Vanessa Lam
Commencing Faculty of Health students took part in the first-ever Sports Day as part of Orientation Week, to get to know the faculty and kick off the start of semester.
More than 70 students competed in teams to complete a range of activities including paper plane throwing, basketball, volleyball, soccer, a three-legged obstacle course, a water bucket relay and water balloon catching.
Dean of the Faculty of Health Diane Gibson said the idea of the Sports Day was inspired by the faculty's commitment to enhancing the student experience, as well as giving students the opportunity to meet other students and staff from outside of their discipline.
"The Faculty of Health has many different disciplines and in the real world health professionals from these disciplines work together to provide support to individuals and the community. This event aimed to make students aware from year one of other disciplines that contribute to health service provision,"
Professor Gibson said.
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Health students competing in the rugby activity as a part of the Sports Day. Photo: Vanessa Lam
The students were from a number of different courses such as sport and exercise science, nutrition and dietetics, nursing, psychology and physiotherapy.
Head of sport and exercise science Nick Ball said that events such as this are important for students because it helps them build new friendships and connections for the future.
"When students start university it's a scary experience, especially if you're not from Canberra, so we hope events like these will help them feel more part of the faculty and the UC community and help with the settling-in process. This in turn, we believe, will help them enjoy their university experience even more," Dr Ball said.
"Sport and games I believe connect a lot of people through playing or watching, which is why we decided on a sports event. I also think adding a little competitive element to the Sports Day ensured that everyone enjoyed it and made for some friendly banter."
Dr Ball hopes that the faculty will be able to hold more sports days in the future.
"Due to the success of the event we may even start running these more regularly throughout the year as we know physical activity helps to relieve stress and improve mental health."
Students who took part said that they enjoyed the day and described it as a fun way to start university.
