of delegations gave high praises to the ongoing Shenzhen Summer Universiade on Sunday.
At the news conference held on Sunday, heads or media directors of delegations from Slovenia, the Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and Brazil shared their experiences in Shenzhen during the Universiade.
"I have been in Shenzhen for 19 days, and there were lots of amazing experiences," said Graeme Maw, head of the UK delegation, adding that besides eating in the five-star hotel, he also went out to eat in open courts, in which he met lots of ordinary Chinese people.
Maw said that among all the experiences, what he cherished most is the friendship that he established with the Chinese drivers who have been accompanying with the delegation.
"We had lots of happy times with laughing, although he could not speak English, and I barely speak Chinese," Maw said. "I think that's the best illustration of a successful universiade that goes beyond languages and sports."
Martin Roberks, head of Austrailan delegation, said they have been taking care of in nearly every aspect since arriving at Shenzhen. He felt the most important thing over the past few days were the personal communications that not only exist between the delegation members and the organizing committee and volunteers, but also ordinary Chinese people.
"Our athletes often told me that when they were walking on the road, local people would come and talk to them friendly, asking for taking pictures together or handing in cold drinks to help them cool down in hot weather. All these have made us feel good," He said.
"I have been to three Olympic Games, sometimes as athlete, and sometimes as head of delegation. I would say that the success of the organization, the high quality of facilities and the services here are all Olympic standards."
Peter Baxter from Canada said that the country has sent its largest delegation in history to the Universaide, expecting to meet unprecedented difficulties. But things turned out to be fine.
"Every problem we met was solved quickly, in an effective and good way." he said.
The Brazilian delegation said they had come not only for competing, but also for learning Shenzhen's experience of hosting international event, as Brazil is going to host the FIFA World Cup in 2014, the Olympic Games in 2016 and the Universiade in 2017.
"We have learned a lot from Shenzhen. We were impressed by the volunteers, the facilities and the services. The experience is just unforgettable."
When asked to use only one sentence to summarize the impression of the Universiade, Gary Cunningham from the United States said, "Special games, special meaning and lifetime memories."
The 26th Summer Universiade officially opened here on Aug. 12 and will conclude on Aug. 23.
By Sportswriter Ma Xiaocheng
