Drizzling rain and overcast skies set the scene for the 2025 Peoplecare Wollongong Triathlon. Eager race entrants stood at the starting line in April waiting to begin the Standard Triathlon. Who cares if it’s raining? They’re about to get wet anyway. Before them stands a 1.5km swim, a 40km cycle and to finish a 10km run. The triathletes, 679 of them, completed the standard edition of the 2025 triathlon, improving on last year’s 625 participants. University student Jack Dabrowski was one of them. For a first timer, having been roped in by his friends and family, Dabrowski faced the gruelling…
Author: Max Arnold
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has shown a continuing rise in living costs ranging from 0.6 per cent to 1.6 per cent across all household types. The data for the March 2025 quarter has shown that health, housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages were the main contributors to the increase. Households that rely on government payments as their main source of income saw the largest rise across the quarter. ABS Price Statistics acting head, Neel Tikaram said multiple factors are contributing to the rises in living costs. “Rises in pharmaceutical products, medical and hospital services, electricity and fruit and vegetables…
Preparations are underway for the global celebration of the Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development Day on May 21, but in Australia it seems learning another language has taken a back seat for many. With about 29 per cent of Australians born overseas and a further 48 per cent having a parent born overseas many will be joining in the worldwide event next month in the spirit of multiculturalism in the country. Australia’s cultural landscape is rapidly changing, as globalisation spreads, with the nation becoming increasingly linguistically diverse. After Harmony week concluded in March and World Day for Cultural Diversity…
Many University of Wollongong students are feeling financial pressures after moving out of home, as they struggle to cope with the continued rise in the cost of living. A full time Australian student needs to commit to 20-24 hours per week to be successful in their studies and some are struggling to cope with workload pressures, according to comparison website Finder. Students are needing to increase their work hours to just support themselves, leaving most students in the red straight off the bat. According to data from a Finder survey and Study Australia’s cost of living calculator, the average Australian…
Sunlight beats down upon the waves, palm trees rustle in the light offshore breeze, and a hut on the beach pleads for you to come in and crack open a Bintang. The water here feels hotter than you want it to be; you feel like you’re sweating. The University of Wollongong’s Surf Flex Lab team is hard at work. Apparently. They’re in Indonesia conducting research and testing new designs for surfboard fins. They’re here thanks to the Global Challenges Program run by UOW. This is a rare opportunity for academics, being able to go on a paid overseas trip doing…
Kiama hosted Australia’s best junior surfers last weekend for the the first round of the Woolworths Surfer Grom Competition. The series includes ten competitions along the Australian coast throughout the summer season, with categories U8s—U14s. Over 90 young surfers participated in Kiama across the seven different divisions. Surfing Australia CEO Chris Mater said the grom comp series is an important stepping stone for Australia’s future surfing elite. “The Woolworths Surfer Groms series serves as a pivotal pathway for the next generation of aspiring professional surfers, providing them with a fun and friendly introduction to competitive surfing,” Mr Mater said. The…
The Illawarra Dragons find themselves in the midst of a challenging chapter this season, grappling with unexpected hurdles that have landed them second-to-last on the ladder. The Saint George Illawarra Dragons took on the Warriors at Go Media Stadium in Auckland last Friday. They lost 18-6 against the Warriors. The Dragons’ woeful season continues, sitting 16th. The Dragons have had a poor season, winning 5 from 18 games so far. With only one match left to play against the inform fifth-placed Newcastle Knights, Dragons fans can only hope for a positive end to the season. In the press conference after…