Victorian International Student Sport Festival

The Victorian International Student Sport Festival (VISSF) will return in 2026, to be held on Saturday 4 April. The event will once again be held at the amazing Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Albert Park and is able to be delivered thanks to program funding from the Australian Sports Commission.

In 2025, VISSF was held on Saturday 19 April, with 470 international students in attendance, from 26 different nationalities and representing 12 of UniSport’s member institutes. UniSport partnered with the Perfect Ballers Association to provide a fantastic free event for students, with free food. The second edition of the event again featured 3×3 Basketball and Social Badminton and added Table Tennis to the sport program.

2026 Event Details

Date	Saturday 4 April 2026
Venue	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre 30 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park, VIC
Sports	3×3 Basketball (men’s and women’s competitions), Social Badminton, Social Table Tennis. We are also looking at adding cricket to the sport program.
Competition Guidelines	3×3 Basketball Competition Guidelines
Site Map	Link: MSAC-Map.pdf The 3×3 Basketball competition will be played in Stadiums 2 and 3 on Courts 1-4 and 5-8, the Social Badminton will be played in Stadium 4 and the Table Tennis in Stadium 5.
Catering	There will be a limited range of free food provided to event participants. The Sir Albert Cafe (at Main Reception) will also be open on the day, serving barista made coffee and a delicious range of hot and cold food.
Public Transport	There are two convenient tram routes which drop you right at the front door of MSAC. Route 96 (East Brunswick to St Kilda Beach) – Stop 129 Route 12 (City to South Melbourne/St Kilda) – Stop 131
Vehicle Parking	Parking for MSAC Stadiums is available all day in the Stadiums Carpark, at the southern end of MSAC. This parking space is accessed from Aughtie Drive. Contactless payment is strongly encouraged upon exit. Please note that buses are not permitted to park or drop off passengers within MSAC car parks. There are allocated bus zones on Aughtie Drive for this purpose.

2026 Event FAQs

I’m a domestic (Australian) student. Can I be part of this event?
As the event is primarily for international students, we will allow a small number of domestic students to take part. For the 3×3 Basketball competition, each team will be permitted to have one domestic student. For Social Badminton and Table Tennis, we will allow a small number of domestic students to participate.

Do I need to be a currently enrolled university student to participate in the event?
Yes, this event is only open to currently enrolled university students. You will be required at the time of registering to enter your student number, which will then be verified with your university.

Do I need to register in advance or can I just rock up on the day?
You must register in advance to be part of the day. This helps us confirm numbers for the day and ensure we provide sufficient catering.

3×3 Basketball: do all the members on my team need to attend the same university?
There is no requirement for all the team members on a 3×3 Basketball team to come from the same university.

3×3 Basketball: are the teams mixed gender?
For 2026, we will have separate men’s and women’s competitions.

3×3 Basketball: can I register for the competition as an individual?
If you would like to play in the 3×3 Basketball competition but don’t have a team to play with, please send an email to shane.cantelmi@unisport.com.au and we will use our best endeavours to find a team for you to play with.

Social Badminton and Table Tennis: what is the format for these sports?
As the opportunity is social in nature, there is no formal competition. Rather, students organise games amongst themselves on the day.

Social Badminton and Table Tennis: will equipment be supplied or do I need to bring my own?
We request that you bring your own racquet for social badminton or paddle for table tennis. There are a small number available for hire through MSAC on the day at a cost of $4.20. UniSport will supply the shuttles/balls for you to use.

Past Events

2025

Date	Saturday 19 April 2025
Venue	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
Sports	3×3 Basketball, Badminton, Table Tennis
Participant Numbers	470 (220 x Basketball, 220 x Badminton, 30 x Table Tennis) 26 countries and 12 member institutes represented
3×3 Basketball Results	Men’s Grand Final: Melbourne Basketball Bears d Crazy Ziyou Women’s Grand Final: Hahahaha d Airballers Men’s 48 team elimination bracket – click here
Event Photos	Photo album (links to UniSport Facebook page)
Event News Item	Website article

2024

Date	Saturday 28 September 2024
Venue	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
Sports	3×3 Basketball, Badminton
Participant Numbers	160 (80 x Basketball, 80 x Badminton) 18 countries and 12 member institutes represented
3×3 Basketball Results	Grand Final: Blitzer d Melbourne Basketball Bears All game results: Click here
Event Photos	Photo album (links to UniSport Facebook page)
Event News Item	Website article