Athletic performance lead

Investing in women’s sport is a priority in the University of Canberra’s 2021-2026 Sport Strategy, from investing in infrastructure that will drive participation and supporting talent programs like the Senior Women’s Rugby Academy, to undertaking research with women’s sporting teams, athletes, and sponsoring professional female sports teams such as the Brumbies Rugby Women’s (alongside the men’s team), University of Canberra Capitals and Canberra United. 

In 2023, the University and the ACT Brumbies teamed up to launch the first-class Senior Women’s Rugby Academy, run on UC’s Bruce campus. 

The Senior Women’s Rugby Academy plays a crucial role in identifying and developing players into potential Super W and elite Rugby Sevens players, while also serving as a dedicated high-performance environment for Brumbies players who are nationally contracted to the Wallaroos and need to continue training outside the Super W season. 

Through the Academy, players have year-round coaching and support – they can train like high performance athletes – which is not offered through community clubs. Year-round training maintains momentum and keeps players engaged. Coaches and staff across the various programs reported a difference in the attitude and commitment form the players. 

Embedded within the Senior Women’s Rugby Academy was the UC High-Performance Sport Fellow position that aimed to improve the performance of UC sponsored teams or programs through a range of engagement and research activities.

The High Performance Sport Fellowship position was a one-year appointment for a UC researcher embedded in the Senior Women’s Rugby Academy between January and December 2023. The role aimed to:

• Enhance the performance of UC sponsored professional sporting teams, their elite athlete program(s) or activities in the ACT region and nationally by sharing research-led expertise across sport integrity, education, and strength or conditioning.
• Facilitate ongoing research, innovation and professional practices within the University’s professional teams or elite athlete programs.
• Support student Work Integrated Learning (WIL) placements with UC-supported professional sporting teams or elite athlete programs.
• Enhance the research outputs of the successful candidate and their collaborators through industry partnership and integration.
• Share the knowledge and insights gained through the experience through teaching, case studies
• Upskill the successful candidate, with a focus on deepening their industry experience and connections to drive industry-led research in the future. 

Billy Mason, lecturer in Sports and Exercise was awarded the fellowship. Mason worked in the role of Athletic Performance Lead across multiple women’s programs over 2023, including: the UC7s program, which competed in the Queensland Premier Rugby 7s competition; The Brumbies/UC Senior Women’s Academy, which supported female rugby players from the ACT and surrounds through to international representatives competing for the Australian National team; and the Next Gen 7s program, working with the Rising Stars in a second-tier national Rugby 7s tournament.