Bond athletes will kick off the 2023 UniSport Nationals in their own backyard next week.
The national intervarsity event will see students from across the country congregate on the Gold Coast for the first time since 2019.
The multi-sport event incorporates 31 different codes and is expected to involve more than 6000 participants.
Given the number of attendees, venues will be spread from as far as Allenview in the Hinterland to the beach at Tallebudgera.
While some students attend with the goal to win, others relish the social aspect.
One Bondy who is determined to claim a national championship is Bond Tennis Club vice president and Bachelor of Policy, Philosophy, and Economics student Georgios Asimakopoulos.
Since the implementation of the Bond high performance tennis program, Asimakopoulos has set his team the goal of bringing home the gold.
“Last year we went to the Uni Nationals and came home with seventh place – and that was with no prior training,” Asimakopoulos said.
“Ever since last year’s nationals we’ve been training multiple times a week with the collective goal of bringing home first place.”
Bond’s recently established High Performance Tennis Program features 20 participants.
Remarkably, the tennis program is the only club sport at Bond that is made up entirely of students.
“I think we’ve been able to build a really great community at Bond Tennis both socially and competitively,” Asimakopoulos said.
“Our high performance team have all been working really hard and I think we’re in a really good place heading into the Uni Nationals.”
Bond Tennis have been taking their preparation seriously.
“We’ve been super fortunate to have had the Bond High Performance Recovery Centre at our disposal for the past week,” Asimakopoulos said.
“The facility is only five minutes away from the tennis court so being able to head there straight after our on-court training has helped so much with our ability to back a good session again and again.”
Bond will host an on-campus Spors Hub at Dons Tavern during the UniSport Nationals.
Students will have access to Powerade, Red Bull and snacks to refuel between their events.
The Sports Hub launch party will take place at 5pm on Sunday.