On Monday the 8th, all SEDA SA students who weren’t on their way to SEDA Cup in Melbourne, spent the day visiting UniSA for a Sports and Recreation clinic and campus tour, followed up by a walk along to the top of Adelaide Oval, home of the Adelaide Crows Football Team.
Students from all classes, (Netball, Basketball, Footy, Soccer, and Multi) met out the front of a UniSA lecture hall and met with a tour guide. This woman introduced herself to us all and led us through the campus giving a tour of multiple buildings. Students have listed some of their favourite parts as the Media Room (which had multiple TVs, all of which we could choose the content played) and the gym (which had multiple courts, a swimming pool, and a rock-climbing wall).
“I can genuinely see myself using the media room to watch the NBA during the Finals. With the massive beanbags I could sit down with some mates and watch the game in a comfortable room” – Zachary Warner
Our tour was followed by a presentation for the ‘Sports and Recreation’ class on the UniSA Campus, led by one of the school’s lecturers. The presentation covered what the course included, job opportunities, stats comparing universities, and a student review of the course. To end the presentation, we participated in an activity with an object he called the helium stick. The task was to get into a group and lower the stick to the floor while balancing the stick on our fingertips (one finger per hand). No group was able to complete the task, and the room was filled with cheers, boos and taunts the whole time.
“The helium stick was a great collaborative exercise, and it really tested our patience. I can’t stop thinking about how everybody (blamed Zachary) Warner just because he was tall.” – Asher Lovett
After the UniSA tour and lecture, we walked to Adelaide Oval, where we nervously waited for our climb up to the top of the Oval. We all had some food and drinks before the climb, either eating our pre-packed lunches or grabbing food on the walkover, and everyone was talking to one another. We were greeted by three instructors/guides inside the building, and we were guided to our lockers. Once we had put away our phones, bags, and jewellery, we were given blue jumpsuits to put over our clothes.
Once we were in our jumpsuits, we were instructed on how to get into our harnesses and separated into two groups. There was a certain air of anxious excitement surrounding us as we walked towards the elevator that would take us up – fifty feet above the oval ground. We were locked into the rails, and from that point there we started our treacherous hike around the metal roofing. Our guide led us around, teaching us about the history of the oval and random fun facts about the area.
“I seriously didn’t think there was so much to know about such a small area. Like, how many people knew that the sirens were louder in Adelaide than any other stadium?” – Zachary Warner
Towards the end of the walk, we walked out onto a platform, suspended above the oval’s goalposts. This was the scariest part of the walk by far. We were given an extra cord to attach to our harnesses, and we were then told to lean back over the edge of the platform with nothing below us except the grass. One by one we leaned off, got our photos taken, and then ran away with a mixed feelings of triumph and terror.
The day was amazing, and everyone stated they loved the event. We all loved the skywalk, and the tour of UniSA really opened our eyes to what option we have in the near future, after school. I’d like to thank everyone involved in setting up and running the day, whether it be the teachers, lecturers at UniSA, or the tour guides at Adelaide Oval.
