Deidre Anderson recognised for services to sport

Deidre Anderson, Chief Executive of U@MQ, Macquarie Universityâs student services organisation, has been recognised for her contribution to sport at the recent 2008 Australian University Sport Awards.
Deidre received her award for services to sport â one of six categories which included male and female athlete of the year, team and coach of the year and most outstanding sport achievement.
The Services to Sport Award recognises an individual who has contributed the most to an individual sport, or the industry as a whole, over a lengthy period of time.
While she is probably best known for her work with some of the worldâs most successful athletes and has numerous publications in the areas of coaching and career transitions in sports, one of Andersonâs biggest initiatives has been the Macquarie University engagement program which aimed to make Macquarie the healthiest Australian University by 2010.
One key measure of the program was to engage 20,000 participants in sport and recreation which was achieved in 2008. Anderson led the creation of an innovative sports engagement model which created opportunities for both organised and spontaneous unstructured play across campus.
Anderson has been an active member of the Australian University Sport VSU lobbying working group and has coached two Macquarie University softball teams to gold medals in consecutive Australian University Games.
Other highlights of her professional career have included playing an integral role in the establishment of the United Kingdom Sports Institute. She also held positions within the Scottish, Victorian and Australian Institutes of Sport.
Australian University Sport (AUS) is the peak governing body of university sport in Australia with 42 members representing more than one million students.