A national sporting competition for Indigenous students getting underway this week has grown from humble beginnings of fewer than 20 athletes to more than 500.
The National Indigenous Tertiary Education Student Games began in 1996 as a joint class project between 13 students enrolled in a Diploma of Aboriginal Studies (Community Recreation) at the Wollotuka School for Aboriginal Studies at the University of Newcastle in NSW.
Now referred to as the Indigenous Nationals, the event is a five-day multi-sport competition for Indigenous student athletes managed by UniSport Australia.
Monash University will welcome more than 500 Indigenous students from 33 universities for the 27th Indigenous Nationals from June 26-30.
The annual event brings together student athletes from across Australia to compete in a variety of sports, with one university crowned as the champion each year.
Participants will compete in four sports, basketball, netball, touch rugby and volleyball, at Monash's Clayton Campus in Melbourne's south-east.
The Indigenous Nationals provide a platform to celebrate the rich sporting culture of Indigenous students and to also acknowledge their heritage and histories.
Monash University student Cameron James is a proud Boandik man and the 2023 co-team manager.
“Indigenous Nationals is a culturally vibrant, competitive environment that allows mobs from universities all over Australia to come together," he said.
“It’s electric, welcoming and full of joy.
"With a little bit of competitive spirit thrown into the mix, everyone is just trying to meet other mobs in a sporting environment, it makes it very easy to connect and chat.
"My favourite aspect of the games is the social part that occurs in and around the day's events."
