The University of New South Wales and Arc Sport UNSW is proud to announce that Team UNSW has returned from UniSport Nationals 2025 with an exceptional haul of medals and unforgettable experiences, reinforcing UNSW's position as a leader in university sport across Australia.
This year’s UniSport Nationals ran from 27 September to 03 October 2025 in the Gold Coast, Queensland, the event uniting over 6500 students from 40 universities nationwide, giving students the chance to go head-to-head in the pinnacle intervarsity competition in Australia.
UNSW once again, brought along one of the largest and best-spirited cohorts. With Team UNSW consisting of almost 500 students competing across 40 teams in 27 different sports.
The week-long championship showcased not only athletic excellence but also the outstanding camaraderie, spirit, and resilience that defines the UNSW community.
Medal Success
Team UNSW secured nine medals across multiple disciplines:
Gold Medals: Men's & Women's Taekwondo, Men's Football, Mixed Netball, Women's Badminton
Silver Medals: Men's Badminton, Men's Tennis (Division 2), Mixed Touch (Division 2)
Bronze Medals: Sailing, Men's Fencing
Historic Victories and Standout Performances
Taekwondo lived up to their pre-tournament reputation as favourites, holding off a strong University of Melbourne to defend both Men's and Women's titles and claim the overall Taekwondo championship. The UNSW TKD team has become one of the most dominant squads at Nationals in recent years, a testament to the culture, leadership and coaching of the UNSW Taekwondo Club and its executives and members, both current and past.
The Men's Football team secured their first gold medal in over 15 years, defeating long-time rivals the University of Sydney in a dramatic final decided by penalty shootout. A truly momentous achievement in one of Nationals' most competitive fields.
"Coaching the team this year after three years as a player was incredibly rewarding. My focus was on building a strong team culture, and seeing everyone work hard for each other and form lifelong friendships in just a week made it all worthwhile," said Tom Wharton-Jones, UNSW Men's Football Coach.
Mixed Netball came through a gauntlet of nail-biters against USYD, Macquarie and UTS in their finals run, peaking with a defeat of UTS in the Grand Final. This success showcased a group that had developed and grown through the years with some new talent mixed in. Recognition goes to UNSW EAP and Netball rising star Sophie Fawns and UNSW alumnus, Arc staff member and Netball lifer Mitch McBurnie for their expert coaching and support throughout. The years of dedication and passion by Mitch and past UNSW Netball squads have contributed significantly to Netball and University sport at UNSW and culminated in the technical skillset, calmness under pressure and overall spirit that the 2025 team put on display in the moments that mattered, delivering a much celebrated and deserved Gold.
Playing in sauna-like conditions, the Women's Badminton team reclaimed gold after a hard-fought comeback victory against the University of Queensland in the final. The Men's Badminton team narrowly missed back-to-back titles against a white-hot Monash University, finishing just two points short in the deciding doubles after a dominant week.
In Fencing, the Men's Sabre team earned bronze, while Caleb Yong claimed individual silver in Men's Foil and Aedyn Pratley duelled their way to an individual bronze in Men's Epee.
On the water, after four days of competitive racing, both UNSW teams faced each other in the Petit Finals of Sailing. With UNSW 1 claiming bronze and UNSW 2 coming fourth, a great result with no other university placing two teams in the top four.
New Sports
This year marked the Nationals debut for both AFL 9s and Dodgeball, with UNSW proudly sending teams to represent in both. The AFL 9s team brought tremendous energy and enthusiasm, narrowly missing the semi-finals, while the Dodgeball squad showed great spirit to finish 5th overall.
More Than Competition
Beyond the medals and rankings, UniSport Nationals 2025 represented an invaluable opportunity for UNSW students to forge lasting friendships, develop leadership skills, and represent their university with pride. The black and gold was worn with distinction throughout the week, with students demonstrating the values of sportsmanship, teamwork, and community that are central to the UNSW experience.
Arc Sport was proud to once again manage Team UNSW at Nationals and other National Championship competitions throughout the year. It was an absolute pleasure to coordinate planning, logistics, on-ground support and everything in between for one of the largest and best-spirited teams at Nationals.
Special recognition to Hayley Stanford for her work across the years and Dan Kwon for additional support this year.
The success and respected reputation of Team UNSW would not be possible without the culture and commitment, cultivated by the dedication, spirit and performance of all the students and team managers that formed Team UNSW in 2025 but also by the student athletes and team managers of the past few years.
Thank You to Our Partners
Arc Sport proudly acknowledges the ongoing support of our valued partners. In particular, we extend our gratitude to:
Kensington Physiotherapy UNSW and their staff and student team who ensured the health and welfare of our student athletes were looked after as they strived to compete at their best.
The talents of Jo Stephens, who captured the best photos and videos of any university at Nationals.
Our sponsor POSCA, for helping Team UNSW get to the Gold Coast and staying hydrated.
