News

The University of Otago has returned from competing in the Eastern Australian University Games in Newcastle, placing ninth out of the 26 teams. Otago teams were the only non-Australian teams to compete. They managed to finish with all three of their teams in the top ten. Their participation in the Eastern Australian Games was assisted by $20,000 worth of fundraising, numerous grants from OUSA and a grant from the University.

The Mixed Touch team achieved a Gold award. OUSA President Ruby Sycamore-Smith said, “We were up against a stacked team of regional and national representative players, and the lead changed several times with the score against us three to four when there were two minutes to go.

“Thankfully we scored to level at the end of regulation time forcing a move into extra time with a golden point and player drop-off situation,” Ruby said. The Mixed Touch team lost only one game in the competition, which led on to a riveting final that went into extra time. Team captain Naomi Ireland said, “We kept the intensity high all the way through the game, so it was great to come out with a win.”

The two other competing teams were Otago’s top female and male basketball teams, who walked away with fifth and sixth place respectively. The Otago women’s team won their game against the Australian College of Education 48-17, and the men’s team won against the University of New South Wales 36-29. The Otago women’s basketball captain Grace Love said she was happy with the result, however she felt “we definitely could have gone on to win.” The team only lost one game throughout their time in Australia, often beating other teams by a mile. “We beat one team by 86-4,” she said.

The games are usually for university and TAFE students from New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, but OUSA wanted some of Otago’s best athletes to be involved in the competition this year. The New Zealand University games are not being held until 2015, so the opportunity to compete internationally was quickly grasped. The Australian competitors welcomed the Otago teams, “I like that they had New Zealand teams coming over because they’re really good. Playing against a hard team makes for a good game,” said University of Technology Sydney captain Andrea Roditis.