Sports contests back on campus at universities
Inter-campus sport has finally made a comeback in New Zealand universities after a four-year hiatus.
The new university sporting calendar wrapped up last month, with netball and hockey tournaments taking place in Auckland and Wellington. Throughout the year, teams from eight New Zealand campuses competed against each other in 15 separate men’s and women’s tournaments.
The prize was the University Challenge Shield, with each university accruing points based on their standings in each tournament. The University of Auckland came away with the spoils, winning seven of the 15 events.
The University of Canterbury and Lincoln University both finished in the lower half of the table, placing fifth and seventh respectively.
The new system is a far cry from the old model, which revolved primarily around the annual week-long University Games and Snow Games events.
Declining interest and a lowered standard of competition spelled the end for the Uni Games after the last tournament in 2011, which had become better known for its off-field activities than the competition itself.
Rebranded as University & Tertiary Sport New Zealand last year, the new organisation appointed Sarah Anderson as its executive director in June.
‘‘Our aim is to revive the intertertiary competition and lift the standard of it’’, Anderson said. ‘‘We’re moving towards performance-based competitive sport – not just a social model anymore.’’
Anderson said the highperformance pathway for students had been diminished as ‘‘the Uni Games had become quite social, with quite a bit of alcohol consumption around them’’.
The new model is ambitious in its plan not only to increase athlete participation, but also to create a viewing audience and student culture similar to countries such as the United States, South Africa, and Great Britain.
The first year of the new competition had its share of teething problems with regards to marketing and funding, but students involved are excited about the new direction of the programme.
Fifth year law and commerce student Daniel Chan competed for the University of Canterbury in the national tertiary basketball tournament in September.
‘‘We knew about it, but there was uncertainty about when it was and how long it was going to be. In the end we got about two weeks training, and we had about eight universities with teams there. With the basketball the competition was of a really high standard – for next year just having greater recognition will bring players in who wouldn’t otherwise come along.
‘‘You’re representing your university, the place you’ve lived and breathed for five years, so it’s pretty cool to have that [emblem] across your chest – it’s a special feeling.’’
Jason Hursthouse, another fifth year student studying a Masters in engineering management, played hockey for a combined University of Canterbury/Massey University team in Wellington.
‘‘We got to the turf from the airport about an hour before our game, got talking to the [Massey] guys, and an hour later we went and beat Auckland University. It was quite satisfying. Auckland had put in three trials and two months of preparation – they’d bought special uniforms, and we just walked off the bus, didn’t know each other and beat them.’’
Hursthouse said the new competition offered an alternative pathway for athletes to perform at a high level – particularly in a sport like hockey where many people stop playing once they reach university.
‘‘I think it should definitely be something they continue to push, because it brings heaps of people together and gives you a chance to compete where otherwise you wouldn’t be able to.’’
‘‘It would be really cool to have local derbies, like an OtagoCanterbury rivalry or something like that. To be able to build on those rivalries and just having that spectator energy would be great, because the players get way more revved up when you’ve got people getting stuck in on the side lines.’’
Overseas, in countries such as the USA, similar programmes have created a unique sporting culture.
Samantha Pearson, the marketing and events co-ordinator for Christchurch Airport, spent four years on the University of Michigan swim team from 2008 to 2011. Based in Ann Arbor, a city the size of Christchurch, University of Michigan football games would regularly draw crowds of over 100,000 people.
During Pearson’s time on the swim team, crowds of 5000-6000 were not uncommon. Pearson said her time as a student athlete was an ‘‘amazing’’ experience which created life-long memories.
‘‘It also instils an extra sense of school pride, where what you do is represented on a nation-wide scale. That sense of school pride is one of the best things about going to college – and it will motivate you to do better in your studies as well.’’
She said many of those benefits carried over into life after sport.
‘‘Being a college athlete prepared me to be in the working world and to successful in life – I don’t mind going above and beyond [in my job] because it’s what I’ve been trained to do.’’
While New Zealand will likely never be able to replicate the American NCAA model, University of Canterbury sport manager Grant Robertson said promoting sport on campus would have benefits for the whole university.
‘‘When that happens you’re going to find that a lot of the students have a belonging and ownership of sport here, which is going to facilitate a greater student experience. Academics is obviously why they’re here, but they’ve got to have a great time and enjoy it – and it’s those memories that will last a lot longer than many of the other potential things they’re here for.’’