The University of New England is adding to its sporting credentials next year by significantly expanding the number of sports majors it has on offer.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, said that in 2012 UNE would offer new specialities in sports management and physical education, building on the existing programs in sports science and exercise physiology.

“The changes, outlined in UNE’s new Sports Prospectus, are about creating greater career opportunities for students in the field of sport,” Professor Barber said.

“The Sports Prospectus details UNE’s suite of courses designed to educate professionals in the sporting sphere and also the leading-edge sport and exercise infrastructure we have on hand at our Armidale campus.  

“It also outlines our exciting work with the Australian College of Physical Education to expand into the undergraduate areas of sports coaching, sports development, and health and leisure, and into the postgraduate fields of sports medicine and sports management.”

UNE’s reputation in sporting excellence will also be enhanced in 2012, with the University’s sponsorship of the National Rugby League team, the Parramatta Eels.

UNE has signed with the Eels as a jersey sponsor for their 2012 NRL season.

Professor Barber said it was the first time that a tertiary institution had become a major partner of an NRL club.

“The sponsorship will also see the Parramatta Eels hold their pre-season training camp in Armidale early in 2012,” he said.

“The Eels will stay on campus to utilise UNE’s state-of-the-art training and sports science facility.

“Our sponsorship of the Eels will raise the awareness of our exceptional sporting facilities and the wide range of courses we offer.”

“More than 2,000 of UNE’s Distance Education students come from Parramatta territory, and this sponsorship will increase the brand awareness of UNE in the growing Western Sydney area,” Professor Barber said.

Parramatta Leagues club CEO Bob Bentley said the club is very excited to be the first NRL side to be sponsored by a tertiary institution.       

“At Parramatta we take professional development and  further education of our players seriously. There are several players in our NRL team including Luke Burt and Tim Mannah who are currently undertaking higher education studies,” Mr Bentley said.

“Additionally, our Toyota Cup Under-20s players are all involved in education programs, with many of the 36-strong group studying at either University or TAFE.

“The NRL team is looking forward to holding the pre-season camp in Armidale and meeting with the local community.”

On average, the Parramatta Eels have a viewing audience of almost 400,000 on free-to-air television, a home ground attendance of 17,000, and sell more than 20,000 jerseys each year.

The 2012 Parramatta Eels Jersey is now on-sale.

More information on the sports prospectus can be found at www.une.edu.au/excellence. 

For media enquiries, please contact Catherine Goldie on 0409 215 640.

The Parramatta Eels will travel to Armidale early next year for their pre-season camp.

The University of New England is a jersey sponsor of the National Rugby League side in 2012, affording locals the opportunity to meet and interact with the players.

UNE’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Jim Barber said the sponsorship was part of a major sports focus for UNE in 2012.

“Next year we will be showcasing UNE’s growing academic strength in various disciplines associated with sport, as well as the University’s superb playing fields and state-of-the-art training and sports science facility,” Professor Barber said. 

“The Parramatta Eels arrive in Armidale on Tuesday 31 January for their four-day visit and will stay on campus to utilise our training facilities,” he said.

“Their visit will include plenty of opportunities for New England Rugby League fans to interact with some of the game’s greats.”

The Armidale Dumaresq Mayor, Councillor Peter Ducat, welcomed the opportunity to be the major sponsor of this UNE initiative.

 ”Armidale has core strengths as a venue for sporting events that bring millions of dollars in to the Armidale economy each year,” Councillor Ducat said.

“Through this sponsorship Armidale Dumaresq Council can support the city’s efforts to increase visitation numbers – whether it be for sport, recreation or education.”

Fans will get the chance to meet the players at a civic reception and also at a dinner with the Eels.

“There will also be opportunities for local schoolkids to be involved in coaching clinics with the players,” Councillor Ducat said.

“I expect this association with the Parramatta Eels to draw people from throughout New England – which is great news for businesses in Armidale – in addition to strengthening the Armidale brand as an ‘Evocity’,” he added.

For media enquiries, please contact Catherine Goldie on 0409 215 640.

A team of eighty-one students will represent the University of New England at the Australian University Games on the Gold Coast from September 25 to September 30.

UNE’s performance at the Northern University Games in July has seen many teams progress to the Australian University Games.

UNE won the Population Cup at the Northern University Games, awarded to the team who achieves the best results per capita.

Students from UNE will participate in athletics, mixed beach volleyball, men’s hockey, women’s soccer, women’s netball, taekwondo, women’s tennis and men’s and women’s water polo.

“I expect our women’s soccer team to perform quite well, and I’m hoping our taekwondo competitor, Alex Badoui, may be a dark horse,” said UNE Team Manager, Bradley King. “Emma Gillogly has a chance of a medal in the women’s heptathlon after coming fourth at last year’s Australian University Games.”

Team captains are Wayne Dillon who will be playing water polo and Jekka Lloyd who will represent UNE in netball.

The Australian University Games is  the largest annual multi-sport event in Australia and provides student athletes from across Australia a friendly and competitive environment to excel in sport and compete at an elite level.

The event has a strong focus on developing relationships between students from universities around Australia so is a great avenue to develop cross-university relations.

“Competing in the University Games has been one of my favourite experiences of university”, said UNE competitor, Emma Gillogly “I’ve made so many friends through getting involved in The Games, with athletes from UNE but also from universities across Australia.”

Jennifer Star, a postgraduate Education student at UNE, was chosen to represent the entire Oceanic region in the lighting of the cauldron at the 26^th Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China.

Jennifer was one of the five international athletes, representing more than 8,000 competitors from 152 countries, who lit the cauldron during the Universiade’s opening ceremony last month.

The Universiade, an international university sporting competition held every second year, is second only to the Olympics as the largest multi-sport competition in the world. Its aim is to promote peace and cultural exchange among the world’s youth through sport – an aim that Jennifer Star shares, having moved to India in 2009 to develop her charity Tara.Ed.

Tara.Ed works to improve cultural links between Australian and Indian schools, to offer practical training for Indian and Australian teachers, and to provide resources to rural schools in India.

Jennifer decided to develop skills for her work with this Non-Government Organisation by studying for a Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of New England by distance education. “I’ m always travelling, and I needed a university that was flexible and suited my travel,” she said. “UNE is well known for its distance education, so it was a natural choice.”

“When I moved to India, I thought that I’d have to let go of judo,” she said. “It took me four months to realise that I couldn’t possibly survive without it. I ended up with the Karnataka State Men’s Military team. In Australia, an elite athlete has a team: a coach, a physio, training partners, a sports psychologist and training facilities. In India, it was just me.”

Some of her challenges included dietary deficiencies, power cuts, heat, and lack of resources – especially for women. “I didn’t just have to fight on the mat; I had to fight stereotypes, injuries, facilities, and motivation,” she said. “But somehow I actually made it, and I was a better athlete at the end of it.”

She believes that “sport is all about the journey – not the destination”. “If you focus on getting it right in training, you’ll get it right in competition,” she said. “So make every session count. There are times when it all comes crashing down, but I have a great network of people who support me in my various roles and work really hard to make the way easier for me. It’s not hard to excel when you’ve got people cheering you on from the sidelines.”

Jennifer Star (pictured here competing in the Shenzhen Universiade) has been competing in judo for 16 years, and in international competition for seven. Her achievements include gaining bronze in the 2005 Youth Olympics and coming ninth in the 2009 Universaide in Belgrade.

“I still have a lot to do both in Judo and with Tara.Ed,” she said. “I’m just incredibly lucky that I have the opportunity to pursue the things I love.”

The University of New England and the Australian College of Physical Education (ACPE) signed an agreement at UNE yesterday to work together to build on ACPE’s enviable reputation in physical and sports education and UNE’s capacity as an innovative distance education provider with its blossoming physical education, sports and exercise science capacity.

‘UNE is building on its physical education and sports exercise courses to position itself as a significant education provider in this field,’ said UNE’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber. ‘This agreement with the Australian College of Physical Education is part of a broader strategy through which UNE collaborates with national and international teaching and research sport institutions, as well as athletes and sporting clubs, to leverage our own strengths and deliver the best and most comprehensive educational opportunities. I’m very pleased that we are able to team up with such a high-quality partner in ACPE.’

David McDonald, CEO of ACPE, said: ‘The opportunity to partner with UNE is a strong fit for ACPE as we are both institutions that share a commitment to superior student outcomes through teaching and learning excellence. The partnership strength is built on our complementary areas of specialisation in ACPE’s industry engagement and focus on experiential learning in sport, physical education and related disciplines and UNE’s established leadership in research and online education.

‘This MOU is the foundation for a range of shared initiatives and facilitates further expansion of ACPE’s extensive industry relationship network. ACPE looks forward to sharing its innovative teaching within sports and physical education disciplines with students, staff, and stakeholders of the University of New England.’

Professor Victor Minichiello, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of UNE’s Faculty of The Professions, said: ‘Both organisations will explore how UNE can deliver e-learning units into the physical education awards of the Australian College of Physical Education. The University will also explore how it can expand the specialisations it offers in its newly-established Bachelor of Sports Studies degree program by utilising the expertise and teaching materials of ACPE in sports coaching. We’ll be looking at ways for students from either institution to use the excellent sports and teaching facilities at ACPE’s Olympic Park precinct in Sydney and on the UNE campus in Armidale. This represents a great opportunity for students, now and in the future, to get the best that UNE and ACPE have to offer.’

The Australian College of Physical Education is located in Sydney in the Olympic Park precinct and has been commended by the Commonwealth university regulator AUQA for the reputation it has maintained over a long period of time in physical and sport education.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Professor Jim Barber (left) with Mr David McDonald, Chief Executive Officer of ACPE.

Emma Gillogly, a UNE Sports Science student and Vacation Care Coordinator at SportUNE, has been selected into the Australian Rugby Sevens Women’s Squad. She will be attending a camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from the 5^th to the 7^th of August as part of the squad.

Emma, who began playing Rugby Union only in March this year, was selected for the 2011 NSW Country team as a winger. A valuable team member, she scored a try during the NSW Country verses Sydney match in the National Women’s Championship.

“It’s a great honour for Emma to be selected, especially coming from a regional area,” said the Executive Director of SportUNE, David Schmude. “She certainly works very hard, and we wish her every success.”

Emma has been an active participant in sport during her studies at UNE. She has represented UNE in athletics, touch football and soccer at various intervarsity competitions, including the Australian University Games, Northern University Games and Eastern University Games. And she has captained the UNE team in intervarsity competitions for three consecutive years.

She has won several scholarships at UNE, including a SportUNE Development Scholarship for touch football, and the Sarah Heagney Memorial Scholarship for her ability and dedication to sport. In 2010 she won the Spirit of Sport award for her active participation in sport and physical recreation, displaying a positive attitude, and inspiring others.

She is the Student Representative Director on the SportUNE Board, and has been elected onto the University Council.

Emma Gillogly urges her fellow students and aspiring athletes to “have a go at new things and always keep trying hard to improve – in whatever area – to help reach your goals”.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Emma Gillogly with David Schmude.

The Northern University Games will have its first official day of competition at the University of New England today, following yesterday’s opening ceremony.

Some 1000 students were present at the ceremony, with Armidale Dumaresq Mayor Cr Peter Ducat and UNE Deputy Chancellor Mr Scott Williams on hand to officially open the event.

Once formalities were dispensed with, the student athletes were treated to entertainment from well known DJ Ajax, Red Bull DJs and house DJs.

Sporting competition officially begins this morning in the 12 sports, with action in seven sports taking place at SportUNE (rugby 7s, football, hockey, basketball, tennis, squash and touch).  Other sporting action around town includes netball (Armidale District Netball Courts), golf (Armidale Golf Club), tenpin bowling (Armidale Sport and Recreation Centre), volleyball (The Den) and lawn bowls (Armidale City Bowling Centre).

Members of the public are invited to watch all sports for free.  Draws and results can be found on the Australian University Sport website at http://www.unigames.com.au.