University Of Canberra Opens Multi-use Community Sport Space
A brand new multi-use sporting facility opened at the University of Canberra today, providing staff, students, and members of the wider community free access to gym equipment and leisure courts.
The facility, which is located on Belconnen Walk between Telita Street and Aikman Drive, was delivered as part of the University’s wider Sport Strategy and Campus Master Plan.
“This space is connecting sport with our students and with the broader community,” said Carrie Graf, University of Canberra Director of Sport.
“This is an open, inclusive space that anyone can use at any time. You can kick a goal, you can shoot a hoop, and then there’s the gym equipment for people that want to workout outdoors.”
The space incorporates versatile outdoor gym equipment, with diagrams and QR codes that provide demonstrations of the relevant exercises.
It was built in a natural setting, surrounded by the University’s signature gum trees.
“The native trees have been left in place, and the colour scheme of the installation was designed to blend in with the environment,” Ms Graf said.
Traditional Ngunnawal language has been incorporated within the space – with the words Bidbi (jump), Yirambi (throw), and Yarrabi (go) – on display.
“That was an important part of making sure all of our spaces, but particularly our newer sport spaces, are really connected to Ngunnawal land,” Ms Graf said.
The space was officially opened with an event on campus today, which featured HIIT workouts, exercise demonstrations, three-on-three basketball, futsal, and pickleball games — and it’s already being widely utilised by students and the wider UC community alike.
Ms Graf said that while everyone is encouraged to utlise the space, students are expected to be the main users, given its close proximity to student accommodation.
“We’ll certainly have the UC Sport team here intermittently to run some activities and activations, but essentially it’s a free space to come to — grab a ball from your room or the sport office and make your own fun,” she said.
The space is the first in a series of developments aimed at making the Belconnen Walk space more user-friendly, and to encourage walking transit between the campus and the wider Belconnen area.
Soon to be renamed ‘Belconnen Boulevard’, the path will formalise the existing links to the Belconnen Town Centre, while also providing an urban feel and connections to other parts of the campus.