Recently I flew to Brisbane along with 13 other Indigenous people from Sydney University to kick some serious butt in the National Indigenous Tertiary Education Student Games...
It consists of four games - Netball, Touch Football, Basketball and Volleyball. We played two games each day, against two teams that we each played twice. That’s a total of 8 games each day! We started competing at 8am each morning, and wouldn’t finish until 6pm!
We had the try outs and when I found out I got in I was so excited. I couldn’t believe I was going to Brisbane for five days during semester. Although, that said, it was a bit of a hassle as I had to try and reorganize an Endocrinology exam, 2 assignments and compulsory pracs that I had to miss (which I am still trying to catch up on…)
We met at the airport around 8.30am, looking all smart in our very fancy custom fit uniforms. They were awesome, we had our names embroidered on our jackets and shirts, with our team number on the back of our singlet, shirt and shorts (I was No.1!). We also got a navy tracksuit and a matching jacket with the Sydney Uni emblem. And the best part was we also got a really nice travel bag in the Sydney Colours which was also embroidered. We were decked out head to toe and looked fantastic. Sydney Uni funded all our expenses, including accommodation, travel and uniforms. We also got a meal allowance whilst up there.
We stayed at The Oaks North Quay in Brisbane CBD (which, may I add, is nothing like Sydney CBD). We overlooked the Brisbane River. The only thing that we were disappointed about was the fact that they were doing renovations on the swimming pool so we couldn’t use it. Upon arriving we threw our bags and luggage in a store room as we couldn’t check in until later that afternoon, and went shopping (naturally of course!)
To kick off the events that night, all the University teams went to the Opening Presentation. We were welcomed by the hosting team, Griffith University. We had an elder come and talk to us, and then she sang a traditional song, which was really beautiful to listen to. There was also some men and boys who performed some traditional dances whilst playing the didgeridoo. We all mingled and chatted up a storm, quickly making friends (and for the boys, quickly picking up some girls!). Then for the majority of us, it was time for bed to get some sleep before we had to wake at 6am in the morning to compete. Notice I had said the majority of us…boys will be boys!
However, they paid severely for it the next morning. They were anything but bright and chirpy at 7am, with one of them being sick five times during the games throughout the day! Needless to say, he had a very good talking to by the manager and rest of our team. That was his first and last night out drinking during the games.
We did really well up there in the competition (especially given the heat). We made the semi-finals for Netball and Touch Football, narrowly missing out on the Volleyball semis. Basketball wasn’t really anyone’s game…yet we still managed fifth place overall. The other NSW team, UTS, was honoured with the wooden spoon, coming dead last. None of us minded rubbing this in over a few drinks that night (all in the name of good sportsmanship of course)!
It was an absolutely awesome experience and I’m so glad I went. The people were all fantastic and I made some really good friends as a result. So that was it for the games this year. However we will back next year to win the 2007 University games in Wollongong…