UniSport Australia Awards
​UniSport Australia Sports Awards follow a long tradition of recognising the success of Australian students, student-athletes and university sport programs. This year the below categories will be contested with award winners being recognised at the 2025 UniSport National Conference at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Adelaide on Tuesday 20 May.
-
Most outstanding performance by a student-athlete with a disability
-
Most outstanding performance by an Indigenous student-athlete
-
Most outstanding sporting achievement by a student-athlete
-
Student-athlete of the year
-
Most outstanding university sport project/program
-
Most outstanding contribution by a student volunteer
-
Club leadership award
-
Official of the year
-
Team of the year
2023 Award Winners
Most Outstanding Performance by a Student-Athlete with a Disability
​
Curtis McGrath
Bachelor of Aviation Management, Griffith University
​
In 2023, Curtis won his 11th World Championship gold medal for the KL2 200m event at the ICF Canoe Sprint Championship in Germany. He was also named as the Co-Captain for the Australian Paralympic team travelling to Paris this year.
Most Outstanding Sporting Achievement by an Indigenous Student-Athlete
Emily Watts
Bachelor of Education (Health and Physical Education), The University of Sydney
​
As a member of Team BridgeLane, Emily won the general classification of the 2023. Cycle Sunshine Coast and is currently ranked 335th in the UCI ranking. Emily is a member of the Elite Athlete Program at the University of Sydney and was previously involved in the Sydney Uni Staminade team prior to joining the Australian UCI Continental road cycling.
Emily juggles her academics and sporting performance, also receiving The Steglick Indigenous Women’s Scholarship, University of Sydney Indigenous Progress Award, The Walter Reid Memorial Prize, and a Gold Club Scholarship.
Most Outstanding Sporting Performance by a Student-Athlete
​
Jakara Anthony
Bachelor of Business, Deakin University
​
Jakara began 2023 as the number one ranked mogul skier in the world, finishing the 2022/23 season with a silver and gold medal. In the first seven events for the FIS Freestyle World Cup 2023/24 season saw Jakara claim six gold and one bronze medals across her seven events.
In 2023 Jakara has had amazing results, continually breaking records and is now the most decorated Australian mogul skier of all time alongside achieving fantastic results in her university studies.
Student-Athlete of the Year
Cara Feain-Ryan
Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours), The University of Queensland
​
In 2023, Cara represented the University of Queensland at the Nationals Athletics Championship achieving 1st place in the 1500m event. She then went on to be a part of the UniRoos athletics team at the FISU World University Summer Games in Chengdu, China where she achieved 1st place in the 3000m Steeplechase event. With this achievement, Cara qualified for the World Athletics Championships where she ran a personal best by nine seconds and finished 20th overall, and improvement on her previous ranking of 34th.
Student-Athlete of the Year
​
Reece Holder
Bachelor of Urban Development, Queensland University of Technology
​
Reece was a part of the UniRoos Athletics team representing Australia at the FISU World University Summer Games in Chengdu, China where he received the silver medal and broke the FISU record in the 400m event. Reece is also an ambassador for the QUT Elite Athlete Program, with his commitment to excellence fostering a culture of achievement athletically and within the community. Due to his achievements in 2023, Reece is now in contention for selection for the Paris Olympic team which, if successful, will be the highlight of his career.
Most Outstanding University Sport Project/ Program
Women in Sport Leadership Retreat
Monash University
​
Carolyn Gordon, Chloe Gibson, and Isabel Melles-Taberner who make up the Monash University Performance, Representation and Engagement Programs (or PREP) team are champions for women’s inclusion and empowerment in sport at the university level. They pioneered a first of it’s kind event for sporting leaders who are women through the Women in Sport Leadership Retreat. The retreat brought together passionate community leaders in an environment that not only brought in high-level presenters to educate young leaders, but also fostered new working relationships between participants through shared storytelling and insightful brainstorming sessions.
​
There were a record number of 18 individuals who provided their names and support to this award nomination, showcasing the impact it had on the attendees.
Most Outstanding University Sport Project/ Program
RMIT Sports Media Program
RMIT University
​
The RMIT Sports Media Program serves as a hub where annually 33 students, 2 work integrated learning students, and community volunteers from RMITV Community Television and SYN Media gain experience in journalism, broadcasting, commentary, photography, videography, and social media marketing. Our program participants follow the journeys of our sports academy, national representative teams, 150 plus elite athletes, and 41 recreational sports clubs, delivering over 60 livestreamed hours a year, showcasing the spectacular sporting moments and authentic stories from the Redback community.
​
The content that the RMIT Sports Media Program generates, amplifies the voices of students who love sport and getting active inspiring local and international students to get involved and make amazing memories representing RMIT.
Most Outstanding Contribution by a Student Volunteer
Adila Abdul Halim
PhD in Astrophysics, The University of Adelaide
​
Adila has been president of the AU Swimming Club for three year, leading the club from a position of almost collapse and financial stress to a thriving, inclusive and viable club. Adila has worked to secure a number of grants to contribute to financial sustainability, increase awareness, memberships and offerings including: a Water Safety event for international students hosted by Royal Life Saving South Australia, dedicated swim times to cater for diversity of skill supported by Adelaide City Council, Come and Try events at the City of Adelaide Pool, and working with the university for the annual “Duel in the Pool event”.
​
Adila is a volunteer that is always present, whether in the club or at on campus student engagement events from orientation weeks, to Sportopia, and Clubs in the Hub.
Club Leadership Award
​
La Trobe University Football Club (AFL)
La Trobe University
​
The La Trobe University Football Club go above and beyond to ensuring that t/hey make an impact on student life at university. Through their “Introduction to Aussie Rules” Clinics and NAIDOC week events they showed a commitment to building accessibility for students and ensuring inclusion. They are also heavily involved in on-camps events and programs from orientation events, walk and run events, and family days during the school holidays.
​
The La Trobe University Football Club also won the 2023 Blues Sports Awards, beating out 25 other affiliated clubs. A clear recognition of their hard work and success in 2023.
Official of the Year
​
Jessica Musson
Bachelor of Business, University of South Australia
​
Jessica was the Netball Team Manager for the UniSA team at the UniSport Nationals, umpiring in additional to playing on the mixed team. She captained her team to a Divisional 2 Bronze medal, reflecting her leadership skills and standing amongst the student-athlete cohort. In 2023 Jessica also won the Sport Club Administrator of the Year award, was a finalist for the Volunteer of the Year award and was awarded a Club Colours for contributions to the Netball Club.
Team of the Year
​
USYD 3x3 Basketball Men's Team
The University of Sydney
​
In 2023, the University of Sydney men’s team competed at the UniSport 3x3 Nationals Championship and after a tough first match successfully made it to the finals, securing a place in the FISU Oceania Qualifying Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. Alongside the women’s team, they competed and became champions leading them to compete in the FISU World University Cup in Doha, Qatar. In this tournament, they competed against teams from Qatar, China and Ukraine to make it to the finals where they competed against Lithuania, falling short of the gold and being awarded the Silver medal. This was the most successful campaign for the University of Sydney at the FISU University 3x3 World Cup to date.
Previous Award Winners
2022 UniSport Australia Award Winners
Most Outstanding Performance by a Student-Athlete with a Disability
Tim Hodge - Western Sydney University
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
​
Most Outstanding Achievement by an Indigenous Student-Athlete
Rae Anderson - The University of Sydney
Bachelor of Arts
​
Most Outstanding Sporting Performance by a Student-Athlete
Jemima Montag - The University of Melbourne
Doctor of Medicine
​
Female Student-Athlete of the Year
Quennie Laurentia - The University of Melbourne
Bachelor of Arts
​
Male Student-Athlete of the Year
Alastair Christie-Johnson - RMIT University
Bachelor of Applied Science (Property and Valuation) (Honours)
​
Most Outstanding University Sport Project/Program
RMIT Sport Academy - RMIT University
​
Most Outstanding Contribution by a Student Volunteer
Alexander Smyth - RMIT University
Bachelor of Science (Applied Science)/Bachelor of Business (Management)
​
Club Leadership Award
The Melbourne University Women's Football Club (AFL) - The University of Melbourne
​
Official of the Year
Andrew Truong - University of South Australia
​
Team of the Year
Macquarie University 3x3 Basketball Team - Macquarie University