World University Games a Valuable High-Performance Pathway

Former Australian Opals Coach Carrie Graf has confirmed the importance the World University Games has played in the high-performance pathway for Australian basketball and encouraged sports with Olympic ambitions to utilise the biennial event.

Pictured: Australian UniRoos Women’s Basketball team at FISU World University Games

Now Director of Sport at University of Canberra, Graf led the Opals to their medal-winning performance at the London Olympics in 2012 and was chef de mission for the Australian UniRoos team at the 2023 World University Games (WUG) in Chengdu.

‘The World Uni Games is a true world event, allowing our athletes compete against the best from all countries around the world in a multi-sport, village-based event that gives them a good sense of what the Olympic Games experience will be like,’ said Graf.

‘World championships are obviously very important but rarely allow the opportunity to prepare athletes or officials for the scale of the Olympics the way the WUG can,’ said Graf.

The WUG is now the second largest multi-sport event in the world, second only to the Olympics. Last year’s event in Chengdu saw 6517 athletes from 119 countries compete in front of crowds of up to 40,000 spectators. The 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games are expecting 10,000 athletes and officials from 170 countries provides a unique opportunity for elite student-athletes to experience an event similar to an Olympic Games in scale.

Graf also confirmed the opportunities presented by the WUG for sports to engage the next generation of sporting officials, assisting National Sporting Organisations with their succession planning for coaches, team managers, referees, physios, strength and conditioning coaches and more.

‘My own experience was directly impacted by the WUG. I was unsuccessful twice in applying to be the Australian National Women’s Basketball Coach, but after I coached the team to a Gold Medal at the World Uni Games, I was better able to present my case and was appointed to the role for the 2012 Olympics’.

Following a professional basketball career as a player, Graf was twice named WNBL Coach of the Year. In 1996, the Australian Coaching Council awarded Graf with the High-Performance Coach Award and Young Coach of the Year Award. In 2000, Graf was given an Australian Sports Medal for service to basketball, is a life member of the WNBL and in 2015 was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to basketball. In 2017, she was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame. Graf was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 in recognition of her results at the 2000 Olympics.

‘Many athletes will also qualify for the Olympics based on times they post at WUG events,’ said Graf.

At just 20, Queensland University of Technology student-athlete, Reece Holder secured a silver medal in the Men’s 400m at Chengdu with a time of 44.79, a meet record and an Olympic qualifying time. That was the best run by an Australian for 17 years and placed the QUT Elite Athlete Program ambassador fifth on the country’s 400m all-time list.

Graf highlighted another valuable opportunity presented to sports by the World University Games.

“Some athletes are simply later bloomers at the high-performance level. If we can keep them longer in the sport and still sitting in that Olympic pathway through university sport, we maximise our chances of uncovering that potential,’ said Graf.

CEO of UniSport Australia, Mark Sinderberry joined Graf in encouraging National Sporting Organisations to engage with the higher education sector.

“The WUG are an outstanding opportunity for sports to develop the next generation of athletes and officials and to create opportunities to ready them for the highest level of competition,” Sinderberry said.

“At the same time, the universities are assisting elite student athletes to maintain training commitments and set themselves up for post-competition lives.”

CEO Sinderberry said the benefits of sport and physical activity at universities is being better understood through a growing body of research from around the world, including evidence of a direct link between student engagement in campus-based physical activity and greater academic success and likelihood.

“UniSport Australia’s purpose is about driving healthier campuses and research is showing us that the work being done by universities in creating flexible pathways and providing world-class facilities for students and staff with Olympic aspirations is benefiting all students,” he said.

To find out more about World University Games click here