Elly Mackay
4 July 2023: The University of Canberra’s Indigenous UniSport Nationals team finished 21st at the event hosted by Monash University on Naarm Country from 26-30 June 2023.
The Indigenous Unisport Nationals, in its 27th year, saw fierce competition and wonderful camaraderie between the competing universities from across Australia.
The teams took part in a host of sporting disciplines including touch football, basketball, netball and volleyball. The competition aims to bring together Indigenous student athletes from around Australia and celebrate the rich sporting culture of Indigenous Australians.
This year, 33 teams participated in the 2023 competition across four days, with the University of Queensland taking the coveted top spot.
University of Canberra Associate Director of Sport James Erwin said it was pleasing to see a University of Canberra team compete in the competition after several years without one.
“It was wonderful to work closely with the Ngunnawal Centre to be able to send a team to this event in 2023,” Mr Erwin said. “The students represented themselves, their respective Mobs and the University to the utmost standard and displayed real sportsmanship throughout the tournament.”
The event, renowned for being a friendly competition, saw Team UC finish 14th in netball, 16th in touch football, 25th in basketball and 28th in volleyball.
“While the team competed really well throughout the week, I was most impressed with the mindset with which they entered the competition. There was a real focus on enjoying every aspect of the week, to connect with Mob from across Australia and celebrate their respective cultures. It was really pleasing to see sport used to build community, friendships and opportunities to truly connect,” Mr Erwin said.
This was emphasised by the various non-sporting events also on the schedule throughout the week for the athletes. Activities including a trivia night, celebration night, and opening and closing ceremonies were enjoyed by the over 500 students participating in the week-long event.
