Written by Bayley Lowe
My Name is Bayley Lowe, and I am a member of the Charles Sturt University men’s football team for 2023.
Uni Nationals was something that was talked about since the start of the year for us boys.
The opportunity to play together again after about 7 years was quite the experience.
Getting to play with boys from all over NSW was quite unique as we all had different playing styles and personalities. This made our Uni Nationals experience better as we were getting to know everyone really well.
Personally, my Uni Nationals experience was absolutely incredible.
Having some ups and downs, it was difficult to play a lot of games over 5 days under hot conditions. This is where the team morale and spirit came in.
Both Charles Sturt University men’s and women’s teams were super supportive of each other and are the reason both teams were able to push all the way through to Friday.
Getting the captains armband early on day two was a privilege as I was able to lead the boys through the tournament from midfield as a leader.
This responsibility helped me organise the boys so we could be set up to support each other on and off the pitch.
These foundations that we have set this year coming second in the tournament leaves room for improvement and a core group of players to build on with going into next years tournament.
Starting almost every game with my brother behind me as a centre back was a dream come true.
We have practised since we were ages 4 and 5 together and loved football since the very start.
Being the eldest of 3 boys has given me my fair share of experiences but none quite as significant as playing together again.
Having all these years behind us helped the team chemistry in the tournament as we were able to play much faster football than teams who hadn’t played together much.
Coming from Copacabana on the Central Coast was a long drive to Port Macquarie, and then to continue to the Gold Coast was a trip for the ages.
We used the trip to go surfing in different spots up the north coast and even conquer Snapper Rocks!
This made the trip extremely memorable as now we are looking forward to doing this over the next couple of years as we look to continue our university degrees.
Speaking of the third and younger brother earlier, who is completing year 12 next year, will be coming here also so all three brothers will be playing together in the same team.
When this happens, it will be a very memorable year for the family and playing with both my brothers together for only the second time.
Overall, I can’t speak more highly of my experience at Uni Nationals this year.
I’ve met so many lovely people who I will see every year now and can’t thank the organisers of Charles Sturt University Sport enough for their hard work behind the scenes.
I am looking forward to next year and what we can achieve in the future.
