Successful AUG closes with ceremony at Circle on Cavill

The 2011 Australian University Games (AUG) came to an end yesterday (Friday) with an awards ceremony held at the Circle on Cavill in Surfers Paradise.
The annual sporting event attracted 6,700 athletes to the Gold Coast for the week long competition, which saw remarkable displays of athleticism, sportsmanship and a number of new records.
The University of Sydney was awarded the overall champion university trophy at the closing presentation, taking the title from 2010 winners The University of Western Australia.
University of Sydney Team Manager, Tristan Liles was ecstatic with the win, stating "it's such a great honour to win this trophy. The University of Sydney really turned up to compete and play hard, but we loved the social aspect of the Games too.
"The event was a great experience."
The Doug Ellis per capita trophy, awarded to the university that has the most points on a per capita basis was won by Bond University while Murdoch University won the John White (Spirit of the Games) trophy.
Games Project Manager Juliet Tetley oversaw the planning and execution of the event, which has more competitors than the Commonwealth Games.
Looking back at the week, Tetley explained "the opening ceremony at Dreamworld was a major highlight.
"It was the most exciting start to the event we could have asked for, participants and guests all had a really great time.
"The Games have gone really well, I must give credit to AUS staff, volunteers and match officials.
"Without their efforts the Games would not have been the success they were."
AUS business development manager, Fiona Cullen was happy with the overall event experience, giving a special thank you to the Games official sponsors, which included Events Queensland and the Gold Coast City Council.
Cullen explained "the sponsors gave us great support throughout the week.
"They provided water, sunscreen, Powerade, Red Bull, Icebreak and a number of great prizes.
"A big thank you also to our transport team who got all the participants to where they needed to be."
The AUG is held on the Gold Coast every two years and it is a venue that is a clear favourite for many of the participants, partly because of the inviting hospitality of the host region.
The AUG will be held in Adelaide next year and will return to the Gold Coast in 2013.
Kristian Bingham