Canberra Hosts UniSport Nationals, Putting Student-Athletes in the Spotlight
Over the past week, Canberra was the country’s sporting capital, as over 6,000 student-athletes from universities across Australia competed in more than 30 sports at the 2024 UniSport Nationals.
The annual flagship event of the UniSport calendar was last hosted in Canberra in 1996, almost 30 years ago.
“We are incredibly fortunate to host the 2024 UniSport Nationals in Canberra, a city known for its vibrant community, rich culture, and love of sports,” said Mark Sinderberry, CEO of UniSport Australia.
“Sport is more than just physical activity – it’s a powerful force for health and well-being. Engaging in sports fosters not only physical fitness, but mental wellness too.”
There were multiple highlights throughout the week-long festivities, with the University of Canberra picking up medals in mixed netball and cycling, as well as producing stellar individual results in judo.
“It was great to have Nationals in our city again, and it was an incredible opportunity for UC student-athletes to showcase their skill in front of their home supporters.” said Melinda Green, Team Leader for Sport at the University.
“Sport is at the heart of UC. This year, we had our biggest athlete delegation and covered more sports than ever before. All of our athletes displayed their immense athletic abilities and represented our University with pride throughout the competitions.”
First-time Nationals participant and Sports and Exercise Science student Derek Emelifeonwu, who represented the University in basketball, relished the opportunity to play against fellow student-athletes from other universities.
“It’s a really good experience on and off the court because you get to meet your peers from other states – and also personally, I’ve competed against players from other universities in juniors and other competitions, so it’s given me a chance to also catch up with them a little bit,” he said.
Mr Emelifeonwu, who also plays NBL1 for the Canberra Gunners, noted the high level of competition across the basketball tournament and is looking forward to competing in more Nationals in coming years.
“The competition is great, the pace of the games have been really fast, you play against different playing styles and strategies, and there’s so much talent coming from interstate,” he said.
“Given the chance, I’d love to do this again next year, in a different city. There’s nothing better than playing the sport that you love with your friends, having fun, and representing your school.”