UOW Pulse’s ‘Play free sport’ initiative provides a space for students to engage in light-hearted physical activity while socialising with their peers. The initiative, which runs basketball on Tuesdays, badminton on Wednesdays, and soccer on Thursdays, is held in conjunction with UniActive. UOW Pulse Volunteer Coordinator, Phoebe Eldridge-Smith says she has seen regular participation levels across the semester. “As time’s progressed, we get about 40 students who come to badminton every single week,” she said. “The regular crew [at] soccer gets about eight to ten people, and basketball gets about 20 to 30 people on a week-to-week basis. “It’s becoming…
Author: William Cuckson
It’s an emerging social media sensation that started in Wollongong, and it’s paving a path for the next generation of women and girls in sports media. Co-founded by UOW alumnae Tori Saros, the ‘Carlton Besties’ has amassed over 19,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram and is making waves across the AFL media sphere as a female-led content creation entity. While the concept originated as a podcast, Ms Saros said social media has been crucial in creating a community and a platform for female football fans. RadioU UOW · The Wollongong ‘Bestie’ inspiring the next generation through social media “There [aren’t]…
The Australian government has issued a call-out for public feedback on its Online Safety Act, releasing an issues paper as recent events have shone a spotlight on eSafety regulations across the country. While the current Online Safety Act was not due for review until 2025, the widespread social media coverage of the stabbings at Westfield Bondi Junction and Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley has emphasised the need for change. The review addresses ‘material that depicts abhorrent violent conduct’, stating online material depicting terrorism, murder, attempted murder or torture can have a ‘seriously harmful impact on the Australian community’.…
A record 84,000 people participated in Parkrun on Easter Saturday at 468 different events across Australia. A national and regional record of 1200 people across the Illawarra attended the events at Sandon Point, North Wollongong, and Shellharbour Parkrun. Regular participant of the North Wollongong Parkrun since 2022, Colt Phillips said attendance numbers have been increasing each week. “We had over 300 [attendees] last week, and a couple of weeks before that, there was around 350,” Mr Phillips said. “It sits around that now, instead of just 250 people each week.” Source: Parkrun.com The participation numbers at the North Wollongong Parkrun…
A former employee of the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has been sentenced to five years in prison for corrupt conduct, which included accepting bribes to reduce the debt of a taxpayer he was auditing. The offender was found to have reduced millions of dollars of personal and business tax debt spanning over six years, with the conduct only ending after he was arrested. The sentencing was made public under the recently introduced National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which took over the investigation in July 2023 from the now-dissolved Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity and the ATO. Following a guilty plea…
Businesses within Port Macquarie’s tourism industry are preparing for an influx of visitors in the upcoming school holidays, in the wake of a reduction in COVID-19 restrictions. While the NSW school term does not end until July 3, Port Macquarie has already welcomed numerous travellers since the NSW government lifted the travel ban at the beginning of the month. Having been filled with bookings before the COVID-19-induced lockdown, Anchors B&B owner Candace Foy has been ‘super happy’ with the quantity of bookings since the travel ban was lifted. “At the very beginning reservations just kept dropping off… we were…
Port Macquarie’s first-year university students are eager to return to campus for the spring session, following months of online learning due to COVID-19. Many students who moved away from Port Macquarie for university earlier this year have returned home during the pandemic. University of NSW optometry student Matt Covetz said the social aspect of university life was something he missed about living away from campus. “I definitely miss all my friends that I made there, staying at ‘college’. I was able to make lots of friends really quickly,” he said. “I was involved in a lot of things socially, I…