As a student at UTS you have many opportunities to do sports - for example joining one or more of the several sports clubs offered by the UTS. Another possibility for students to do sports on a competitive level is the participation on the Australian Nationals. UTS sends many different teams (e.g. Football, European Handball, Athletics, Swimming, Australian Football) to this sports event.

What are the UniSport Nationals?

Once a year, students from 43 universities from all over Australia are coming to Gold Coast to compete head to head in 47 different sport competitions.

What to do to participate at Nationals? - Trial and preparation

Each team, which goes to the Nationals, offers one or more trials for players to show their capabilities on the field. The dates of the trials are published by UTS Sports on Facebook. You can then go to the UTS Sports office, which is located in Building 04 next to the gym and ask the people there. I was a member of the UTS Football Team, which was competing at the Nationals. Two days after I had completed the trial, my team manager called me and confirmed that I had made it to the team. If you do not make it to your favourite team, don’t be disappointed - go to another trial and try to get into another team.

Before your trip to the Gold Coast start, you have to do several payments for accommodation and Unisports registration (administration fees for the organisation of the tournament, insurance, etc.). The total costs are about $490. Included are 5 nights in an apartment complex at gold coast, a kit (shirt, shorts, socks, etc.) and several extras (e.g. physiotherapy). In my opinion, it is worth it to pay this amount of money because you will never forget the experiences you will make at the Nationals.

Of course, several training sessions and social events are also part of the preparation for the Nationals. And this is the actual thing about the Nationals. It is an excellent opportunity to make loads of new friends and to learn new aspects of a sport, which is possibly played differently in the country, where you are from.

On pitch – competition

This year, the Nationals lasted from 23rd until the 27th of September. The motivation within the team was amazing. Everyone was fighting for everyone. We wanted to go for gold because in this case, the team next year would have gone to China for an international tournament. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the final. For a moment, everyone was disappointed, but after a while, the motivation was back, and at least we finished third.

Off pitch – loads of friendships

As I mentioned before, the friendships you make at the Nationals are the most important thing. About 10,000 students are coming together for a sports competition. That means, a lot of fun besides the pitches.

Even though we only finished third, the experiences I have made while competing at the Nationals were memorable, and I would recommend everyone, who is interested in sports, to participate at the Nationals.

Cheers,

Felix