This year, UniCamillus University hosted the customary official awards ceremony for the 2025/2026 Rome University Championships, an event that has become a key event in the Rome’s university sporting calendar, celebrating the athletes, teams, managers and institutions involved in a season marked by high participation and growth.
The evening was attended by a panel of leading institutional and sports representatives, including Marco Parlanti (Spokesperson for the University of Rome Sports Coordination), Paolo Anedda (Vice-President of CONI Lazio), Svetlana Celli (President of the Capitoline Assembly – Municipality of Rome), Simone Foglio (President of Lazio DiSCo), Damiano Lembo (President of US ACLI Italia) and Giampaolo Morsa (Head of Football at AICS Lazio).
Among the opening institutional addresses, Professor Barbara Tavazzi, Head of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at UniCamillus, delivered the welcome address on behalf of the host university, emphasising the educational value of university sport.
Institutional acknowledgements and special awards
Svetlana Celli, President of the Capitoline Assembly, and Simone Foglio, President of Lazio DiSCo, were awarded the ‘20th Anniversary Trophy’–a prize celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Rome University Championships–for promoting the development and continuity of the Rome university sports community.
Other special awards presented during the evening were given to Daniele Masala, Olympic modern pentathlon champion and UniCamillus Rector’s Delegate for Sporting Activities, and to student-athlete Rebecca Scagnetto (Campus Bio-Medico), a star performer at the World University Championships with a gold medal in the mixed 4×50-metre relay and two bronze medals in the 200- and 400-metre finswimming events.
Institutions and the university sports community
During the event, special thanks were extended to the universities and university representatives that make up the Rome Universities Sports Coordination Committee, the organisational hub of the championships, with the participation of the main universities in Rome and international institutions in the area.
A part of the ceremony was also dedicated to the match officials of the Rome University Championships finals, with recognition given to the referees involved in the football and five-a-side football matches and thanks to the referee coordinators for their coordination work in support of the event.
Championships and Participation
The second part of the evening was devoted to the official award ceremonies for the following sports: football, men’s and women’s five-a-side football, mixed volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, tennis and padel. Trophies were presented to the winning teams in the Champions League and Europa League categories, and awards were given to the best athletes, top scorers, goalkeepers and coaches.
Among the leading universities were UniCamillus – Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, which hosted the event, alongside Sapienza University of Rome, Roma Tre University, LUISS Guido Carli, Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta (LUMSA), Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, European University of Rome, University of International Studies in Rome (UNINT), Link University, University of Rome Foro Italico, John Cabot University and The American University of Rome.
Alongside the academic institutions, representative and mixed teams also took part in the tournament, such as ERA Erasmus, Rome City, Rome City A, Rome City B, Link Erasmus and Educatt Cattolica, thereby enhancing the competitive level of the tournament and encouraging the participation of students from a variety of academic and international backgrounds.
UniCamillus at the awards ceremonies
During the awards ceremonies for the Rome University Championships, UniCamillus participated in several official competitions. In the 20th Football Championship, the University finished third in both the Europa League and the Champions League. In the 10th Men’s five-a-side football Championship, UniCamillus finished second in the Europa League. In the 4th Men’s Basketball Championship, the University took first place in the Europa League, establishing itself at the top of its category. In the 13th Mixed Volleyball Championship, the University was recognised through individual honours for the best player, Saul Giovanni Orsini, and the presence on the coaching staff of coach Emanuela Todini, in addition to the 2nd place secured in the Champions League, demonstrating the University’s strong involvement within the Rome university sports circuit.
A shared model of University Sport
This event has once again confirmed the central role of sport as a means of bringing people together, fostering inclusion and promoting personal growth within the university community in Rome, with the support of sporting and local authorities, including CONI Lazio and the City of Rome.
“Sport at university is not a secondary activity: it is a learning experience for life,” emphasised Gianni Profita, Rector of UniCamillus. “Here, you learn to compete without losing respect, to fall and get back up without losing your direction, and to win without forgetting others. Seeing our students on the pitch, wearing the University colours and with eyes full of energy, confirms that education comes not only from books, but also from the character we build together. And this, for a university, is a source of true pride”.
The ceremony concluded with a strong turnout and the organisers’ shared hope to continue developing the Rome university sports community, strengthening collaboration between universities, institutions and federations.
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