Monash University hosts the 2023 Indigenous Nationals

This June Monash University will proudly host the 27th Indigenous Nationals event at Monash University Clayton Campus.

The annual event will bring together student-athletes from universities across Australia to compete in a variety of sports and crown one university team as the champion of the games. Indigenous Nationals provides a platform to not only celebrate the rich sporting culture of Indigenous Australia but to also acknowledge the heritage and histories of the participating student-athletes.

This year, Monash University will welcome more than 500 Indigenous student participants from 33 Australian Universities to Monash University’s Clayton Campus in Naarm, for what will be the biggest Indigenous Nationals event to date.

The National Indigenous Tertiary Education Student Games began in 1996 at the then Wollotuka School for Aboriginal Studies, The University of Newcastle. Now referred to as Indigenous Nationals, the event is a week-long multi-sport competition for Indigenous student-athletes managed by UniSport Australia.

This year, students will take part in Basketball, Netball, Touch Football and Volleyball at Monash Sport, Clayton Campus. As Australia’s largest University, Monash University leads a track record of delivering quality sporting and cultural events.

Alongside Monash Sport’s range of world-class, competition-standard sporting facilities, the William Cooper Institute of Monash University will play a key role in the delivery of this event.

“We are extremely excited to be hosting the Indigenous Nationals – the first time the Nationals have been here at Monash University. The William Cooper Institute led the design of the program to ensure the appropriate cultural overlay which will support the delivery of this event that recognises and respects local Traditional Owners,” said Jamil Tye, Director of the William Cooper Institute and a proud Yorta Yorta and Boon Wurruung man.

Clayton Campus is situated in Naarm, located 20 kilometres southeast of Melbourne’s CBD. The campus offers a rich array of sporting, cultural, and educational events and facilities, and has a proud record of achievement in fostering collaborative research projects.

Cameron James, proud Boandik man, Monash University student participant and 2023 Co-Team Manager, said the event will be a vibrant gathering of Culture, Sport, as well as the sharing of histories and a celebration of mob coming together.

“Indigenous Nationals is a culturally vibrant, competitive environment that allows mob from universities all over Australia to come together. It’s electric, welcoming and full of joy. With a little bit of competitive spirit thrown into the mix, everyone is just trying to meet other mob. In a sporting environment, it makes it very easy to connect and chat. This is why my favourite aspect of the games is the social part that occurs in and around the day’s events. It’s the incidental interactions that build the best friendships and I definitely found that in Brisbane last year and hope the same environment can be found at Monash this year,” said Cameron James.

Professor Sharon Pickering, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Senior Vice-President (Education) Monash University, said the university values the opportunity to celebrate the rich sporting culture of Indigenous Australians, and will commit fully to realising the immense potential of this significant event.

“Monash is incredibly proud of its contributions to the advancement and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities both in Victoria and across the nation. With over 50 years of Indigenous programs and engagement – the university with the longest history of engagement in Indigenous education in Australia – Monash has played a significant role in initiating change.

While we are justifiably proud of our contribution, we acknowledge that there is more we can and will do to ensure Monash provides a transformative educational experience for our First Nations students. The privilege of hosting the 2023 Indigenous Nationals and thereby bringing together student-athletes from universities across Australia represents such an experience,” said Professor Pickering.