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Badminton has opened a lot of doors for UWA law student, Elliott Clutterbuck.

Elliott first picked up a racquet at the age of nine, inspired by his mother who played at a competitive level in England. Now he is among nine UWA students have been selected to represent Australia as part of the Uniroos team at the 28th Summer Universiade in Gwangju, Korea, from 3 to 14 July 2015.

The Summer Universiade, also known as World University Games, is a sporting and cultural festival, staged every two years with recorded figures of over 10,000 participants in 2013 from more than 150 countries. It is broadcast by more than 100 TV channels globally, and is second only in size to the Olympic Games.

“I’m most excited about experiencing the atmosphere of a Summer Universiade,” said Elliott. “I have competed for Australia and North China before, including two World University Games, but I have heard from teammates that the atmosphere of a Summer Universiade is incomparable.”

In 2013, Elliott received the Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Award and went on to study Mandarin and Chinese Law at Tsinghua University in Beijing. While in China, he competed in the 2015 Beijing University Championship (elite athlete division) and was a member of the 2014 Red Bull Northern China Badminton Championship winning team. Elliott also is not new to the global sporting stage, having represented Australia at the 2012 and 2014 World University Badminton Championships.

“I am hoping that the Australia Uniroos team will be fantastic ambassadors for Australia in South Korea when interacting with both competitors and local South Koreans,” said Elliott about his goals for the Universiade. “I hope we are known as the friendliest team in the competition, and South Koreans want to visit Australia as a result of meeting us!”

Elliott is currently completing his studies in Bachelor of Laws (Distinction) and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at UWA, majoring in Chinese and International Relations. He is also working full time as a Law Graduate for Allens Linklaters, who are supporting his sporting aspirations by giving him time off to represent his country and University in Korea.
In the lead up to the Universiade, Elliott has managed to increase his court training to three or four days a week despite his busy study and work schedule and has also added five days of outdoor fitness training to be match ready for the Games in July.

Good luck to all UWA student athletes competing at the 2015 Summer Universiade!