More than 260 student-athletes from 17 universities competed at the inaugural UniSport Australia (UniSport) Nationals Snow held at Mt Buller, Victoria between 28 August and 1 September in four sports: alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboard, and cross country skiing.

After winning seven gold, four silver, and four bronze, UNSW Sydney were eventually crowned the overall champion university, also taking out the men’s and women’s divisions.

Led by captains Zoe Spanos and Catherine Huynh, UNSW Sydney put forward a team across all four sports with notable performances by Bella Burns (Overall Female Alpine Champion), Kasha Wojcik (Overall Female Freestyle Champion) and Greg Whitehead (Overall Male Snowboard Champion).

UniSport Chief Executive Officer Don Knapp said: “It was great to see the event attracting some of Australia’s best athletes wearing the colours of their respective universities. Nationals enables Australia’s elite-student athletes to represent their university in a high profile and quality competition.”

Former Australian Uniroo and PyeongChang representative Callum Watson added to the gold medal tally for UNSW Sydney with a convincing performance in the men’s individual cross country event, winning the seven kilometre race in 20 minutes and four seconds.

UNSW Sydney Sports Development Coordinator (Intervarsity and Social Sport), Hagan Butler said: “Above all, our inclusive and supportive team culture is the reason for our success both on and off the slopes at these events.”

Strong performances in the women’s cross country events saw The University of Sydney, led by Australian Uniroo and biathlete Jillian Colebourn, claim two gold medals and inherit the Bob Lawton Perpetual Trophy off UNSW Sydney.

The Australian National University, led by captain Angus Anderson, claimed the Spirit of the Mountain award as a result of their impeccable display of sportsmanship and comradery throughout the week.

Nationals Snow forms part of the UniSport Nationals series, which incorporates several multi-sport events throughout the year, including the flagship Nationals Div 1 and 2, presented by UniBank.

Other notable elite student-athletes who took to the slopes of Mt Buller representing their university include Australia’s youngest ever winter Paralympian, Ben Tudhope (University of Technology Sydney), Olympians Anton Grimus (The University of Melbourne) and Harry Laidlaw (Victoria University) as well as national representatives Harvey Edmanson (RMIT), Zanna Farrell (Australian National University), Ella Jackson (La Trobe University) and Doug Crawford (Victoria University).

Event results can be found at unisport.com.au/nationals-snow.