AUS stages Record Breaking University Games

Students from the Victoria University and La Trobe University playing Australian Rules Football on day 2 of the Games (photo: Paul Merrett)

A record of 7,003 students from 44 different universities have participated in the 2009 Australian University Games (AUG), which successfully concluded October 2nd with participants saying it has been the best Games ever.

The CEO of Australian University Sport (AUS), Mr Don Knapp, said feedback has been wonderful and the AUG attracts top athletes.

‘Especially in swimming, athletics, basketball and volleyball the competition has been very hard and the level of talent very high’, Mr Knapp said.

Mr Knapp also thinks the record of 7,003 participants may be because of the ‘Gold Coast factor’.

‘The Gold Coast has word-class sporting facilities and is prefect for breaking records’, Mr Knapp said. ‘The number of students participating in the social aspects has been lower than expected, so that might indicate most students are here to compete in sport’, he said.

Monash University won the 2009 AUG Overall Champion title with 1,050 points. The Doug Ellis (per capita) Trophy was won by Bond University. The John White Trophy was awarded to the University of Queensland for the best spirit of the Games.

Project manager for AUG, Mr Wes Grant, said overall it had been a fantastic week. ‘Everything has been fantastic, the weather, the venues, the local people and the participants’, he said.

Mr Grant has only received positive feedback on the Games. ‘It’s great that they had such a good time, especially since it is for the students that we put the event on’, he said.

Mr Grant said the volunteers also had an amazing time. ‘We even had volunteers asking us to put their name down for volunteering in 2011, when the Games returns the Gold Coast’, he said.

Mr Knapp wanted to say his thanks to the people who he thinks deserve credit for the success of the 2009 AUG. ‘I’m proud of the AUS and AUG staff, they’ve worked very hard on this event’, Mr Knapp said. He also pointed out that the program has been so full that some sports had to start earlier than first planned. ‘But, that is a luxury problem though’, Mr Knapp said.

The National Talent Identification and Development (NTID) program has been testing AUG athletes to see if any of them have what it takes to be Australia’s next sporting star.

Mr Knapp said NTID has tested a couple of hundred athletes. ‘The testing is an extra something for the Games, it’s been great’, Mr Knapp added. He also said they are now doing research to determine why the Games was such a success this year in all aspects. ‘Clearly we want to better understand what is driving the participants number so strongly so we can maintain it’, Mr Knapp explained.

Mr Knapp added that the weather has been sensational, with blue skies and sun, making the Games better than ever.

For a full summary of results in each of the 29 sports visit www.unigames.com.au.

Duar Yoa of the University of Ballarat taking gold in the men’s 5,000 metre final. Hintsa Mebrahtu of Griffith University finished second (photo: Greg Young)

Sisi Zhang from the University of Sydney winning the gold medal in the women’s singles competition (photo: Ales Rakovsky)

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