Happy International Day of University Sport! To celebrate the day, we are looking back at some of our favourite moments from the last 12 months:
UniSA winning gold and silver in the UniSport Australia Online Cycle Series
In May and June of this year, UniSport Australia held an Online Cycle Series after their in-person events got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students, staff and alumni from around the country virtually raced each other on the Zwift platform. Team UniSA was hugely successful, earning an overall gold medal in the men's competition and a silver in the women's. Those results were largely thanks to the efforts of UniSA students Chelsea Holmes, who won the individual female student gold medal and Callum Pearce, who won the male student bronze medal, and UniSA staff member Diana Hodge, who earned the female staff/alumni gold medal.
UniSA dominating SA Challenge badminton
When UniSA competed in the badminton leg of the SA Challenge, they not only won but took out the top four places! UniSA finished first, second, third and fourth out of the eight teams when playing against Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and Torrens University. It was the third year in a row that UniSA has won the SA Challenge badminton tournament.
Our women's volleyball team earning two medals in 2020
At both UniSport Nationals Div 1 and 2 in 2019, our women's volleyball team left the Gold Coast with medals. After earning silver in the Div 2 competition in July and qualifying for Div 1 later in the year, they once again made the grand final and fell just short of gold in an epic five-set match at the start of October. At the 2019 UniSA Sport Awards Night, the volleyballers were crowned Team of the Year for their efforts.
Seeing so many Paid Play participants on the upgraded Pridham Hall courts
In early 2020, the floor of the Pridham Hall courts were upgraded. The finished product looks outstanding, performs even better and is hugely popular with students and the general public who play social badminton and basketball with their friends each day as part of Paid Play. Since re-opening the courts in July, UniSA Sport has had over 2600 people participate in Paid Play, approximately 1000 participants a month.
UniSA Motorsport being crowned the Club of the Year
Last December, one of our newest UniSA Sport clubs was crowned the Club of the Year at our annual Awards Night. The Motorsport Club earned the award after transitioning from an internal combustion car to a greener electric car in 2019, which they raced in the Formula SAE-A competition. Winning the award was all the more impressive given all UniSA Sport clubs have achieved a lot in the past 12 months, as you might have seen in our #TeamUniSA profile series.
We want you to get involved in IDUS too! Comment on our socials with your favourite university sport moment, or even just how you are involved in uni sport.
^^Photos from left to right: Women's volleyball team with their silver medals, Paid Play participants, Chelsea Holmes competing in the Online Cycle Series, the UniSA Motorsport Club and the winning SA Challenge badminton team.