Perth has become the centre of Australian university sport, with thousands of student-athletes competing across the city at the 2026 UniSport Nationals.
More than 5,500 student-athletes from 40 universities are taking part across 30 sports, according to UniSport Australia.
For Western Australian universities, hosting Nationals is more than an opportunity to compete on home soil. Behind the competition is months of work by university staff and coaches preparing students for one of the biggest events on the university sporting calendar.
Supporting students on home soil
ECU Sport and Recreation coordinator Jarrod Evans says his focus extends beyond what happens once athletes take to the court or field.
For Evans, university sport is also about the wider student experience — ensuring athletes are prepared, supported and connected to their university community.
“Probably every type of program or project that I plan has a real impact on the students in terms of their physical, social, mental health,” Evans said.
Evans has previously been involved in supporting more than 140 ECU students at UniSport Nationals and describes the event’s return to Perth as an exciting opportunity for university sport in Western Australia.
Competing at home also removes some of the challenges associated with travelling interstate and gives local students the chance to represent their university in front of family and friends.
Putting preparation to the test
While university sport staff focus on participation and the broader student experience, coaches are seeing months of preparation put to the test against competitors from across Australia.
UWA Fencing Club head coach Scott Rawlins says there are lessons athletes can only learn through competition.
“There is no substitute for experience on the ground,” Rawlins said.
For developing fencers, competing against unfamiliar opponents creates situations that cannot always be replicated during training.
For UWA’s fencing team, Nationals is therefore about more than technical preparation. Athletes must also adapt to opponents and perform under the pressure of national competition.
UWA is competing across a range of sports during Nationals, including basketball, football, hockey, netball, rowing, tennis, volleyball and fencing.
While competing in Perth gives local athletes familiar surroundings, they are still being tested against students and teams they would not normally encounter during their regular competitions.
More than the competition
Nationals extends beyond what happens on the court, field or piste.
Competition is taking place at venues across Perth, with Nationals headquarters at the Neil Donaldson Pavilion at UWA Sports Park.
The event also includes UniFest, a student-focused festival giving participants from universities around Australia an opportunity to connect away from competition.
For Evans, the week is as much about creating a positive experience for students as it is about sporting results. For Rawlins, competition provides athletes with an opportunity to test what they have learned in training.
Their different roles highlight the work behind Nationals — from supporting hundreds of students to preparing individual athletes for the pressure of competition.
With competition now underway, that preparation is being put into practice.
For thousands of students in Perth this week, Nationals is an opportunity to represent their universities, test themselves against competitors from across Australia and share in one of the country’s biggest university sporting events.
