As many students celebrated the end of semester exams last Friday, a student from a bygone era, Mr Alf Lazer AM, was celebrating his 100th birthday.
Yes, that’s right, 100 years and so many of them dedicated to the services of sport at the University of Melbourne. And in some magical coincidence, it was very fitting that Alf’s birthday landed on the same day as the University’s 2025 Blues and Sports Awards. You see, Alf is very likely, the University’s oldest living Blue, the highest honour that can be afforded to a student-athlete for their outstanding performance for representing the University in intervarsity competition. Alf was awarded a Half Blue in 1951 and the very next year, he was awarded a Full Blue. Both were awarded for athletics, where Alf was recognised as hurdler of much proficiency over the shorter distances.
Alf began studying at the University of Melbourne in the post-war era where he joined the Melbourne University Athletics Club. He soon took up a number of office bearer roles off the track and would lead the Club as its captain. He would also go on to be President of the Melbourne University Athletics Club for some 31 years. Alf would also become arguably the most significant figure of the Melbourne University Sports Association, where he devoted some 65 years of service in a variety of roles, retiring as its Honorary Treasurer in 2013.
In 1956, Alf was selected as a torch bearer for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne (and very kindly donated his torch to the University’s vast collection of sporting memorabilia some years ago). He would become a leading supporter and advocate for Australian universities sporting teams travelling and competing around the world. In 1973, he travelled to his first Universiade (World University Games) in Moscow as an Australian team official and it would be this experience that started his long-standing connection with the International University Sports Federation (FISU). Supporting numerous Australian teams to many more Universiades, his experience and leadership in sports administration would see him elected to the FISU Executive Committee as its auditor (1983 – 1991) and assessor (1991 – 1999). He would also chair the FISU Technical Committee for Squash (2000 – 2007) and was the driving force in bring the World University Squash Championships to Melbourne in 2010.
Amongst his many accolades, Alf was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1985 for services to sport. He was awarded Life Membership by UniSport Australia in 2001 and received the University of Melbourne Gold Medal in 2010 – the only individual to receive this award for services to sport. Alf was also the recipient of the Jean Petijean Award for outstanding services to the FISU community in 2013. And in 2014, he was awarded the World Fair Play Diploma by the International Fair Play Committee.
A tireless servant and true sporting volunteer, Alf’s contribution to university sport at the University of Melbourne is beyond measure. As advocate for sport as an integral part of the student experience; as a sports administrator at club, university, national and international-level; and as a mentor and friend to many student club leaders, student-athletes and up-and-coming sports administrators (including the author of this article as he began his professional career in university sport), he has given so much to so many over so long a period. Happy 100th birthday, Alf Lazer.
