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Students from The University of Western Australia have punched above their weight to take out the Doug Ellis Trophy at this year’s Australian University Games in Adelaide.

It’s the second time UWA has won the Doug Ellis Trophy, which is awarded to the university winning the most pennants per student population.

Strong performances in men’s touch, beach volleyball, lawn bowls, women’s and men’s tennis, men’s AFL, men’s soccer and ultimate Frisbee saw the university come 9th overall but top of the weighted rankings.

More than 6000 student athletes, team managers, staff and volunteers took part in five days of intense competition which ended last Friday. Athletes competed across 30 different team and individual sports.

The UWA team, although outnumbered by its big Eastern states rivals, won one gold, four silver and four bronze medals in the team pennants which made up the final result. UWA athletes also won individual medals across sports including fencing, rowing and sailing, with a sailing gold won by members of the same team that dominated the World University Match Racing Championships held in France last month.

The University of Melbourne won the overall competition over fierce rivals Monash University, securing 13 of out the 50 gold medal pennants on offer.

UWA’s per capita win makes it the only university to have won all three major titles in the games: the John White Memorial Spirit of the Games Shield in 1998 and 2001, the Doug Ellis Trophy in 2008 and 2012 and the Overall Champion Trophy in 2010.

UWA Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Bill Louden said the University’s founders recognised that sporting and cultural pursuits played a significant role in campus life.

“They also realised that sport can teach us some of life’s most important lessons – such as the value of perseverance, hard work, sacrifice, and respect for authority,” Professor Louden said.

Media references

Bea Sonnenberg (UWA Sport and Recreation Association) (+61 8) 6488 4659 / (+61 4) 24 946 986
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs) (+61 8) 6488 3229 / (+61 4) 00 700 783