The University of the Sunshine Coast is cheering on a team of athletes and coaches heading for Birmingham to take on the world’s best at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

More than 20 UniSC-affiliated athletes, including members of  USC Spartans squad, will compete in swimming, cycling, netball, basketball, athletics and lawn bowls, with the possibility of more being added to teams in the final days before departure.

Importantly, UniSC is not only providing a swathe of Australian representatives but others who will proudly wear the colours of Jamaica, Malaysia and New Zealand.

The Birmingham Games will run from Thursday 28 July to Monday 8 August, with 280 gold medals set to be awarded.

UniSC High Performance Sport Director Professor Brendan Burkett is the Head Coach of Australia’s Paralympic swim team for the Birmingham games, which will feature the largest integrated Para sports program in its history.

“At last year’s Tokyo Paralympics we saw 14 medals captured by UniSC para sports athletes, so Birmingham really is a chance to consolidate on that,” Professor Burkett said.

“The Commonwealth Games is an event that athletes circle on their calendar years in advance and the effort and sacrifices to be selected are immense,” he said.

“Every athlete has a story to tell about their journey to this point, and it’s important to remember it represents different things to different people.

“For some it will be their first Commonwealth Games, while for others it may be their last. Some will be looking to build on success in Tokyo, others will be returning from setbacks.”

UniSC will track the progress of our athletes here.

Australian-based supporters will be able to follow the action via the official event website, by tuning into Channel 7 and 7 Plus, and on the SEN radio network.

Last year’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics featured 37 Sunshine Coast athletes and officials, who were honoured with a major ‘welcome home’ event at UniSC.

UniSC recently further entrenched its growing reputation in the sporting world by playing host to the Disability Sports Australia National Conference and the Sunshine Coast Sports Symposium.