The Battle of the Student Bodies heats up: The EUC is not for the Faint of Heart!
Every year during the traditional Ice-Hockey Uni-Cup (EUC) the student bodies of the faculties electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and medicine compete fiercely on the ice, offering the around 3’000 spectators in the 100,5 Arena an ice cold spectacle. The event with cult status is celebrating a big anniversary this year, being the 30th time that the RWTH University Sports Center (HSZ) has held the event.
On December 7, the Aachen Steelers (Mechanical Engineering), the ET-Lions (Electrical Engineering) and the Medical Strikers (Medicine) will take to the ice and rock the Tivoli ice hockey stadium. To defend the title and with it the ThyssenKrupp-Trophy, the Aachen Steelers will again have to overcome the ET-Lions and the Medical Strikers, which won’t be easy, as the trophy is enviously coveted by the other student bodies.
The teams already began their preparations in early November, seeking to improve their ice skating abilities and handling of the puck in training. In early December we’ll find out for whom the training will have paid off the most. The tickets for this derby, which in the past few decades has gained cult status among students in Aachen, were sold out within minutes, as prospective spectators know what a unique program and atmosphere the EUC has. As is tradition, the event will this year again be opened by the Ice-Hockey team of RWTH Aachen, the Ice-Emperors RWTH/FH Aachen, who will this year be competing against the Icehawks Eindhoven of the University of Eindhoven.
However, the students and professors, who, on the coming Thursday, December 7, will try to assert themselves on the ice, are not professionals. Fun has definitely got the highest priority during the event. This fun-factor will be guaranteed by the costumes that the players will wear. Every year the student bodies think up themes for their athletes, which are always closely guarded secrets until the start of the event.
The mixed cheerleader groups of the faculties, whose costumes also reflect the chosen themes of the teams, will be a particular feast for the eyes during the breaks, where they will keep the audience excited and entertained, preparing them to again give their all in cheering their their chosen team during the next period of play.
The event won’t end with the whistle, however, as the party will go one and the victor celebrated in the “Starfish”. Thanks to the ASEAG, a bus-shuttle-service will be running between Bushof, ice hall and disco for the duration of the night.
The Ice-Hockey Uni-Cup is not only about fun and games, though. The event has supported people in need from the very beginning with generous donations. For years now it has supported, with part of its proceeds, the organization “Right to Play”, which aims to give children threatened by war, disease and poverty access to sport. Additionally the EUC financially supports the adventure-playground “Zum Kirschbäumchen” of the Kinderschutzbund Aachen.