Students of the University of Warsaw can develop their passions through membership in various sports and cultural organisations. They might join various sections of the University’s AZS UW club, as well as the University of Warsaw Dance Theatre “Warszawianka”, the “Hybrydy” Theatre or the UW Choir.
UW students can develop their sporting skills in the sections of the UW’s Academic Sports Association (AZS), including:
- team sports (futsal, basketball, handball and football, volleyball),
- water sports (swimming, rowing and sailing),
- winter sports (skiing, snowboarding),
- martial arts (aikido, karate, krav maga),
- athletics, aerobics, badminton, cross-country running, rowing ergometer, equestrianism, mountain biking, dance, tennis and table tennis, power triathlon, climbing, as well as bridge and chess.
These teams not only represent the university in prestigious competitions, such as the Polish Academic Championships or the Academic Championships of Warsaw and Mazovia, but above all form a community of people united by a common passion for sport.
In addition to academic sections, AZS UW also leads competitive sections, whose players participate in national league competitions; for example, the UW WaterPolo team is the current Polish champion in water polo, and the UW AZS Futsal team participates in the Premier League (more information available on the AZS UW website).
The university club also offers PE classes and OGUNs (open-access subjects), which not only enable students to pass the required subjects, but also allow them to develop in new sports such as krav maga, snowboarding or self-defence. Students who have already passed all semesters of PE can also take part in the classes. A full list of PE and OGUN classes can be found on the AZS UW website.
The Academic Sports Association (PL: Akademicki Związek Sportowy; AZS) is the largest sports association in Poland with over 40,000 members. The AZS is part of the International University Sports Federation (FR: Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire; FISU) and the European University Sports Association (EUSA). One of the pillars of the AZS’s activities has been the Polish Academic Championships, which have been organised for over fifty years.
Since 2017, Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak, the Rector of the University of Warsaw, has been the President of the Academic Sports Association.
The members of the AZS work together to develop academic and recreational sport and organise various sporting and promotional events. To join the organisation and receive an invitation to an information meeting, fill in the admission form.
The official website of the AZS UW is available at https://azs.uw.edu.pl/.
Students who are vocally talented can join the University of Warsaw Choir, and those who want to develop on stage can get involved in the “Hrybrydy” Theatre or the University of Warsaw Dance Theatre “Warszawianka”.
The University of Warsaw Choir was founded in 1921. It is one of the oldest academic choirs in Poland. Over the years of its activity, the ensemble has developed under the direction of outstanding musicians and teachers, including Piotr Maszyński, Prof. Zbigniew Soja, and Prof. Mirosław Perz. It was in the UW choir that the great tenor, Jan Kiepura, or, one of the most outstanding Polish singers, Prof. Jadwiga Rappé, began their careers.
The choir’s repertoire includes a cappella music from various periods, from the Renaissance to contemporary classical, folk and pop music, as well as large-scale vocal and instrumental forms. The choir’s output includes such works as the funeral masses by Giuseppe Verdi and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven, oratorio Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn and Mass in B minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as the masterpiece of a cappella choral music – All Night Vigil by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
The official website of the University of Warsaw Choir can be found at: https://chor.uw.edu.pl/.
The University of Warsaw Dance Theatre “Warszawianka” is a representative folklore group of the University of Warsaw consisting of over 200 students, graduates and pupils of Warsaw schools who are dancing, singing and playing instruments. The group is one of the most active members of the Association – Polish Section of the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Art (PS CIOFF®).
In its repertoire, “Warszawianka” has various types of programmes: national dances; stage paintings from various regions of the country based on Polish customs and rituals; shows related to almost every national tradition and theme. It also creates educational programmes for schoolchildren and a wide offer with Warsaw traditions, as reflected in stage pictures from the period of the Duchy of Warsaw and interwar Warsaw.
“Warszawianka” organises many thematic, occasional and charity events and concerts. The ensemble has repeatedly taken part in prestigious national and international events.
The official website of the UW Dance Theatre “Warszawianka” can be found at http://warszawianka.uw.edu.pl/.
The “Hybrydy” Theatre is one of the oldest symbols of student culture in Poland. It consists of students, doctoral candidates, employees and graduates of the UW and other higher education institutions, including art schools. The theatre organises workshops and meetings with many interesting people from the world of culture and art, and collaborates with popular and renowned artists.
The “Hybrydy” Theatre prepares and stages theatre performances, concerts, cabarets, as well as musicals and recitals. The premiere of Zbigniew Herbert’s play “The Other Room” (PL: Drugi pokój) took place on 24th May.
During the academic year, UW students and doctoral candidates can improve their acting, vocal and movement skills under the supervision of experienced and qualified artists, directors, vocal instructors, choreographers and musicians as part of the open-access subject “Teatr” (EN: Theatre). The subject concludes in the staging of at least one project in front of an audience or camera and a pass mark. The preliminaries for the Theatre as well as the group within OGUN (open-access subject) are traditionally held in late September/early October.
The official website of the “Hybrydy” Theatre can be found at https://teatr.uw.edu.pl/.
