Hlavní stránka Info portálu ZČU

Alexandra Halounová, Sandra Halounová, Šárka Kapusniaková, Nikola Melicharová, Petra Vitáková. The names of these five students appeared on the roster of the UNIS Scholarship Program of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, and the sports center VICTORIA VSC. The program supports successful student athletes from the University of West Bohemia, providing them with regular scholarships and professional care.

UNIS has been assisting in balancing both academic and athletic careers since 2020, and the University of West Bohemia has been part of it from the beginning. The list of supported athletes is regularly updated, celebrating their achievements on the sports fields, in pools, on slopes or tracks, as well as in classrooms.

Currently, UNIS is utilized by a total of 26 universities. The University of West Bohemia's lineup for 2024 consists of 17 members, a decrease of two from last year, as the Ministry of Education reduced the project's funding.

Applicants for the program submitted their applications since last November. The five athletes made it to the list based on their performances from last year or the year before.

Hockey players Alexandra and Sandra Halounová are sisters, twins. The former studies political science at the Faculty of Philosophy, while the latter studies law and legal science at the Faculty of Law. They contributed to HC Berounské Lvice winning the Women's 1st League title in 2022, and last year, they triumphed in the Women's Extraliga with HC Příbram.

Handball player Šárka Kapusniaková studies marketing management at the Faculty of Economics. She plays for Házená Kynžvart, which reached the EHF Cup eighth-finals last year and also reached the semifinals of the Czech Women's Cup. She represented the national team at the last Junior European Championship in Romania, finishing 12th.

Nikola Melicharová, also a handball player, studies emergency medical services at the Faculty of Health Sciences. She contributed to the 11th place at the Junior World Championship in Slovenia in 2022, and in the domestic MOL League in 2022, she secured the 2nd place with the DHC Plzeň team.

Cross-country skier Petra Vitáková studies business economics and management at the Faculty of Economics. She won 1st place in the classic and freestyle sprints and secured 3rd place in the 10 km freestyle at the Czech Cross-Country Skiing Championship in 2023. She also performed well at the Academic Czech Cross-Country Skiing Championship, winning the 10 km and finishing 2nd in the 5 km freestyle.

By joining UNIS, these students join the company of athletes such as Paralympian Vendula Dušková, shooter Helena Klailová, athlete Linda Suchá, cyclist Adéla Holubová, and others. Marie Horáčková, former archery world champion, was a UNIS member until last year when she turned 26, the age limit for the program. However, she continues to be supported beyond the UNIS quota by the VICTORIA VSC sports center, as she is still a student of the Faculty of Education.

The amount of the scholarship, to which UNIS members are entitled, is graduated according to their performance into five performance categories – from CZK 15,000 for category A to CZK 5,000 in category E. At the University of West Bohemia, the project is coordinated by the Physical Education and Sports Center of the Faculty of Education.

All necessary information about the UNIS scholarship program is available on the Sport at UWB website.

We thank the athletes from the University of West Bohemia for their excellent representation of the university and wish them the best results!