I’ve nearly been in the role for 100 days now and I am really enjoying getting to understand the dynamic nature of university sport.

So far, I have managed to visit 28 of our 43 member universities and aim to get to all of you over the next three months. These visits have been a great way to see your campuses and facilities and I have greatly appreciated the feedback and thoughts about the role Unisport needs to play to support all members.

There is extremely strong support for the change in direction of Uniport’s event model and delivery program – acknowledging that there have been challenges along the way – collectively we are on the right track. Members are also consistent in their views that students are seeking opportunities for informal networking opportunities whilst at the Nationals and Div 1 and Div 2.

The work Unisport Australia has done to align itself with many of the National Sporting Organisations is important and driving value at the international level, the challenge remains to identify which sports should continue to form part of the multi -sport experience, which sports are better positioned as stand-alone national events and which sports evolve into national leagues.

The most important message however has been that UniSport Australia needs to continually find ways to drive value to our members. We will take a much bigger role as advocates, provide members with more support in promoting the value of sport within the broader university and promote the value our student/athletes.

I had the great pleasure of presenting Laura Waldie the award for Female athlete of the year. Laura is a 3rd year Dentistry student at Griffith University and a wonderful example of a healthy, active, engaged and well -rounded student/athlete that are such valuable members of University life.

I have very much valued your warm welcome and encourage you to keep giving us feedback and suggestions. With the engagement and commitment from such a strong network of members our future is looking bright.

Here’s to a great year of university sport.

Mark