The 2018 summer will be an unforgettable one for Marymount University men's volleyball senior Alex Tresser, traveling to São Paulo, Brazil from July 20 to July 29 to compete in the FISU America Games with the USA Team in men's volleyball.
He is the only Division III athlete on the team, and furthermore, just one of a handful of Division III athletes competing in the eight different sports that the USA has representation in. With this being a trip that one person can't forget, the Marymount athletic communications department will be handing over the reins over the athletic Instagram account through his entire trip to give us all a taste of Brazil and the FISA America Games.
Below you will find more detail of the games, how to watch Alex and the USA Team compete live, along with a schedule.
What is USA Team?
USA Team is an organization overseen by the United States International University Sports Federation (US- ISUF). Members of the USA Team compete globally as representatives of the United States in university-level sports competitions organized by FISU, the governing body of university sport worldwide. Together with the USA Team, US-IUSF represents the official governing body for the United States at all FISU events, including the World University Games, the World University Championships, and FISU America Games.
The distinction between Team USA and USA Team is important. Team USA is a trademarked name for representatives associated with the U.S. Olympic Committee. USA Team is the trademarked name for representatives associated with US-ISUF.
What are the FISU America Games?
The FISU America Games are a multi-sport event sanctioned by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). Alternating with the Summer and Winter Universiades, which invite all the countries of the world for the biennial events, the FISU America Games are a regional multi-sport event similar to the Pan-American Games for FISU member-countries of North and South America held in even-numbered years.
The 2018 Games will be the inaugural FISU America Games held in São Paulo, Brazil, July 20-29, 2018. All sports except soccer and futsal will be played at the newly-constructed Brazilian Paralympic Center. Find more information on the competition venues at the FISU America Games here. The event will be hosted by the Brazilian Federation (CBDU).
What sports will USA Team have representation in?
USA Team will have representation in men's and women's track and field (athletics), men's and women's basketball, men's soccer (football), judo, and men's and women's volleyball. In total, the U.S. will be sending 96 student-athletes and a total delegation of 138 Americans.
Additional sports that the U.S. does not have representation in includes futsal, women's soccer (football), swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, Paralympic swimming, Paralympic table tennis, and Paralympic track and field (athletics).
Can the events be viewed anywhere?
CBDU is hosting the event and has informed us that they will be streaming select events on their Facebook page, here. CBDU has stated there will be four live feeds and 8 hours per day of coverage. Most of this will be team sports, but additional competitions and stories may be streamed.
Schedule of Events
The Opening Ceremony will take place Friday, July 20 at 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT). The Closing Ceremony will take place Sunday, July 29 at 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT). For team sports, countries were drawn into pools, which will play round robin. The top two teams from each group will advance in to the knockout round of competition. Every team is guaranteed at least four matches.
| Pool A | Pool B |
| Brazil | Argentina |
| USA | Colombia |
| Chile | Canada |
| Mexico |
For the full schedule and time for when Alex plays throughout the FISU America Games, please click here.
STORY COURTESY OF MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION