The Southern University Games begins in Gippsland in two weeks and Team Monash are up and ready to go, according to sport programs team leader Matt Sheldon-Collins.
This year Monash has entered teams in men’s AFL, hockey, indoor soccer (futsal), ultimate frisbee and touch football.
About 180 Monash students will attend the games, up on last year’s figure of 120.
“The teams are made up of students from all Monash campuses,” Sheldon-Collins said.
“This year there’s been a push from the students and the university to enter more teams, so it’s great to see Monash AFL and tennis coming back to the SUG.”
Sheldon-Collins said the SUG provided a number of excellent opportunities for students, as well as teams that aimed to compete in the Australian University Games later in the year.
“For some students, the SUG is a great chance to represent the university if they can’t make it to the AUGs for whatever reason, be it financial or the level of competition,” he said.
“Some teams are using this as a selection process for the AUG, and for example the AFL team is taking it as a chance to get the players together which is hard to do during footy season.”
However, other Monash teams will be taking the games more seriously as the men’s futsal and mixed touch football teams take to the pitch to defend their respective titles.
Overall Sheldon-Collins believed the Monash entries would do well, and was looking forward to the competition.
He also praised the students’ dedication to training and acknowledged the financial strain on their resources.
“We understand that financially it can be hard for students to compete at SUG and AUG, so we really do our best to get behind them and offer our support,” he said.
