Club Profile
The University of Canterbury Athletic (UC Athletics) Club has a proud and illustrious history, having celebrated our centenary in 1998. We cater for all athletes, young and old, slow and fast, and of course you! We encourage all UC students, staff, alumni and friends to join our club and share our passion for the sport of Athletics: Track & Field, Cross Country, Road, Trail & Mountain Running. Our members also participate in events such as Orienteering, Multisport and Triathlon.
UC Athletics has a great depth of high performing talent which has seen members dominate recent athletic events throughout Canterbury and New Zealand. Among them are UC Students including: Angie Smit, Canterbury women’s 800m record holder and 2010 NZ World Junior T&F representative; Malcolm Hicks, 2011 World University Games 1500m representative; Tim Jones, NZ Sprint Relay representative and multiple national medallist; and Nicki McFadzien, who in 2010 achieved NZ’s highest ever individual finish in the junior women's grade at a World Cross Country Champs. The most recent success by a UC athlete saw Matt Smith win the 2011 NZ Cross Country Championship. As this suggests, our athletes frequently earn the opportunity to represent NZ on the world stage across a broad range of events. These athletes are more than happy to share their experiences with you.
As well as embracing our elite athletes the club has a supportive social culture with many weekly events allowing interaction between elite and social athlete, while always encouraging an active and balanced lifestyle among students regardless of ability. This includes a weekly social run, regular squad training, group fitness sessions, and ‘destination weekends’ including relays. Our club offers the perfect progression for runners who have participated in the UC Recreation Centre’s Half Marathon Group. These are all great ways to get involved at a level to suit your fitness as well as meet and chat with current or past student members. We also encourage academic achievement which is no better illustrated than the presence of University of Canterbury staff members on our valued life member’s board. Our sporting, academic and social culture sees athletes remain loyal to our club following graduation and also attracts athletes from further afield to join and enrol at UC.
The club places a strong emphasis on relays, entering all local events. Relays are a great way for both our social and elite athletes to compete alongside each other, support our team culture, and also prove the true strength of our club. UC hosts the winter season opening Hagley Memorial Relays in late April and sends teams to the Lovelock Relays in Dunedin (hosted by Otago University), Gorge Relay in Timaru and National Road Relay, the climax of the winter calendar. 2010 saw UC travel to New Plymouth and successfully defend the national senior mens' and womens' crown. September 2011 sees the championship take place in Auckland with our men looking to complete the ‘drive for five’ successive titles and our women eyeing a three peat.
UC Athletics has a growing children’s section, ‘UC Juniors’, who train and compete alongside UC students in the club’s traditional maroon and gold throughout the year. Our club’s presence at the annual Colgate Games is always felt and spirit the envy of others, and our winter programme is developing with the same values. Many of our young athletes are showing great promise, with UC Athletics represented by Canterbury and NZ champions in Track & Field, Cross Country and Road Races. UC Juniors also provides the perfect opportunity for UC Bachelor of Sport Coaching and Physical Education Students to trial their practical skills, another example of the interaction between our seniors and juniors.
We are also continually on the lookout for coaching talent and operate our own coach development programme, which includes mentoring, practical coaching, and workshop opportunities for emerging coaches. Coaches come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including UC students. This means we have a great team of developing, experienced and successful coaches to assist you in achieving your ambitions across all events.
We are proud to be an Athletics NZ and UCSA affiliated club, which allows our members the opportunity to participate in and vie for official NZ championships, receive subsidised UC student membership (it’s cheap!), and gives high achievers the chance to win recognition with the Athletics Canterbury and UC Blues Awards.
So go on, UC is the perfect club for you – we look forward to hearing from you
