New and returning UWA student athletes attended the 2024 UWA Student Athlete Development Program Welcome Lunch, held at The University Club of Western Australia on Thursday 29 February 2024.
This annual event provides an opportunity for UWA’s student athletes to meet and greet key University staff and the student athlete community. This year special guests included UWA Vice Chancellor Professor Amit Chakma, Chair of the UWA Sports Advisory Council John Inverarity, Director of Student Accommodation and Community Ian Fitzpatrick, and UWA Sports Council President Taneesha Stallbaum.
The UWA Student Athlete Development Program supports student athletes, coaches and officials in balancing their dual career aspirations and houses some of Australia’s highest achieving Olympians, World Champions, and Sporting Professionals. With over 400 athletes across 53 different sports UWA Sport is proud to have the highest number of student athletes in Western Australia.
UWA graduate Michael Christie hosted the intimidate lunchtime event. Returning and new students were able to make meaningful connections during the event in their first week on campus and received sage advice from guest speaker and current student athlete, Kyle Lee. Recently, Kyle Lee secured his spot in the Australian Olympic Team for Open Water Swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics and shared his insights on balancing academia and sports along the journey towards achieving his dream.
"The Welcome Lunch was a fantastic opportunity for the Student Athletes to meet each other, and to connect with UWA staff. It’s great to hear all the support mechanisms on offer for students on campus to help maximise their student experience."
Senior Manager Performance, Emma Pass
The event was followed by a panel discussion that featured UWA Student Wellbeing and Engagement, Student Experience and StudySmarter representatives that shared useful information and resources for students to thrive on campus.
The program’s ethos is “people first, student second and athlete third,” and aims to provide student athletes with access to a variety of support mechanisms to aid in balancing and achieving their dual career aspirations.
UWA Sport congratulates and welcomes all new student athletes to the University and program, and we look forward to supporting all athletes on their academic and sporting journeys.