The UniSport Nationals is a multi-sport event held annually between the 43 Australian universities and tertiary institutions. Overseen by UniSport, the peak governing body of university sport in Australia, the nationals is the flagship event on the university sporting calendar and attracts over 6,000 student athletes each year. The nationals consist of Division 1, Division 2 and a smaller number of standalone sporting competitions held throughout the year.
The inaugural Australian University Games were held in Brisbane in 1993. The 2015 Australian University Games hosted in Gold Coast was the largest in its history, with more than 8,000 student athletes competing across 32 sports.
The University of Sydney has been the most successful amongst competing universities in the Australian University Games, having achieved "Overall Champion" a total of nine times (1995âÂÂ1996, 1999âÂÂ2003, 2007, 2014). The University of Western Australia became the first University outside the big 3 (the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, and Monash University) to win the overall champion title since 1994, when it clinched the 2010 title. The final Australian University Games concluded in 2017 with the University of Technology Sydney, claiming their second overall champion title. The UniSport Nationals replaced the Australian University Games from 2018 onwards.
Currently 31 of the sports are included in the main national championships event, which rotates between Perth and the Gold Coast in its location. The remaining national unisport championships are held as standalone championships through the year, often as part of partner events hosted by universities.
While these championships are usually held annually, the 2020 and 2021 events that were set to take place on the Gold Coast were cancelled due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Along with its main national championships, UniSport Australia also cancelled the standalone championships throughout 2020. The event returned successfully in 2022 in Perth.
In July 2022, UniSport Australia announced that they would be adopting the National Integrity Framework, and associated integrity policies, after forming a partnership with Sport Integrity Australia.
Overall Champion
The university with the most pennants across all sports is awarded the Overall Champion Trophy.
Per Capita Champion
The university with the highest points based on performance and enrolment numbers is awarded the Doug Ellis Per Capita Trophy.
Spirit Champion
The university that has shown the best sportsmanship is awarded John White Spirit Trophy.
QLD Licensed Vietuallers Asc. IV Athletics Trophy
The G.R. Hulbert Trophy
The E.J Hartung Cup Intervarsity is Awarded to the Winning Men's Football Team
Australian Universities Championship Series
AUSA Men's Basketball Shield
The 2013 AUGs were essentially dominated by the strong team from Sydney University (SUVelo), who took out the men's, women's, and overall champion trophies.
Hugh McCredie Trophy " The Intervarsity Cup" is Awarded for Women's Winning Team
The Syme Cup is Awarded to the Winning Men's Hockey Team.
Inter University Women's Hockey Cup is Awarded to the Winning Women's Hockey Team.
Rowing was one of the first events competed for between Australian universities. Men's Eights have been raced since 1888, lightweight fours since 1963, and women's eights since 1978. The NSW Centenary Cup is awarded for the university that scores the most points overall in all events; however, the most prestigious events remain the Men's and Women's Eights.
The Oxford and Cambridge Cup is awarded to the winning Men's Eight.
The Godfrey Tanner Cup is awarded to the winning Women's Eight.
The Nick Farr-Jones Cup is Awarded to the Winning Men's Rugby Union Team.
A demonstration sport in 2010 and a full sport in 2011, having been revived after a long period of decline. See Australian University Sailing.
Berge Phillips Trophy is Awarded for Winning Team Overall