Thankfully, 2022 was the first full year of University Sport since 2019, and the on-field achievements were celebrated at the Blues and Sport Awards in November.
The annual Blues and Sport Awards presentation recognises the accomplishments of the University’s varsity athletes both domestically and overseas. Originating at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the mid-19th century, half and full blues are awarded to University of Melbourne athletes for high performance in intervarsity events, especially UniSport Nationals and UniSport National Championships.
In 2022 there were 415 student-athlete representatives who took part in 66 intervarsity student opportunities. The 6 top Sport Awards were presented by Gold Medallist and University of Melbourne alum Joanna Weston, the evening's keynote speaker. These awards recognised various figures within the University’s sporting sphere and the impressive accomplishments of individuals and teams throughout the year.
Table Tennis student-athlete Raymond Myrteza was named Male Athlete of the Year for his remarkable efforts in leading the University of Melbourne to both a Big Blue Championship and a national university title.
Similarly, Quennie Laurentta was awarded Female Athlete of the Year for her significant contributions towards the University’s Badminton Big Blue Championship and national university title.
The Women’s Netball team took home Team of the Year honours after their impressively dominant national university run which saw them secure the University’s first pennant in women’s netball since 2010.
Coach of the Year went to Women’s Hockey coach Gwen Lynch, who led the team to an unexpected but vehemently earnt national university title, the first since 2013 in Women’s Hockey.
Team Manager of the Year was awarded to both Badminton’s Carmen Lim and Table Tennis’s Preston Tan-Kang for their incredible efforts organising their notably high-performing teams.
Outstanding Performance of the Year recognised Jemima Montag’s dominant gold medal in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games 10km race walk, in which she finished 63 seconds ahead of second place with the 15th fastest time ever recorded. She was also recognised by the Victorian Institute of Sport with the prestigious Award of Excellence.
The University awarded 28 Full Blues and 57 Half Blues for 2022, with athletes nominated across 32 sports.
