The sports Olympiad, held on Tuesday February 14, showcased some of the many sporting and fitness opportunities available at SportUNE.

The Olympiad will also encourage students to lead a healthy lifestyle through participating in the intercollegiate sporting competitions run by SportUNE and give the students an opportunity to explore the facilities at SportUNE.

Separated into college teams, students played volleyball, netball, soccer and competed in a tug-o-war.

Jess Grave, a first year student from Valla studying Media and Communication, said she was excited to see what’s on offer at SportUNE.

“A lot of people say SportUNE is a great facility, so I think it will be really good to get involved so I can keep fit while eating two minute noodles,” she said.

“I hope to discover a new sport that I can try out.”

Rosanna Dutson is a first year student living at Earle Page College from Bellingen, studying Linguistics and Theatre. “I love the great sense of teamwork the freshers at my college have at the moment,” she said.

“I’m really hoping to have fun and get to know people while being involved in the sporting opportunities available at UNE.’

“The sports Olympiad competition is really good because it’s a friendly competition which really brings out the camaraderie in all the colleges.”

Sports development coordinator, Bradley King, said the sports Olympiad is fantastic for cross-college relations because of the friendly rivalry present between the students.

‘It brings all the freshers together in one place so they meet people outside of their own college,” he said.

The event not only promotes sports at UNE, but provides students with an opportunity to expand their skill set.

Katja Ingham, a third year Criminology student on the UNE Townies executive got involved in a more administrative role while recovering from injury. “I helped to organise the volleyball competition which provided a great way to develop my organisational skills,” she said.