University of Queensland Orienteering Champions

The University of Queensland (UQ) has taken the first Australian University Sport pennant in 2012 with a hard-fought team win in the Australian University Championships – Orienteering (AUC).

The Easter weekend’s hot conditions and the tough terrain around Stanthorpe, Queensland, took its toll on the competitors. The UQ home-state advantage came to the fore in the final stages of the 11 kilometre run.

UQ also had success in the individual competition with Rachel Effeney placing first in the women’s division, while La Trobe University’s Bryan Keely claimed first-placed honours in the men’s division.

Rachel said the Championship course had been one of the toughest she had raced, with the weather, terrain and a personal injury late in the race providing plenty of challenges. The Australian University Championships – Orienteering form a key part of the selection process for athletes wanting to represent Australia at the World University Championships.

After attending the WUC in Orienteering in both 2008 (Estonia) and 2010 (Sweden), Rachel said it was her main goal to make the team again in 2012.“This year, the WUC in Orienteering is being held in Alacante, Spain, in July and I’m really keen to represent Australia again.

2012 UQ Sporting Scholarship Lunch

UQ Sport proudly announced the 2012 sporting scholarships at a special lunch at Hillstone restaurant on Thursday 29 March.

The lunch introduced 26 of the 39 new scholarship holders to sponsors and UQ staff, highlighting the athlete’s achievements to date as well as degrees they will be undertaking at UQ.

The day also featured a special panel discussion which gave guests an insight into the life of an aspiring professional athlete trying to balance training and study.

Among the athletes present during the panel discussion was Paralympian

Image from left to right: Kristian Wan - Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Law), Jaime Krol – Athlete Career and Education Advisor with the UQ Sport Academy, Jarrod Jolliffe – AFL (Bachelor of Physiotherapy), Marcus Daldy – Cricket (Bachelor of Arts)

Brenden Hall who recently smashed his own 400m Multi-Class world record by more than two seconds at the Australian Swimming Titles held in Adelaide.

Mr Hall said he was grateful UQ had provided him with the opportunity to complete his Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Sciences along with a base to train at.

“It is really valuable having the pool at UQ, it means that I don’t have to travel far to do my training,” Mr Hall said.

“If I am in the middle of exams it really helps having everything in such close proximity.

“Training 36-40 hours a week and doing university can be a difficult task but somehow I manage to get it done.

 “I have made it into the shadow squad for the 2012 London Paralympics, so things are going well but it will be even better once the team is confirmed in June,” he said.

Mr Hall isn’t the only scholarship holder preparing for Olympic selection.

Physiotherapy student Caitlin Sargent is vying for a spot on the women’s athletics team in her pet event, the 400m.

Ms Sargent competed at last year’s IAAF World Athletics Championships and is hopeful of either qualifying individually or as part of the 4x400m relay team.

Come’n'Try Week kick starts semester 1

Participants at Come'n'Try Week, semester 1, 2012.

UQ Sport’s Come’n’Try week got Semester 1 off to an energetic start with venues dancing, jumping, running, stretching and buzzing to a healthy beat.

Come’n’Try Week, held this year between 27 February and 3 March, directly follows O-Week each semester and gives the UQ community an opportunity to trial over 80 different activities on offer from UQ Sport.

UQ Sport’s Operations Manager, Paul Clayton, said Come’n’Try Week was a big success with a huge amount of people registering for the week’s activities.

“We had over 1700 people register for programs like pilates, salsa, capoeira, bodypump, boot camp, swim squad, mixed martials arts and many, many more,” Mr Clayton said.

“The best thing about Come’n’Try is that people don’t have to limit themselves to one class, so it was motivating to see a few hard core enthusiasts enrolling in as many as 10 classes for the week.

“UQ Sport has just introduced a new membership package called UQ Sport Gold which gives anyone involved with UQ access to any venue for less than $2 a day.

“Come’n’Try was a fantastic way to let everyone know that they can continue the fun at such a small cost,” he said.

If you missed out on Come’n’Try but would like to know more about UQ Sport’s Lifestyle courses and UQ Sport Gold Membership then visit http://www.uqsport.com.au

UQ Sport Aquatic Centre re-opens

Swimmers make a big splash at the re-opening of the UQ Sport Aquatic Centre. Image - Matt Taylor

The official re-opening of the UQ Sport Aquatic Centre and David Theile Pool was celebrated with a big splash on Friday 3 February, 2012.

The UQ Sport Aquatic Centre at The University of Queensland was swamped by the Brisbane flood in January 2011 and suffered extensive damage to its infrastructure.

The University decided to upgrade the whole facility, so now swimmers can enjoy the new pool with brand new water filtration system, which has been installed above the flood level, new shade covered areas, and new change rooms, café seating and retail area.

UQ Sport Executive Director, Bryan Pryde, said UQ Sport, which was celebrating its 101st year in operation, decided to mark the pool re-opening with a special event.

“To celebrate this wonderful moment in our 101st year, UQ Sport decided to hold ‘The Big Splash’, where 101 lucky people were the first to jump in the new pool, at the same time,” Mr Pryde said.

“Judging by the number of enquiries we’ve had, we know many people will be pleased to hear the news that the pool is open again,” he said.

The UQ Aquatic Centre is now open and available for “business as usual”.

It is currently operating on the summer timetable, for more information and opening hours check the Aquatic Centre webpage.

UQ powerlifter takes home gold

UQ powerlifter, Lev Susany, with his accolades from the 2011 Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships held in Bournemouth, England.

UQ powerlifter Lev Susany recently achieved an amazing five gold medals at the 2011 Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships held 15-18 December in Bournemouth, England.

Lev’s trip was part-funded by UQ Sport and we are happy to see him achieve such outstanding results.

Not only did Lev win multiple medals but he also broke two National, four Oceania and three Commonwealth records.

To top it all off Lev took home the Wilks Trophy as the Championships’ best lifter.

The Wilks score compares the best lifts of all lifters from all age divisions and weight classes.

Winning a Wilks trophy at any competition is the ultimate accolade, so congratulation must go to Lev on winning it while still competing as a junior lifter.

Here is a list of Lev’s achievements from the competition:

• Four gold medals for the 175kg squat, 155.5kg bench press, 210kg deadlift and 540.5kg total

• One gold medal for the 147.5kg bench press

• Six records for the 155.5kg bench press: breaking both Junior and Open Mens records at National, Oceania and Commonwealth level

• Two Titles – 2011 Commonwealth RAW Powerlifting Champion and 2011 Commonwealth RAW Bench Press Champion

• Wilks Best lifter trophy for the Mens raw bench press of 155.5kg bench @ 73.3kg body weight

• Number 1 junior ranking in the Men’s 74kg division at National, Oceania and Commonwealth level

UQ Fitness and Aquatic Centre opens at Gatton campus

Mr Shayne Neumann MP with UQ Sport’s Johnathon Turner and Courtney Bailey

On Thursday 1 December 2011 the UQ Fitness and Aquatic Centre was officially opened at the University of Queensland, Gatton.

The $5 million facility was opened by Mr Shayne Neumann MP, Federal Member for Blair.

In the first 5 months the UQ Fitness and Aquatic Centre cardio and weights rooms have recorded nearly 8000 visits, with nearly 6000 visits to the heated 25m swimming pool, meaning keen Gatton swimmers can swim all year round.

The facility will also combine with a new health initiative in Ipswich, Healthy Active People in Ipswich (HAPI), and will foster the wellness of people living in the Lockyer Valley and Ipswich areas.

UQ Sport is excited about the growth of the facility both on campus, and in the community.

UQ Sport Academy launches with new high performance gym

The UQ Sport Academy recently celebrated the opening of its new high performance gym at the UQ Sport and Fitness Centre, St Lucia.

The UQSA's high performance gym will help athletes make the step from developing to elite.

Ski-racing world champion, Grant Turner, and cycling world record holder Dave Alley were both on hand as special guest speakers to welcome in the gym’s official opening.

The evening not only marked the opening of the new gym but also launched the newly branded UQ Sport Academy (UQSA).

The UQSA, formerly known as the high performance sport department within UQ Sport, was established in 2008 and has strong links with the world renowned School of Human Movement Studies at UQ; many of the Academy staff are graduates of the school.

Most recently, the UQSA has enjoyed great success with the Queensland Fire Birds and this year’s Queensland Intrust Super Cup premiership winning team, the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

The 2011 UQ Athletics Centre re-opening and 1500m Classic

The brand new track at the UQ Athletics Centre set the perfect scene for this year's 1500m classic

Two weeks after the UQ Athletic Centre was re-opened as a training facility, the annual 1500m Classic was staged as the first meet on the newly laid Rekotan track.

This year’s event, which doubled as the official re-opening, saw a record number of entries with 203 athletes running on the day; well up on the previous best of 158 in 2009.

It was an excellent night of middle distance running, and a fitting meet to celebrate the rebirth of the UQ Athletics track, which officially opened when Julian Watkins crossed the finish line in the Nike Secondary Schoolboys Race 1.

The organisers of the event wish to acknowledge sponsors, Intraining and Nike, and the officials from the Brisbane Officials Club for their support in officiating for the event.

The final winners on the night were…

Intraining Simon Doyle 1500m Classic: Daniel Bulmer – 3.47.61min

Intraining Women’s 1500m Classic: Katelyn Simpson – 4.21.94min

Nike Open Men’s: Charles Chambers – 4.03.22min

Nike Secondary Schoolboys Race 1: Julian Watkins – 4.03.79min

Nike Secondary Boys Race 2: Christopher Thrupp – 4.14.02min

Nike Secondary Boys Race 3: Ben Matsis – 4.22.08min

Nike Schoolgirls/Open Women Race 1: Kate van Homrigh – 4.39.92min

Nike Schoolgirls/Open Women Race 2: Sarah Bellchambers – 4.45.99min

Intraining Schoolgirls/Open Women Race 3: Kaitlin Price – 4.54.35min

Nike Primary School Boys: Bradley Warnes – 4.48.85min

Nike Primary School Girl’s: Katrina Robinson – 5.02.71min

Intraining Masters Men: Geoff Berkeley – 4.25.54min

Intraining Masters Women: Margot Manning – 5.15.04min (however because of her affiliation with the sponsor she graciously passed first place to Rosemary Dotlic who came in at 5.56.01min)

2011 UQ sporting scholarship highlights

Mitchell Watt's silver medal at the IAAF World Championships was one of the many highlights from 2011.

2011 has been nothing but exceptional for UQ sporting scholarship holders.

Across all sports they have not only done themselves proud with some great performances but also the whole UQ community.

We have pinpointed a few highlights from 2011 to share.

Mitchell Watt
Mitchell has had an outstanding year which included a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships as well as 1st at both the International Diamond League championship and the Australian Long Jump Series. Mitchell broke the Australian long jump record previously held by Jai Taurima and ultimately qualified for the 2012 London Olympics where he will go in as one of the favourites.

Aidan Rintala
Aidan’s outstanding year on the hockey field has seen him selected for the National Futures Group as an emerging international athlete by Hockey Australia.

Emilee Cherry
Emilee was an integral part of the Australian touch football team which competed at the Touch World Cup 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team enjoyed great success going on to win the championships.

Matthew Giles
Matthew competed for the Australian junior (u20) water polo team which competed in the Junior World Championships in Greece in September, in a very competitive field, Matthew and the Australians fought hard to finish in 4th overall.

Laura Clemesha
Laura’s prowess on the netball court has developed throughout 2011, so much so she has been offered a 2012 residential scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport.

These athletes represent a small snap shot of the talent that have called UQ home in 2011. There is no doubt that the list of 2011 athletes will add to the ever-growing group of elite athletes to pass through the university with great success.

UQ Sport is looking forward to the next crop of athletes coming through in 2012.

UQ Tennis Club ready to celebrate 100th birthday

The UQ Tennis Club will be celebrating its 100th birthday with an all-day tennis party on Sunday, 6 November, starting at 10 a.m and finishing with a BBQ at 6 p.m.

The day will include mini tournaments, beginner practice sessions, a service speed competition, coaching demos, plus loads more. Cost for the day will be $10 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and children. Sunday afternoon social tennis will still run as normal.

The UQ Tennis Club, which was founded in 1911, is the largest sporting club on campus with a record membership of 695 members and is one of the four founding sports clubs introduced to the university.

Click here to download the event program.