Sport at MonashUniversity2015 Annual Report

OVER $1.3 MILLION in discounts were provided to students and student groups.

96% of students surveyed indicated that their involvement with Monash Sport enhanced their mental health (n=966).

We hosted over 1.3 million participant visits to our facilities and programs.

97% of students surveyed told us their involvement with Monash Sport enhanced their wellbeing and happiness (n=966).

Last year’s big statistics...2015 At A Glance

96% of students surveyed would recommend Monash Sport to new students (n=966).

*Data is combined from a number of sources, including a student survey, direct feedback gained from fitness assessments and programs, and Monash Sport usage metrics.

576 teams (over 5,000 students) participated in social sport competitions.

97% of students surveyed agreed Monash Sport positively influenced their campus experience (n=966).

973 TeamMONASH Volunteers.

1,222 Varsity Sport participants.

4,202 Sporting Club Members.

Contents2 From the Directors: Monash Sport and TeamMONASH4 Statistics and Metrics 2015

10 Awards and Achievements• Monash Sport Industry Recognition• Monash Sport Stellar Service Rating• Recognising the Talent at Monash• New Member for Sport Hall of Fame• Female Athlete of the Year• Male Athlete of the Year

17 Participation Events• Friday Night Freeze an Icy Success• Play On / College Clash• Footy Flavoured Fun• Mega $$$ Raised at Mega Swim• Monash Games• Chancellor’s Cup Golf Day• Melbourne Marathon• Around the Bay• Mother’s Day Classic• Emer Casey Fun Run

25 Sport highlights (competitive & social)• Monash Blues 1000th Senior Game• 50th Anniversary Celebration - Monash University

Soccer Club• Australian University Games• Southern University Games• Varsity Challenge• Making Sport Social

32 Built Spaces (capital, refurbs, use of spaces)• Caulfield Campus Green Opening• Refurbished Doug Ellis Swimming Pool• Enhancing Our Fitness Centres• Improvements to Chisholm Hall• Recreation Hall Refurbishments• Tennis Court Refurbishments

37 The People On Our Team• Innovative Uses of Our Spaces• Our Human Capital• Monash Sport Culture• Staff Recognition at Monash Sport• Helping Students Learn to Swim• Staff Wellbeing at Monash• Let’s Chat About Australian Sport & Culture• World University Games

From the DirectorsA Year of Engagement, Growth and Innovation What an action packed and innovative year 2015 was in the sport space at Monash University. In 2015, Sport at Monash played a larger role in student and campus life at Monash than ever before. To provide these opportunities to the Monash Community, two departments at Monash University (Monash Sport & TeamMONASH, both a part of the Campus Community Division) work collaboratively with students to enhance the campus experience. What follows is our inaugural ‘2015 Sport at Monash University Annual Report’.

Our facilities, services, programs, activities and events again hosted over 1.3 million visitations, for the fourth year in succession, despite significant facility refurbishments to the Doug Ellis Swimming Pool and indoor sports facilities at Caulfield and Clayton campuses.

We also introduced new initiatives such as the Water Wise program, new major events such as Friday Night Freeze and a large number and wide range of innovative student and staff engagement experiences provided across Monash campuses. We passionately believe that active bodies complement active minds and endeavour to facilitate more students and staff involved in being active, more often.

This publication summarizes some of the key achievements, challenges and deliverables that were realized in 2015 there are many highlights contained herein, and we invite you to read the detail in the following pages. Participation levels continued to be strong in 2015 with growth in many services and programs especially social sport programs, Staff Wellness Activity Programs (SWAP) and student fitness and swimming participation. There were substantial program and service refinements again in 2015, continuing the trends of recent years.

Monash Sport won a peer-judged, external award for the Aquatics and Recreation Victoria, 2015 Health Club of the Year for the Clayton Fitness Centre. The focus on high quality service provision continues to be a priority with Monash Sport achieving the University’s highest ever Service Delivery rating of 95%, assessed externally by a CSBA mystery shopping process. This result was underpinned by a continuing commitment to facilitate staff training and development initiatives.

Sport participation options at Monash University have diversified significantly over recent years to incorporate not only formal sport, representation and social sport opportunities for students and staff, but also informal sport and play, student engagement activities, learning activities and broader social activities that bring students, staff and our broader community together. We also partner with many student engagement and learning initiatives and stakeholders such as the Let’s Chat program, Orientation and welcome activities and social inclusion events such as One World Festival.

Sports facilities also hosted major University events such as Examinations, Graduation activities and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremonies. We are proud of our progress in developing effective partnerships and relationships with a range of University stakeholders and the broad appeal of the services and partnering initiatives provided are captured in this report.

Monash University continued to perform exceedingly well across varsity and community engagement events. With the support of 973 volunteers, TeamMONASH assisted 6,065 individuals to represent the University in a range of sporting, artistic and community engagement activities. This places Monash as the number one ranked university in Australia for student representation in Varsity Sport. In addition to this the formalisation of a number of community relationships based on actions led to a closer connection between local, national and international not for profit organisations, local Government and the University. Importantly, Monash University is home to a diverse and thriving array of competitive sporting clubs with 4,202 members and 652 club volunteers administering and supporting these clubs.

Developing, advocating and informing sustainable master planning strategies is a key strategic priority to ensure the many forms of sport, representation, recreation, play and engagement events continue to play an important role in campus life for years to come. Our key operational focus will remain delivering high quality student experiences that add value to the overall campus experience.

This report highlights some of the key success and achievements from what was a bold, chellenging and exciting year serving the university community.

Brett Lavale Martin DoultonDirector, Monash Sport Director, TeamMONASH

2

Water Wise Free Play

Sports Facilities

Memberships

SWAP (staff) Programs

Volunteering

Representation

Social Sport Programs

Events

Student Engagement

Sport Clubs

Major University Events

Varsity Sport

3

Sport Facilities

Free Play

Social Sport

Water Wise

“Active bodies, vibrant minds”

Memberships

SWAP (staff health programs)

Aquatic Programs

Fitness Programs

Participation Events

Sport Clubs

Student Engagement

Major University Events

Community Fitness Events

Volunteering

Sport Hall of Fame

Elite Student Performer Support

Varsity Sport

Representation

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MONASH SPORT“Active bodies, vibrant minds”

“Our mission is to provide Monash students and staff with engaging, innovative, and high quality experiences that enhance the wellbeing and vitality of the University

community, making it a better place to live, learn, work and play.”

9,260The total amount of

Monash students that took out a membership

with us in 2015.

Monash Sport employs 126 Monash students, a proportianally higher number of students when compared to

other GO8 universities.

22,397The total amount of

Monash students that engaged with us in a service, program or membership during

2015.

Monash Sport facilities are open;

351 days per year,110 hours per week,and see 1.3 million

visits per year.

Monash students that are also members of Monash Sport

have a higher course progression rate,

when compared to the overall Monash cohort.

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Metrics - 2015

Net Promoter Score (N = 1324)

81%*

28.55%38.32%

3.55%2.25% 13.58%

3.89%9.86%

82%*

32.78%33.89%

1.45%1.45% 16.95%

4.01%9.48%

Satisfaction with Monash Sport customer service (N = 1324)

29.04%45.50%

3.03%1.56% 11.21%

2.02%7.63%

85%*

To what degree was the range and quality of sports, aquatic and fitness facilities a decision

factor in choosing Monash University? (N = 966)

63%*

22.89%19.60%

18.78%6.22% 13.97%

7.16%11.38%

1% 0.3%

The extent that students felt Monash Sport improved their wellbeing and

happiness (N = 966)

*Rating = Average rating on seven point likert scale (1-7), converted to a percentage

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Over 1,302,000 total visits in 2015

Metrics - 2015

Net Promoter Score (N = 1324)

7

Metrics - 2015

1% 2.7%

2.5%2.5%

8

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2015 was full of sporting achievements, with Monash Sport receiving critically acclaimed awards in the health and fitness industry. The 2015 Health Club of the Year was awarded to the Monash Sport Clayton Fitness Centre at the Aquatics and Recreation Victoria Industry Awards. While the Doug Ellis Swimming Pool was commended for outstanding water safety standards with the Lifesaving Victoria Platinum Pool Award.

Customer service ratings were at a consistently high level yet again, identifying Monash Sport as a leader in customer service across Caulfield, Clayton and Peninsula campuses.

The 52nd TeamMONASH Awards were held in November, with 31 students being awarded Blues, the highest sporting honour an individual student athlete can attain at this University. These students follow in the footsteps of 1,454 Blues receipeints before them, being recognised by a tradition which commenced in 1963.

At the Vice Chancellor’s Elite Athlete Welcome Dinner held in May, Triple Olympian and World Champion Rower Sam Patten (Bachelor of Science, 1991) became the 23rd inductee into the Monash University Sport Hall of Fame.

After fantastic performances for Monash University and Australia, Nneka Okpala (Triple Jump) and Thomas Sinclair (Hockey) were awarded the male and female Athlete of the Year Awards.

Awards & Achievements

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We are proud to announce that Monash Sport has won the Health Club of the Year Award at the 2015 Aquatics & Recreation Victoria Awards.

Aquatics & Recreation Victoria (ARV) is the peak body for aquatic and recreation in the state. Every year the ARV awards acknowledges people and organisations that have achieved outstanding results through their awards night.

Monash Sport applied and was shortlisted for both the Health Club of the year Award and the Facility Management Award for the Doug Ellis Pool.

The Health Club of the Year award recognises innovative and effective management practices to achieve excellence in health club operations. It focuses on programming, human resources, customer service, risk management, community involvement and partnerships.

The application for this award required Monash Sport to submit a written application outlining what sets us apart from the other health clubs within the industry. It allowed a maximum of 2200 words and required referencing to customer survey results, programming initiatives, member usage and features such as accessibility and enhancements to the centre. It also required a video submission (links to these are below).

Monash Sport won the Health Club of the Year award in large part to their overall commitment to providing excellent services and features to members.

Despite not being the overall winner of the Facility Management award, the Doug Ellis Swimming Pool being shortlisted was a testament to the commitment of the Pool staff to continually improve operations and development of the facility, leading to better community outcomes.

You can view our video applications online via these links:• Health Club Award - bit.ly/arv-health-club• Facility Management Award - bit.ly/arv-facility-mgmt

In addition to our honour at the ARV Awards, Monash University’s Doug Ellis Swimming Pool has been rated one of the best pools in Victoria, achieving Platinum Pool accreditation from Life Saving Victoria for outstanding levels of safety at an aquatic facility.

In a similar fashion to the accreditation of a lifesaver, pools undergo a thorough assessment of their skills and performance and must maintain a consistently high standard to meet the criteria for Platinum Pool accreditation.

The award recognises facilities which have met the highest safety requirements in the aquatic industry and gives a 5 star rating.

Monash Sport Industry Recognition

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As a part of an ongoing commitment to providing high quality service, between April and June, Monash University engaged independent customer service consulting agency CSBA to assess the service levels throughout the University, by mystery shopping a number of University departments, including Monash Sport.

Acting as “Mystery Shoppers”, CSBA assessors made 226 general enquiry calls to multiple departments throughout the University. A total 70 of these calls were made to Monash Sport across the Caulfield, Clayton and Peninsula campuses, including the aquatics, health and fitness and venues service desks.

Monash University scored well above the GO8 University sector average in their overall telephone service scores, both in “getting through” and the quality of the services delivered.

Monash Sport received the University’s top Service Delivery score of 95% and in particular were highly accoladed for offering consistent greetings to customers, the warmth, attentiveness and interest of the staff, staff skill in resolving customer enquiries as well as their sound communication skills.

Customer service levels are a continuing focus of Monash Sport, last year approximately 60 staff members undertook a comprehensive customer service training program in a range of online and in person service enhancement workshops. We are proud to see that our service level reflects the emphasis and effort Monash Sport place on customer service.

Staff are presently about to embark on another series of training modules in communicating effectively with customers from various backgrounds and cultures to create positive experiences for students who may experience language and cultural barriers.

Monash Sport Stellar Service Rating

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The 2015 TeamMONASH Awards recognized the outstanding contribution of student athletes and volunteers from the Monash community in sport and community service. In it’s 52nd year, the TeamMONASH Awards honoured over 40 students whose extra curricular achievements showcased the contribution that the university makes to the global community.

Throughout the night 31 students athletes’ achievements were recognized with Blues Awards. The Blues Awards are the University’s highest sporting awards. The prestigious Male and Female Athlete of the Year Award, was awarded respectively to Thomas Sinclair and Nneka Okpala. Nneka represented Monash University at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea, where she placed 8th in the women’s triple jump. She is the current New Zealand Women’s Triple Jump National Record Holder, as well as the reigning Victorian, New Zealand and Australian Athletics Championships Triple Jump Gold Medalist. With her eyes set firmly on the 2016 Rio Olympics, we want to congratulate Nneka on her many achievements this year and wish her all the best during the next 6 months of Olympic qualification.

Tom represented Australia at the World Indoor Hockey Championships held in Germany this year, before returning to represent Monash University at the Southern and Australian University Games where he helped the Men’s Hockey team win Gold at both events. He also received Green and Gold honours at the Australian University Games for the third consecutive year. The Monash Community would like to congratulate Tom on his many successes this year.

The Varsity Team of the Year was awarded to the Men’s Hockey team. The 2015 Men’s Hockey Team defeated Melbourne University at the Annual Varsity Games, before being crowned Champions of both the Southern University Games and the Australian University Games. The Club of the Year award went to the Monash University Boardriders Club for the second consecutive year. With over 500 members, the camps and training sessions held by the club helped the Monash Women’s Surfing team come second at the Australian University Championships this year. The Monash Boardriders Club also participated in the Australian Disabled Surfers Initiative this year helping people with physical and mental disabilities enjoy getting in the water and surfing their first waves.

Fiona Canny won The Monash University Oaktree Foundation Volunteer Recognition Award. As a recent graduate of Monash University and the Deputy CEO of the Oaktree Foundation, Fiona led the foundations End Poverty Campaign.

The Service to the Community Award was won by the President of the Monash University Outdoors Club, Stefan Smith. Stefan has been a clear catalyst in MUOC’s metamorphosis over the last two years that has seen it improve its services to the Monash Community. TeamMONASH Director Martin Doulton said of the event, “It is a great privilege for the University community to recognise the achievements of our student sports stars, performers and volunteers during the TeamMONASH awards night. Each individual makes a great contribution to the success of the University across so many fields of extra curricular activity and celebrates the positive impact that Monash students make to the community in which they live, work, study and play.”

Recognising the Talent at Monash

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The Vice Chancellor’s Athlete Welcome Dinner saw the induction of Sam Patten into the Monash University Sport Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame acknowledges graduates of Monash University whose endeavours in their chosen sports have taken them to the highest level.

A graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, Sam Patten is now an accomplished orthopaedic surgeon.

As a rower, triple Olympian and World Champion, Sam’s sporting achievements are also outstanding.

As the 23rd inductee into this illustrious group of elite athletes, Sam’s induction adds another distinguished name to the group, his achievements are listed below:

SAMUEL PATTEN - ROWING

Bachelor of Science (Medicine) 1991

Selected in Australian Squad – 1983

World Championships Men’s Eight, Bronze Medal – 1983 Men’s Eight, Fourth – 1987 Men’s Coxless Four, Gold Medal – 1990

National Champion Men Pair, Men’s Coxed Four, King’s Cup – 1987 Men’s Coxless Pair, Men’s Coxless Four, King’s Cup – 1988

Los Angeles Olympic Rowing Team, Men’s Eight, Bronze Medal – 1984

Seoul Olympic Rowing Team, Coxless Pair – 1988

Barcelona Olympic Rowing Team, Men’s Eight, Fifth - 1992

A.B.C Sports Awards – Team of the Year (Men’s Eight), Fifth – 1992

Appointed Australian Olympic Committee – Athletes Commission – 1993

Delegate – International Olympic Committee – Centenary Congress – 1994

New Member For Sport Hall of Fame

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Female Athlete of the YearNneka OkpalaNneka has had a fantastic year in 2015. She represented Monash University and New Zealand at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea, where she placed 8th in the women’s triple jump with a jump of 13.15m’s.

Nneka is the current New Zealand Women’s National Triple Jump Record Holder. As well as the reigning Victorian, New Zealand and Australian Athletics Triple Jump Gold Medallist. This year she was also named Essendon Athletics Club Athlete of the Year.

After starting athletics at the age of 6 and specialising in Triple Jump at 15, Nneka’s current ambitions are to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

She is definitely making her mark on the triple jump circuit and we are all very proud of her achievements. Congratulations Nneka.

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Thomas SinclairTom represented Australia at the World Indoor Hockey Championships held this year in Germany. As one of the youngest players in the Australian team, Tom finished the World Cup as one of its most valuable.

At a club level, Tom played in the Bundesliga for Berliner HC while he was on a direct exchange with Monash Abroad to Freie Universität Berlin.

This year Tom represented Monash University at the Varsity Challenge, the Southern University Games and the Australian University Games, where the Men’s Hockey Team won Gold Medals at all three tournaments. Tom received Green and Gold honours at AUG for the third consecutive year, he also scored all of the goals in the final.

Tom has also given back to the sport as the coach of the First Team at Scotch College and the Victorian Under 18 Girls Indoor team this year.

Tom encapsulates the Monash spirit and we congratulate him on his many successes this year.

Male Athlete of the Year

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Participation EventsParticipation events encouraged staff and students to enjoy campus life, and engage with peers beyond the classroom. Events such as the Play On! Festival was held, to encourage students to acknowledge the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle. As part of the inaugural Winterfest, Friday Night Freeze brought toboggans, food trucks and a nighttime AFL match together to ultimately raise over $12,000 for the Cure MND Foundation.

Monash University was also commended for entering the largest Tertirary Team in the Mother’s Day Classic for the second year running. Staff and students could also participate in a range of events such as the Melbourne Marathon and Emer Casey Fun Run representing Monash University.

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On Friday 7 August, 2015 the Monash community came together to raise over $12,000 for the Cure MND Foundation at Monash Sport’s Friday Night Freeze event, part of Monash University’s 2015 Winter Festival.

In an evening which attracted approximately 4,500 staff, students and families, the Friday Night Freeze included snow activities such as tobogganing and snow-dodge ball, as well as a Monash Blues Football Club amateur AFL football match and Melbourne Victory player zone. The evening included demonstrations from the Monash University Snow Sports Club, live DJ music and a Non-Residential Colleges snow-dodge ball competition and was concluded with a colourful fireworks display.

The focal point of the evening was raising money for the Cure MND Foundation. Participants registered to ride down an ice slide into a pool of freezing cold water, gathering donations in the weeks beforehand. This followed the ‘Big Freeze at the ‘G’ in Round 10 of the AFL Premiership Season, which saw 11 football personalities ride down an ice slide in front of a packed house at the MCG before the Collingwood vs Melbourne match.

A number of senior University staff went down the ice slide, commencing with Martin Doulton, Director of Team MONASH. He was soon followed by Vladimir Prpich, Executive Director of Campus Community Division, and Trisha Prpich, Director of Monash Residential Services. Bradley Williamson, the Executive Director of the Buildings and Properties Division and Wayne Brundell, who is one of the Senior Managers at the Buildings and Properties Division also braved the icy water to raise funds.

Several Monash Sport staff also participated including, Tanya Hetherington, Caroline Lawrence, Melanie Elston and Maria Barres, as well as current and past players of the Monash Blues Football Club.

Fresh from their 2014-2015 Hyundai A League Premiership and Championship success, Melbourne Victory players Fahid Ben Khalfallah, Kosta Barbarouses and Rashid Mahazi were signing autographs and taking photos with fans beside a Victory shootout zone.

Positioned adjacent to the Freeze MND Ice Slide, the Melbourne Victory players had the perfect view of the ice slide throughout the night. Many commented on their amazement of the number of participants braving the icy water to contribute to such a valuable cause.

Cure MND is a charity close to the Monash Blues Amateur Football Club. Mick Rodger was popular around the club well beyond his playing days, and was working to fight MND right up until his passing due to the disease. The Monash Blues supported Mick all the way, and his legacy proves to be very strong today, as Senior Coach Paul Groves, and players Sam Baring, Andrew McGregor and Maddison Hardiman took the plunge down the ice slide at halftime. Much to the enjoyment of their fellow team mates watching on.

Monash University students particularly enjoyed playing bubble and watching the roving fire twirlers performing throughout the evening. In the AFL football match under lights between the Monash Blues and De La Salle Old Collegians Under 19 teams, the Monash Blues ran over the top of De La to win by 71 points in a resounding win, in front of an excited crowd of over 250 people.

Director of Monash Sport, Brett Lavale, was excited by the success of the Friday Night Freeze in its first year. “This event was a great example of how we can create interactive events that engage the Monash University and broader communities with innovative and fun activities”, he said.

Friday Night Freeze an Icy Success

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Play On / College ClashMonash Sport’s Play On! Festival encouraged students to get active with fun events and activities whilst raising awareness of Monash Sport and it’s facilities to students.

Held over 16-19 March at Clayton Campus, the festival combined existing events such as College Clash and the beginning of the Social Sport season with a variety of fun, social and sporting activities. Highlights included an outdoor cinema night, Bubble Soccer, free blend your own smoothie (via Bike Blender) and Food Trucks dispensing cheap tasty treats, all set to a background of tunes provided by our on scene DJ.

The Clayton Play On Festival brought together over 1,000 students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including 450 residential students who participated in the annual College Clash, and even some staff members. The event offered residential students and those students in non-residential colleges the chance to compete against each other in alternative activities such as tug of war, bubble soccer, paper plane crafting (and ability to land said plane in a bucket), bowling, along with traditional activities such as basketball competitions, and regular soccer utilising the inflatable pitch. Farrer took the win in 2015 with Peninsula coming in as a close second, winning prizes and more importantly year-long boasting rights for 2015.

Play On! Festival hit Caulfield campus in week 11 of semester one. Despite the difficulties accessing the sports precinct during the Caulfield Green refurbishments, the festival saw a fantastic turnout with over 350 students in attendance. A special mention and thanks must go towards Professor David Copolov for formally opening the event and kick-starting the bubble soccer competition on the day.

The festival mixed Social Sport competitions and free group fitness classes with fun activities like bike blender and bubble soccer and musical entertainment provided

by the on site DJ. Instead of food trucks the Caulfield event offered $1 sushi options from the sushi stand in the sports precinct.

We captured some incredibly positive feedback at these events, with over 70% of students indicating that they remained on campus longer than they would normally to the event and more than 65% indicating that Bubble Soccer was their favourite part of the event.

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Each year, Monash Sport supports the Fight Cancer Foundation which asks Australians to don their favourite football teams colours, unite and help support the fight against cancer. For the second year in a row Monash Sport held the all inclusive Footy Colours Day to support the Fight Cancer Foundation.

Staff and students ventured out to Monash Sport in spite of the week 8 overload to sample some tasty fares from food trucks, listen to the tunes from our DJ, test their accuracy at hand balling or kicking a footy and check out how high they could jump in the vertical jump test.

Ever the fan favourite, students also spent some time bouncing off each other, the walls, and even off the ground in friendly games of bubble soccer. Events were also held at Caulfield and Peninsula campus.

The Clayton campus event also offered the perfect opportunity to announce the Winners of our inaugural Footy Tipping Competition. With nearly 1000 people registered the competition from diverse areas of the University, the final draw came down to six participants equally tied for first place, the winner of which was ultimately determined by the margin score.

• First place went to Professor Chrishan Samuel from the Pharmacology faculty and was accepted by Dr Barbara Kemp-Harper on his behalf as he was overseas at the time. Professor Chrishan not only became the winner of the first place prize - a 50 inch Full HD Smart LCD TV, but also came first in their faculty’s private competition consisting of around 20 people.

• Second place went to Saul Block - a Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Commerce student currently completing his penultimate year. Saul won a one year Fitness and Aquatics membership at Monash Sport.

• Third prize was won by biochemical Post-Doctoral researcher Dr Laurent Lermusiaux who got to take home a Playstation 4 and a couple of games.

• Fourth place went to first year Psychology student Deandra de Krester who was unable to attend and collect her Fitbit Charge HR as she was in a tutorial during the presentations.

• Fifth place and winner of a Fitbit Flex went to Monash Blues football player Taylor Cameron.

A special mention should be made for Professor Edwina Cornish - Provost and Senior Vice-President of Monash University, who was the last to hold an equal tie for first place in points however missed out on a prize by margin.

Well done to all of our nearly 1000 Footy Tipping participants and thanks to all who got involved in our Footy Colours Day celebrations!

Footy Flavoured Fun

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The 24 Hour Mega Swim, Stride and Spin was held over the weekend at Monash Sport’s Doug Ellis Swimming Pool, with over $9,000 raised for people affected by Multiple Sclerosis.

From 10am on Saturday morning to the following Sunday, five teams contributed to raising money for Multiple Sclerosis Australia. There were many tired faces when 10am Sunday arrived, as many participants elected to sleep at the pool overnight. However all 52 participants were proud of their achievements while raising money for an excellent cause.

The money raised will go towards financially helping people unable to achieve their goals and dreams due to Multiple Sclerosis, in what MS Australia call Go for Gold scholarships.

Spokesperson for MS Australia Shara Gillahan was thrilled with the efforts shown from all the teams.

“So for the 2015 Monash 24 Hour Mega Swim, Spin and Cycle, you guys have been able to raise over $8,700 and still counting. That’s an amazing effort and will help so many recipients of Go for Gold scholarships,” she said.

“The MS 24 Hour Mega Swim is to help raise funds to support people with MS to achieve their dream by granting them Go for Gold scholarships. Which is a financial scholarship to help them achieve their dreams, whether it be in education or employment, anything like that. Just to make it a little bit easier for them to achieve their dreams.”

Shara herself was diagnosed with MS five years ago, and after being supported by MS Australia she has joined the organisation to give something back.

“I was diagnosed with MS in 2010, and I was fortunate enough to be a recipient of a Go for Gold scholarship in 2012. And through that it allowed

me to achieve my dream of traveling over to Ireland and UK and the US to learn millinery from some of the world’s best milliners,” she said.

The Mega Spin and Mega Stride were two new additions to the Mega Swim event this year, to give flexibility for those wanting to contribute out of the pool. The Mega Stride consisted of walking or running on a treadmill, while the Mega Spin gave participants the task of riding on a spin bike for 24 hours.

Mega Swim team Team Minky took out the overall winning team award, raising $3,840 and swimming 87.6km. Sally Fyfield won the award for highest fundraising for an individual, raising $1,485.

Georgia Abott took out the youth award and Mega Spin team the Knight Riders won the award for best dressed team.

Monash Sport has held five Mega Swim events over recent years, with over $100,000 raised in total.

Mega $$$ Raised at Mega Swim

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The Monash Games for 2015 certainly lived up to the expectations of previous years, and then some. Healthy and high quality competition was evident, in what was a great display of numerous sports over three days.

Teams who have previously represented Monash University at the Australian University Games competed, as well as teams made up of friendship groups and workplaces. Basketball team the High Flyers, consisted of players who wanted to play in the games, but didn’t have a team to play in. They met via online social media site Facebook and registered a team, despite knowing they would only meet each other in person for the first time on day one of Monash Games. Given the strong competition from the other Monash Uni teams, the High Flyers unfortunately didn’t win a game, however their average loss margin was only four points, much to the admiration of their competitors and newly found supporters.

Ronald McDonald House (RMH) Clayton was again (for the ninth year) the chosen charity for this year’s Monash Games, supporting sick children and their families in tough times. Each team registered in Monash Games was given an account to raise money for RMH Clayton, with a total of nearly $500 raised.

Over the three day event of tournaments, a total of 17 volunteers helped out in scoring, results recording and general assistance. Volunteers are always a pivotal element to Monash Games running smoothly, free healthy lunches over the Games and a Monash Sport scarf were provided to them as a gesture of appreciation for their time.

Overall 52 teams competed in the Monash Games for 2015, featuring over 400 staff and students. Other highlights from the Monash Games were the netball shootout, three point shootout and slam dunk competitions. The winners and runners-up for each competition are listed below.

Monash Games

Student Competitions:

Basketball Open:Winners: Monash BluesRunners Up: Lob City

Dodgeball:Winners: Uni Battles UniteRunners Up: Monash AUG Mixed

Indoor Soccer Mixed:Winners: Team MelliRunners Up: eSolutions Lightwood United

Indoor Soccer Open:Winners: The Salty DawgsRunners Up: Los Desperados

Womens NetballWinners: Monash AUG WomensRunners Up: Honey Badgers

Staff Competitions:

Basketball Open:Winners: Peanut Butter Delly TimeRunners Up: eDribblers

Indoor Soccer Open:Winners: eSolutions-TGI FridayRunners Up: Golden Oldies

Mixed Netball:Winners: eSolutions-dotnettersRunners Up: Psyched

Volleyball Open:Winners: Persian GulfRunners Up: eSolutions and One

Specialty Competitions:

Slam Dunk Competition:Winner: Alex Cameron

Netball Shootout:Winner: Kathleen Wisbey

Three-point Shootout:Winner: Michael Chev

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Chancellor’s Cup Golf DayHeld on the 13th of November at the prestigious Sandhurst Golf Club, the 2015 Chancellor’s Cup Golf Day was one to remember. The occasionally windy but nonetheless lovely day provided great conditions for the competition.

The first year team from Yamaha City of David Jones, Erin Geraghty, Ashley Nugawela and Michael Pettingill set an exceptionally high standard this year. The team clinched the win on their final hole, after besting the second placed team and last years winners, Harris HMC, by one shot.

In it’s 18th year, the popular event attracted 63 golfers from throughout the Monash University community.

TeamMONASH Programs Coordinator Simon Dart said the golf day was an outstanding success. The feedback from participants about the golf day itself as well as the opportunities it provided for networking was fantastic. The event raised funds for Monash University’s Talented Student Support Program and it’s affiliated sporting clubs.

Melbourne MarathonSince it’s inception in 1978 the 42.195km Melbourne Marathon and it’s half, 10km, 5.7km and 3km running and walking events have drawn numerous participants.

189 runners represented Monash University in either the full marathon, half marathon, 10km, 5.7km or 3km walk event at this year’s Melbourne Marathon, a substantial increase on the 65 runners from last year, making us the largest Tertiary Team at the event. 14 Volunteers also attended the event, providing support to our athletes.

Our participants managed to raise 903,000 for the Cerebral Palsy Education Centre.

Around the BayCurrently in it’s 23rd year, Around the Bay- Ride for a Child In Need is Australia’s largest bike ride, uniting Melbourne cyclists. The event caters to all levels and styles of riding and offered participants options from 20km routes up to 250km routes.

The event raised valuable funds for the Smith Family to support primary school children in need with educational essentials such as school books, bags, uniforms and shoes for a whole year. This year Monash University had 22 athletes participating in the event along with 10 volunteers offering their time to support them.

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Mother’s Day ClassicThe Mother’s Day Classic is an annual fun run or walk that helps to both raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer. It brings together people from all walks of life and all ages in a festive atmosphere that allows them to do something fun and active while remembering those that have been affected by Breast Cancer.

The Mother’s Day Classic is organised and established by Women in Super with the knowledge that all research is gradually improving the survival rates of women diagnosed with Breast Cancer. With one in nine Australian women affected it’s seen as an important investment in securing the future health of women. Since it’s conception in 1998 the Mother’s Day Classic has raised $24.3 million dollars for breast cancer research.

TeamMONASH are proud to say that we have won the award for the Largest Tertiary Team for the second year in a row due to the dedication of our staff and students.

Emer Casey Fun RunThe Emer Casey Foundation aims to raise much needed funds for Ovarian Cancer research. In its 8th year, the Emer Casey Fun Run and its participants braved inclement weather and ran either the 5 or 10 kilometre course. In the process raising over $30,000 for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

The event was a resounding success with over 75 Monash students, alumni and staff participants joining the 400 strong group. It was great to see the university community rally around such a worthwhile cause. Monash University has a long history with the Emer Casey fun run, with 2015 marking our 7th year of involvement. Unlike previous years the run was unable to be held at the Clayton Campus due to major construction work. However it was great to see that its relocation just down the road at Wheelers Hill did not hinder its success.

Emer Casey was a young Irish woman who died of Ovarian Cancer. Her death had such an impact on her family and friends that they set up the Emer Casey Foundation, which is dedicated to raising money for research into Ovarian Cancer. Every year in Australia around 1500 women are diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and more than 850 women will die from the disease. All funds raised are donated to the Peter Mac Centre.

Funding from the Emer Casey Fun Run has been instrumental in helping the Peter Mac Centre conduct vital pilot studies that then allow them to apply for additional funding to further their research.

The MC for the morning was Team MONASH’s own, Martin Doulton, who said of the event - “we are pleased to continue to be so heavily involved in supporting such a worthy cause. We are looking forward to 2016.”

It was great to see so many Monash students, staff and alumni getting involved in such a worthwhile cause.

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Sporting HighlightsMonash University sent its largest team ever to the Australian Uni Games last year on the Gold Coast, bringing home a plethora of bronze, silver and gold medals.

The Southern Uni Games and Varsity Challenge also showed strong Monash representation across numerous sports.

Sporting Clubs provide a friendly, safe place to meet, while also offerring leadership, volunteering opportunities and a sense of place for their members. They also represent the University with pride, and every week of semester at least 100 teams take the field or court against community teams.

2015 included a major milestone for the Monash Blues AFL Club, with the senior team taking the field for their 1000th

senior game. The Monash University Soccer Club also celebrated the 50th year since their formation.

On a more recreational level, Monash Sport’s lunchtime and weeknight Social Sport competitions continued to grow in size, with mixed competitions proving to be most popular.

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On Saturday 20 June 2015, the Monash Blues senior team took to the field for the 1000th time in the VAFA. Fittingly, the game was against Old Haileyburians, our opponents in the grand final in our debut season, 1962.

A luncheon was held during the reserves game and was attended by 100 past players (including some from the inaugural season), supporters and sponsors. While many stories of past glory were told, it is not believed that any of them involved any level of embellishment (despite some suspicion, no claim of exaggeration could be conclusively proven on the day).

The major pre-luncheon activity was past players attempting to locate their name on the banner listing the 3060 players who have pulled on the Turquoise and Silver Monash jumper since 1962. The generation gap was apparent post game with the current playing group preferring to take “selfies” in front of the banner.

Club President Julian Smith’s speech paid tribute to Doug Ellis, Keith Frearson (and their modern day equivalents) for creating and maintaining a Club culture that is inclusive of players from a broad range of backgrounds and abilities.

The Club statistician prepared for the day by preparing a combined list of B&F votes across the history of the Club. With three of the top five Monash Players (George Smyth, Andrew McGregor, Andrew Hickey, Jamie Sturgess and Greg Hipwell) also having won a league medal, VAFA umpires can maintain confidence in their ability to award B&F votes.

Given the tendency of modern players to be more likely to play beyond their years as a student, a list of the average number of votes per game was developed to enable a comparison of players across the years.

Two time Club B&F winner Sam McGee was the leader with an impressive average of 8.6 votes per game (just under half the 18 vote maximum able to be awarded to a single player). Peter Robinson was found to be the supreme player from the 60s, with Ant Quin and Jamie Sturgess being stars of the 80s.

Following the function, the assembly moved to the hill adjacent to the Frearson Oval, to watch the milestone Senior game.

An even first quarter had some Monash supporters concerned that Haileybury could be about to spoil the post game celebrations (and avenge their loss in the 1962 E-grade grand final).

Thankfully Paul Groves’ quarter time address inspired the Monash backline (led by Joe Cosgriff at centre half back) who got on top and provide a basis for Nick Petering, Damien Hatch and Sam Le Lievre to claim the glory up forward and see the Ashes record a strong 91 point win over a fellow finals contender.

Monash Blues 1000th Senior Game

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50th Anniversary Celebration - Monash University Soccer ClubAndrew Patterson

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Monash University Soccer Club, the 2015 committee organised a cocktail evening held on the 21st of August 2015 in the Green Room at Clayton campus. Many thanks to the staff at Monash Sport who helped us with the use of this facility.

Over 70 past players, coaches and partners attended the event with speeches from club founder Emmery Bihary, and past presidents Tim Smurthwaite and Jess Gibson. Delicious food was prepared by catering wizard Jill Pettigrew and she was ably assisted on the night by the committee members Rachel Yeo, Ed Tasker, Kenny Kannalingham, Harry Osmond, Mel Ooi and Ned Rocke.

Club founder Emmery Bihary gave the opening speech, discussing the club’s beginning, intervarsity and the club’s first strip.

It is quite unbelievable. There were NO sporting facilities, other than an Aussie Rules ground. We put up a notice in the Union Building requesting anyone interested in soccer to come to a meeting. Doug Ellis assigned a room for our meeting and told me that if I get 20 people to turn up he would do whatever he could to help us. The room he had assigned us was rather small and could not accommodate the 60 or more who turned up.

The final speech of the night was given by the first female president of the club Jess Gibson. Here are some excerpts from her very moving speech.

A few aspects of the club have changed over the last ten years: Club governance has improved, largely thanks to Rich Huysmans and Mike Pogrebnoy. Most significantly though, the men’s and women’s clubs have united. The official merger occurred just before I came along, but it took a few years for the two entities to truly integrate into one club. Two marriages and an engagement are testament to how successful it has been!

Some people may define a club’s success by how many trophies it’s won, how impressive its facilities are or how much free gear the players are given, but to me all of that is irrelevant unless you have good people to share it with. Monash is far from playing at the highest level of football and, although results are nice, they’re not enough to get players coming back year after year. Players, coaches and supporters come to Monash and stay here because we know how to have fun and we welcome them with open arms. We make them feel like they belong. And that’s what Monash is for me - somewhere I feel like I belong.

Which brings me to final, and most important point for the evening. On behalf of the current generation, those of us who have been here for one year, or ten or 20, I want to thank each and every one of you who came before us. This club means so much to so many people. Probably more than you’ll ever know. And it wouldn’t be what it is today without all of you. So, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you.

Photo: Morgan Kirk-Eaton

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After 12 months of planning recruiting and organising, the 2015 Australian University Games went down in the history books as the largest team in our University’s 57 year history. Over 700 student athletes, coaches and support crew across 37 sports donned their uniforms in pursuit of taking out the title of Australia’s University Sporting Champion.

Monash University finished 3rd overall in this year’s Australian University Games, with a total medal tally of 5 Gold Medals, 9 Silver Medals and 7 Bronze Medals! Over half of our teams finished with a medal, and 27 of our 40 teams made it to the semi-finals of their sport. These amazing results capped off a fantastic week in the Gold Coast.

Monash University are now the reigning 2015 Australian Champions in Men’s Hockey, Men’s Taekwondo, Women’s Taekwondo, Men’s Tennis and Men’s Squash.

A huge thank you and congratulations must go to our team captains, Amanda Fung and Craig Dent. Amanda and Craig represented the 764 strong Monash cohort speaking with passion and pride at functions and media events throughout the week. It was a pleasure to have Amanda and Craig as the face of Monash for the week.

Monash also had 43 athletes selected to be members of the Green and Gold team at this years AUG. The Green and Gold awards are given to athletes for each sport who are chosen in the all-star team for the competition.

A special mention should be given to our cheerleaders, who competed at the Australian University Games as well. The cheerleading championship is an individual sport championship and does not count towards the overall medal tally for AUG, however Monash was crowned the overall Cheerleading Champions and won this pennant.

Australian University Games

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From 5-9 July more than 1800 students athletes across Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia headed down to Adelaide to compete in the Southern University Games (SUG). Since it’s inception in 1991 the SUGs have been renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for student athletes from all over Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

Despite the dreary weather, students turned up ready to play and had some fantastic results in the Southern Uni Games taking home one of the top three spots in nearly every sport we participated in.

Monash took home first place spots in their men’s hockey team and men’s cross country. We also took second place wins in men’s Futsal, men’s Squash, women’s Futsal, Mixed Touch as well as Ultimate Frisbee and ranked third in Lawn Bowls.

The Southern University Games were a fantastic start to the University Games calendar for 2015.

Varsity ChallengeFor the second year in a row, Monash University competed against Melbourne University in the Varsity Challenge. The event offers two days of head to head sporting competition held across two weeks at each University.

Participants played off against one another in Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Hockey, Basketball and Volleyball as well as Men’s AFL and Mixed Touch Football.

Monash took home the trophy in 2014, winning 5 matches to 4, while this year they drew against Melbourne University.

Free transport was offered to the away campuses events for all who wished to spectate and support our athletes.

Southern University Games

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Social Sport competitions are held at the Caulfield, Clayton and Peninsula campuses at Monash and feature a wide variety of opportunities at every level for Monash students and staff to participate in some friendly competitions.

2015 saw incredible growth across all of our competitions thanks to a more efficient approach to use of the court spaces we have across all campuses. Our nine basketball sized courts (over five stadiums at three campuses) can all be reconfigured to suit a variety of sports, allowing us to adapt to the demand for any sport at a given time.

We see great variety in our competitions, and we are welcoming and happy to cater for all levels of experience - from those students who have never played dodgeball before, or teams that have just met online (via our Facebook group) to create a team, all the way through to some competitive teams in higher grades, many of these students also feature in the Varsity Sport competitions also highlighted in this report.

Making Sport Social

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Tennis Court resurfacing, Recreation Hall floor replacements and refurbishing the Doug Ellis Swimming Pool were only some of the improvements applied to sporting and recreational facilities on campus in 2015.

Monash is one of the leading Universities in Australia, therefore it is appropriate to ensure its sporting facilities are state-of-the-art, and in line with student expectations.

Whether it be a fresh coat of paint or an entire fitness centre upgrade, improvements are applied to Monash’s sporting assets with the intention to accommodate the growing number of students studying and living on campus.

Built Spaces

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After months of construction and limited access, the external Campus Green and Sound shell project was finalised in August.

Monash Sport will assist in the managing of the informal sports and recreation areas in the front of building H, which includes a half-court basketball and half-court soccer area, Shared Volleyball/Badminton court, 4 Table Tennis tables and 2 foosball tables.

The space will be ideal for all campus faculties, business units, student associations and clubs to undertake any outdoor activities such as team building activities to assist in ensuring a real inclusive community feel on campus. The new areas also give an additional space for Monash Sport to undertake more outdoor training groups and programs, enhancing the pre-existing outdoor exercise area between buildings K and N.

The Caulfield Green and Sound Shell was officially opened by President and Vice Chancellor Margaret Gardner AO, at Twilight on the Green on the 12th of October.

Around 1000 students, alumni and staff came together to attend the event despite the chilly evening, which offered a range of spring festivities as well as live musical performances.

Participants got to challenge themselves in sporting competitions, enjoy some tasty treats from an assortment of food and drinks stalls and trucks or get a

new look from face painters all whilst being entertained by musicians and roving performers.

Live music was provided from Kilter, E^ST, Tara Dowler and Monash’s own Papa G and the Starcats, as well as tunes from DJ Mona Gene.

The event was a success, with students and staff excited about the newly developed space and the potential future events and activities to be held at Caulfield Campus. Since its opening the space is has been used informally by around 100 students a day with the most popular uses being basketball, volleyball and table tennis.

Caulfield Campus Green Opening

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Throughout 2014 and 2015 the Doug Ellis Swimming Pool at Monash Sport, Clayton was refurbsihed to achieve a total transformation of its internal, and external features.

Built in 1982 and named after the late doug Ellis, former visionary Director of Sport and Recreation Association the swimming center has gone through several transformations including the addition of a second 25 meter pool and continues to be an important community asset.

In early 2014 the pool concourse and change room facilities were refurbished. Later than year the essential refurbishment works replaced the roof structure, upgraded the air-handling systems and installed acoustic wall panelling to create a greatly improved aquatic environment and ensure future use.

Refurbishments of the Variable Swimming Pool began in 2014 but due to a number of unforeseen factors works were unable to be completed with the rest of the facility refurbishments.

The pool was closed once more in mid 2015 for a period of two months to allow the variable pool to finish being retiled, signifying the end of the vital refurbishment works to the Doug Ellis Pool. Timetabling of open access to the pool was adjusted during this period to lessen the impact on lack of accessibility for members. During this period Monash Sport also took the opportunity to refurbish the sauna and steam rooms.

The final refurbishments to the pool implemented changes to:• Replacement of the variable floor panels, which had been

significantly reducing buoyancy, and providing a fully operational variable pool floor to allow for varying depths for a variety of programming

• Upgrades and modernisation of the control panel and digital depth signage

• Refurbishment and resealing of the steam room• Replacement of the wood panelling seating and improved

lighting in the sauna

Operating one of the largest learn to swim programs in Victoria, the Monash Sport taught over 1,500 Monash students to swim in 2015, as well as imparting essential water safety knowledge and skills.

Refurbished Doug Ellis Swimming Pool

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Throughout 2015, our Fitness Centres underwent significant changes. Members got to start the year with new and improved training environments and services.

At our Clayton Facility, the Cycle Studio was relocated from the Health and Fitness Centre to its own designated training space. The free space created by this relocation, has been used to enhance and improve the existing dedicated functional training space, providing state of teh art equipment and effective performance and movement based training options for members.

The expanded functional training area now includes a sled track and push sled, lifting platform, additional weights, battling ropes, aqua bags, Olympic rings, skipping ropes and more.

Additionally the upstairs area was improved with the relocation of equipment and reconfiguration of the layout for an optimal training environment for all members.

All Monash Sport facilities were closed for a short time over the Christmas and New Years break. During this period there were a number of renovations completed to enhance member experience.

Listed below are some additional improvements completed at your Monash Sport facilities:

Caulfield • New resistance bands, foam rollers, slam balls, aqua bag, plyometric

box and additional weight kettlebells. Clayton• Installation of additional TV above TRX units, to display latest

Monash Sport news.• Window frosting has been installed on the bottom row windows in

the upstairs training area, to block out sun glare.• Foam rollers have a new storage area which is more central to the

functional training area.• The Matrix Cell has been extended to enhance functional training

options. With additional rings, more space for chin ups (hanging leg raises, muscle ups etc) and the introduction of ball targets.

• Replacement of rubber flooring for the second level of Fitness Centre.

• Upgrade of all TV Units and adding a new speaker to the functional training area in the Fitness Centre.

Peninsula • Resealed basketball courts and group fitness studio floors.• Dual adjustable pulley to be replaced with the new model, and a

platform to be installed into the power rack.• New foam rollers, speed ropes, bumper plates, barbell lock jaw

collars, parallettes, trap bar, Bulgarian bag and new kettlebell set.

Enhancing Our Fitness Centres

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Recreation Hall Floor RefurbishmentsAt the completion of the Semester One examination period, the Recreation Hall was closed to allow replacement of the floor. As the oldest building at Monash Sport, the floor was in dire need of replacements having undergone a number of patch up jobs in recent years before finally reaching its end of life.

The project took approximately a month to complete and was ready in time to usher in the new Semester of Social Sporting Competitions. The high quality new floor gives the Recreation Hall a new lease on life with the floor guaranteed for a 15 year lifespan.

Tennis Court RefurbishmentsDuring the latter part of 2015, the eight tennis courts at Clayton campus were closed so that essential maintenance works to replace the court surface could be undertaken.

The project aimed to address ongoing maintenance defects associated with depressions and cracking in the tennis court surface. And to resurface the court pavement with a new Plexipave system including repainting of the courts and court lines.

Monash Sport is committed to providing a safe environment for all leisure and aquatic centre users and this essential maintenance formed part of this commitment.

Installation of tiered seating in Chisholm Hall was completed a week ahead of schedule in early 2015.

Spectators and hall users are now be able to watch the halls activities in comfort. One big issue that had always been present in the hall was a lack of spectator viewing. The new space will also create another meeting place where students can engage one another whilst on campus.

In the beginning of February, plans were implemented and monies made available for the dismantling of the stage area in Chisholm hall. A tiered seating area replaced the stage, allowing viewing of all of our sports and user activities to be much more accessible, not to mention more enjoyable and safer.

Improvements to Chisholm Hall

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The People On Our Team A large proportion of staff are studying at Monash while working at Monash Sport and TeamMONASH, giving staff a constant insight into the mind frame of a student.

Maintaing positive and enjoyable culture around Monash is held in the highest regard, in conjunction with delivering quality customer service to all Monash Sport members.This is reflected in initiatives such as the Game Changer award, where staff are recognised by their peers for outstanding service and going above and beyond, to assist our community.

The wider Monash University staff cohort are also constantly in contact with Monash Sport, with over 150 SWAP classes conducted in 2015. These classes are held in conjunction with Wellbeing at Monash to ensure all staff have the opportunity to keep a healthy and active lifestyle.

TeamMONASH is responsible for the University’s second overall ranking in the Group of Eight, in terms of supporting Australia’s next top level athletes with the Elite Student Performer Scheme.

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Innovative Uses Of Our SpacesDuring 2015, Monash Sport facilities also hosted major University events such as Examinations, Graduation activities and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremonies. The exams and graduations saw students (and their families) in the thousands visit our spaces, which were meticulously dressed up and customised for the events. The Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony was a particular highlight for those involved. Monash University President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner AO commended the award winners on their exceptional achievements.

“This year’s Distinguished Alumni highlight the depth and breadth of our alumni community,” Professor Gardner said.“Our award recipients have made an exceptional contribution to their field. Their significant achievements, community leadership and career success provides inspiration to students and their peers and encourages others to strive for excellence.”

Ii was great to see just how versatile our spaces can be when great event managers and strategic planning is put in place. We look forward to hosting events like this, plus many others in 2016.

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We regard our people as the most important aspect of our capability to deliver experiences to Monash students and staff. Our philosophy is that engaged staff provide excellent service. In 2015 Monash Sport and TeamMONASH employed approximately 35 permanent staff and 265 casual staff, primarily across the Caulfield, Clayton and Peninsula campuses, however our staff also facilitated participation programs and activities at Berwick and Parkville campuses, as well as Monash Medical Centre and the Alfred Hospital.

A total of 125 students were employed by Monash Sport in many and varied roles such as customer service, lifeguarding, swimming instruction, fitness instruction, refereeing/umpiring and delivering events and activities. Local training and development programs were successfully implemented at each campus and in each service area focussing on customer service and specialised role deliverables of each service area. Staff communication opportunities are many and varied and positively attended.

In aspiring to be “the centre of healthy lifestyles” on Monash campuses, our staff mantra is all about consistently delivering effective service to students and staff to help more of the Monash community be more active, more often.

Monash Sport staff have been recognised for their responsiveness and service through annual survey results (n=1,324) which found that 93.38% of people responded positively when asked the question “How satisfied are you with Monash Sport staff customer service?”

A total of 1,025 volunteers helped behind the scenes to deliver successful events and programs throught 2015. This consisted of 652 people volunteering for sport clubs, 123 people assisting with Varsity Sport programs, and 250 volunteers at events.

In recognising Monash has a number of elite performers across many platforms, the University expanded its Elite Student Performer Scheme to include performing artists and musicians in 2015. This program is the reason behind Monash’s top two ranking in the Group of Eight Universities supporting elite athletes, which has attracted an influx of students in 2015. 193 current students have been recognised under the Elite Student Performer Scheme, including 11 who are vying for spots in the Rio Olympics teams and four dancers competing at the world level.

In its third year, the Elite Student Performer Scheme, under the tutelage of Honourary Profressor Paul McNamee asisted 12 student athletes in Golf, Tennis and Soccer towards achieving their dream of playing professional sport while combining tertiary study. The success of this program has been phenomenal, with one golfer turning professional, four tennis players playing on the Australian PTA/LTA circuit and two soccer players securing W-League contracts, all while completing their studies at Monash University.

Our Human Capital

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In late 2014, Monash Sport engaged Leading Teams to review and facilitate the development of a new set of cultural values and behaviours with the objectives of clearly defining ‘what we stand for’ and ‘how we do things around here’. This resulted in a staff workshop which included over 40 Monash Sport staff from across the Caulfield, Clayton and Peninsula campuses and from within all areas and levels of the Monash Sport organisational structure.

Rather than being ‘pushed down’ from Monash Sport leadership, the cultural values and endorsed behaviours were developed and validated by the Monash Sport staff who attended the workshop in an inclusive and ‘bottom up approach’. All Monash Sport staff, including senior leadership and all casual staff teams, have subsequently adopted the workplace values and the endorsed behaviours that underpin these values and bring them to life.The Monash Sport cultural values and behaviours are summarised in the poster (right), found in all Monash Sport staff room areas.

Following the establishment of these cultural drivers several non-hierarchal project teams were formed, consisting of permanent and casual Monash Staff employees. These project teams were charged with bringing the cultural values and behaviours to life and featured specific objectives to:• Improve Monash Sport staff induction procedures and

processes• Refine and enhance the Monash Sport staff intranet• Enhance staff engagement activities• Develop a new Monash Sport staff recognition process

These initiatives became a key focus and led to several notable deliverables being executed to improve communication and engagement with all Monash Sport staff.

Below is an example of the Monash Sport intranet communication strategy.

Monash Sport Culture

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The new Monash Sport recognition framework was prioritised and titled the “Game Changer” program. It was developed by the project team and approved by the Sport Executive team, prior to being launched in September/October 2014. The program features an on-line peer nomination process which is driven by Monash Sport staff at all levels. A monthly evaluation and award panel, evolved from the project team, meets to determine the monthly game changer award winner against specific criteria, which reinforce the cultural behaviours established.

The 2015 monthly game changer award winners were:• January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December The annual Game Changer award for 2015 winner was Maria Barres who displayed great team ethic, initiative, effective communication with staff and customers; and generated increased participation at the Doug Ellis Swimming Pool.

The Game Changer award project was developed to be aligned with the annual Vice Chancellors Awards for Exceptional Staff Performance and in August 2015 the Clayton Fitness Centre team of Adam Howes, Shane Adams, Caroline Lawrence, Bill Gorgen, Phoebe Robinson were nominated for the category of “improvement in service provision and/or contributing to seamless University operations”, recognising the service improvements and the operational transformation of the fitness centre at Clayton campus. The staff received a Special Commendation.

Staff Recognition at Monash Sport

Naz KareziKris McCarthyMaria BarresSarah SmithLeslie FeigenAlicia StackCaroline LawrenceErin WicksAndrew TurtonPhoebe RobinsonPatrizio BrigantiClarissa Au

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At the beginning of 2015 the Water Wise program was launched as a fully funded learn to swim program available to all current Monash University students.

The initiative was designed to increase the water safety and swimming ability of Monash students. Last year alone 266 people drowned within Australia. The age group most at risk was 25-34 year olds. Monash recognised that whilst many domestic students may have been brought up learning how to swim, some may have come from remote areas or overseas without access to swimming facilities or programs.

The water wise program was designed to teach any current student who would like to participate, how to swim at a beginner level. We believe that by increasing the number of students who know how to swim, we can help reduce the incidence of drowning.

Funded by the Student Services and Amenities Fee, since it’s launch date in January more than 1,500 students have participated in this valuable program, with numbers expected to significantly grow in 2016.

Helping Students Learn to Swim

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Monash Sport, in partnership with Wellbeing at Monash facilitiate the Staff Wellbeing and Activity Program. Since it’s inception in 2011, the program (affectionately known as SWAP) has seen almost exponential growth and is now Monash Sports most popular program for staff.

SWAP provides opportunities for staff groups to get active in a group activity, including yoga, pilates, boxing, and much more. Programs can be held locally within departments or at Monash Sport. Our aim is to help you improve staff wellbeing, productivity and morale through low-cost programs targeted at all ages and fitness levels. SWAP mindfulness and essence programs along with nutrition, diabetes and health and information sessions can also be arranged on request. These programs are conducted at many Monash staff locations including:• Caulfield and Clayton campus• The Alfred Centre• HR (Wellington Road)• The BASE site at Notting Hill• Monash Medical Centre• Box Hill Public Hospital• Nanofabrication Centre (Australian Synchrotron)

In 2015, we hosted just over 150 SWAP classes, each consisting of a ten week program, tailored to (on average) ten staff members at Monash. This equates to seeing 15,000 visits from Monash staff to health and wellbeing programs for the year.

Staff Wellbeing at Monash

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Let’s Chat About Australian Sport & CultureMonash Sport was privileged to help run Australian Sport sessions for the Conversational English Program’s “Let’s Chat” on the Clayton and Caulfield campuses.

Around 60 participants spent 45 minutes learning AFL and cricket activities, with instructors teaching them rules, techniques and method of play traditional Australian Sports. For the majority of these students it was their first time trying these sports. All students got involved and thoroughly enjoyed themselves with many excited that they could now share what they knew with their friends.

The night concluded with participants getting to enjoy an Australian BBQ - catered by Sir John’s Bar. Most students had never experienced an Australian BBQ and there was some confusion over what certain foods were (and whether lamingtons were meant to top a salad).

Fantastic feedback was received from students including the following comments:• Two Iranian PhD engineering students said Let’s Chat was the only hour each

week when they spoke English and met people• A Cantonese commerce student said that in the first year of being at Monash

she learnt to speak Mandarin but hardly used her English but after having joined Let’s Chat finally feels she has made a step forward with her English

• A female undergraduate student mentioned that she now feels confident that she can actually talk to her Australian classmates and choose the right words for most occasions.

• A postgraduate Business student confessed that he’d been attending Let’s Chat classes at both Clayton and Caulfield every week (despite it being against the rules) as he found the classes so invaluable.

• A second year science student from Malaysia said that she had previously paid for private English lessons and also attended an external course but found the Let’s Chat program more valuable and that she learnt more.

Overall, the program received a lot of positive responses, all students were excited to come back in the second semester and to bring friends with them. Monash Sport is thrilled to have been a part of such a useful program.

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From 3-14 July students from across Australia have been competing in the World University Games in Gwanju, Korea.

The World University Games is the second biggest multi-sporting event behind the Olympic Games and it is a massive achievement to be selected to compete. Three Monash students were selected to represent Australia, and one to represent New Zealand at the World University Games.

Nneka Okpala competed in the Women’s Triple Jump and came 8th overall after qualifying 6th for the final.

Aimee Clydesdale was in the Women’s Basketball team that came 5th. The team only lost one of their six games throughout the entire tournament to Japan in the Quarter Finals.

Christopher Perrot was in the Men’s Water Polo team who ranked 7th in the World University Games.

Ann-Louise Slee represented Australia in the Badminton team and competed in mixed doubles, women’s doubles and the individual Australian teams. The Australian team ranked 21st, while her partnership of Slee/Tam in the Women’s doubles came 27th and her

partnership of Slee/Vuong in the mixed doubles came 24th.

An additional mention has to be made for Edward Denis - the coach of the Australian Women’s Water Polo team that won one of the four Gold Medals Australia received in the tournament. Edward is a Monash graduate and inductee in Monash University’s Sport Hall of Fame.

We’re incredibly proud of all of our student athletes achievements from World University Games and are excited to see their progression!

World University Games

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Disclaimer: While the information in this brochure was correct at the time of publishing, Monash University reserves the right to alter procedures, fees and regulations should the need arise.