First Nations student athletes are gathering in Wollongong this week for the annual UniSport Indigenous Nationals.
Hosted by the University of Wollongong, the 28th instalment of the event sees athletes representing tertiary institutions from across the country in basketball, netball, volleyball and touch football competitions, with cultural celebrations also held throughout the week.
Pool and eliminations rounds will determine the winning institution for each sport, with a points-based system ranking each university to crown an overall winner.
This year 31 institutions are participating at the event from each state and territory, with the University of Queensland looking to defend their title after being crowned overall champions last year.
The basketball component of the completion was held on Monday, with the Australian Catholic University defeating the University of Sydney 17-15 to sit atop the rankings with 40 points.
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The netball component of the event will be held on Tuesday, with volleyball and touch football competitions to be held on subsequent days.
University of Wollongong (UOW) Vice President of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement, Jaymee Beveridge said she was thrilled to see the University of Wollongong host the 2024 Indigenous Nationals.
"My affiliation with the games goes back to my own undergraduate days, where in 2001, I assembled the first UOW Indigenous Nationals team and we competed in Bathurst," Ms Beveridge said.
"That experience created a sense of community within our cohort of UOW Indigenous students; we held fund raising events and purchased our team playing shirts from local supermarket and hand ironed our numbers on our playing shirts.
"This is a huge shift from the flash uniforms we see our deadly teams wearing in more recent years."
Ms Beveridge said UOW's aim for the 2024 Indigenous National is to provide an environment that unites all participants from all Universities to build a sense of community.
"We want mob to come together and build their networks, make new life-long friends and generally have fun playing each and every game over the four days," she said.
The event has grown year-on-year after originally founded as the National Indigenous Tertiary Education Student Games in 1996, through a joint class project between 13 students enrolled in a Diploma of Aboriginal Studies (Community Recreation) at the then Wollotuka School for Aboriginal Studies at The University of Newcastle.
UOW Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Patricia Davidson said the Indigenous Nationals mark a moment of joy and celebration of the rich sporting culture of Indigenous Australia.
"Sport is a wonderful tool for bringing people together, strengthening spirit, creating community and fostering healing. I am very proud that this year, we can host all the exceptional Indigenous student-athletes from universities across Australia here in the centre of the Illawarra at our beautiful University," Professor Davidson said.
UniSport Australia chief executive Mark Sinderberry said it is a great honour for UniSport Australia to work alongside the University of Wollongong to deliver this year's event.
"This remarkable gathering where we come together to celebrate not only the extraordinary talents and sportsmanship of our Indigenous student-athletes but also the rich cultural heritage and vibrant traditions of Australia's First Nations people," Mr Sinderberry said.
"We are proud to celebrate this national Indigenous sporting event, a testament to the resilience, strength, and unity of our Indigenous communities."
