The Strong Women Program
Strong Women is a program that offers a range of FREE participation and leadership opportunities for UoM female students from free women's only gym sessions to a mentorship program to get your sporting career started.
The Strong Women program promotes the meaningful inclusion of women students across all levels of sport and active recreation at Melbourne University Sport – as participants, athletes, managers, leaders, coaches, umpires, and volunteers.
Quick links: Strong Women Classes | Strong Women Network | Contact Us
Strong Women Classes
The Strong Women Program runs a number of group fitness classes exclusively for women. See current activities below:
- Women's Only Gym: Saturday 9:00am to 12:00pm at Lincoln Square Fitness
- Women's Only Yoga: Saturday 10:30am in the Group Fitness room at Lincoln Square Fitness
- Women's Only Yoga: Thursday 7:15am in the Mind Body Studio at Nona Lee Sport Centre
- Strong Women's HIIT class: 12:10pm at Lincoln Square Fitness
- Other Women's Only group fitness classes
Hear from our class participants:
 Wangshu said, “There is some equipment in the gym that I don’t know how to use. But I have been learning by watching other women use it. It has been inspirational. If you are working out alone in the gym, it can be boring, but thankfully, we have many other “Strong Women." |
 For Alina, a student at the University, the Women's Only Yoga classes have been "Really good. I really look forward to these sessions because it is a nice break from Uni and studying. It is nice to have a comfortable space where you feel safe and you can work out with other women.” |
Strong Women Network
The Strong Women Network is an exciting mentorship program which matches current women student-athletes with women from the University of Melbourne community who have been involved in high performance sport.
The Network enables women students-athletes to develop crucial leadership and vocational skills, contacts, and career pathway opportunities through mentoring.
We warmly welcome Trans-women and non-binary people to the Network also.
Benefits of participating
- Give back to the University community by helping shape the next generation of UoM Strong Women
- Access up-and-coming women student-athletes for professional recruitment purposes
- Share your legacy: Your experiences, professional expertise and lessons learned are too valuable to keep to yourself!
- Elevate your resume: Mentorship speaks volumes of your positive character and willingness to invest in the development of your peers
- Expand your Strong Women network with other mentors and mentees associated with the University of Melbourne
Benefits of participating
- Career planning and professional development
- Introduction to new professional networks
- Increase your confidence in networking and your professional communication skills
- Working through problems from a new perspective
- Translating leadership skills as an athlete into your professional career
- Practical advice that will help you find a job
Mentors:
- 3+ years professional career experience
- Commit to meeting with a mentee once per month throughout the program. This can be in person, online or via phone
- Previous/current involvement in high-performance sport as an athlete, coach, administrator.
Mentees:
- 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate students or currently enrolled in a postgraduate degree
- Current involvement in high-performance sport
- Commit to meeting with a mentor once per month throughout the program. This can be in person, online or via phone.
Due to the popularity of the Strong Women Network, student selection for this program is competitive.
When matching mentors and mentees, we consider areas of sport, study, professional experience, and interest areas of both individuals and try to match accordingly.
Selection of students and mentors to participate in the Strong Women Network is at the discretion of Melbourne University Sport.
Hear from our Network participants:
 “I’ve put my mentoring skills to work by leading digital teams at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, becoming a Director of a local sporting organisation, and working as a Major Incident Manager in the financial services sector." |
 "Hannah was a fantastic mentor. It was refreshing to hear from a talented individual who balanced both sport and a professional career and how she translated skills from the court into her life. She gave me the confidence to transition into the workforce and chase my own lifestyle and goals." |
Contact Us
For more information on the Strong Women Program, how to get involved with sport at the University of Melbourne, and the opportunities available for women and non-binary students, staff and community members, please contact Ange La Scala.
Guide: Uniforms that Encourage girls to play sport and be physically active