One year on, UNE staff and students have sustained their dedication to our Healthy Campus initiative through group fitness, gym workouts and pool visits. And UNE Life CEO David Schmude says UNE’s uptake now places it in the leading pack in Oceania.
Of the 350 staff who signed up for the SportUNE and Manna Institute Healthy Campus study in early October 2023, 213 have maintained their exercise routine more than once a week, with a large percentage averaging three or more sessions a week at SportUNE. They have made 982 group fitness, 3,991 gym and 970 pool visits during the past year.
Best of all, David says, almost half of these staff (157) have turned the initial six months’ free UNE Sport membership into an ongoing salary sacrificed commitment.
“Healthy Campus – launched by UNE Life in collaboration with SportUNE – has been incredibly important for the physical and mental health of our staff and students, but also for their social health on the back of COVID,” he says. “UNE Life is about bringing people together and Healthy Campus has helped achieve that in powerful ways. I believe it has boosted morale and improved attitudes, and I look forward to seeing how that impacts overall health and work productivity.”
Healthy Campus activities have also included scheduled monthly staff walks, which have attracted 2,340 participants, and 40 (today) UNE Social Running Group outings that have each drawn about 15 runners. In addition, a 15-strong UNE team travelled to Sydney for the City2Surf this year and the 20 riders comprising UNE’s Tour De Rocks team raised $6,000 for cancer research and awareness.
Members of the UNE community already embracing the range of sports and competitions available have also taken advantage of new running groups and extra exercise classes like the free lunchtime low-intensity sessions in the Bistro on the Armidale campus.
“I have gone on most of the monthly walks in Armidale and have sensed a great level of positivity among our Healthy Campus members,” David says. “We have helped to provide the opportunities but also the motivation for people to be more active, and it’s contagious.”
As well as its suite of physical activities, UNE Life has sought to develop a strong Healthy Campus presence online, bringing our campuses in Sydney, Taree and Tamworth into the initiative through a range of webinars and activities, like the monthly campus coffee and walk hosted by UNE Sydney.
A multi-disciplinary, multi-university team from Manna Institute, including UNE’s Professor Myf Maple, is now evaluating the UNE Healthy Campus program. It will review the baseline survey completed by staff and responses to a follow-up survey six months later, as well as a 12-month survey planned for next year.
The UNE Healthy Campus program is accredited by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). David Schmude is President of FISU Oceania.