Australia Trip: Update (continued)

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On the other hand living in the land down under has felt like these six months have flown by. I have seriously done so much in what has felt to be a short period of time. When I first started uni I was told that I needed to have a balance between study and fun, and I have surely committed to that. Uni has been great, a whole new challenge, it has tested me in every way in terms of study and commitment. People usually think that because I am studying Sport Management (SURFING STUDIES) all I do is to surf! But guess what!? It isn’t! I am definitely studying surfing but not only as a sport but mainly as an Industry, which also happens to be the third biggest industry in the Gold Coast, yes, there is a lot of money into surfing over here and I notice that every day!

It is amazing to see how what used to be a sport of Gods (according to Polynesian culture) and royalty has become a mainstream sport/hubby to millions of people in Australia only. It is also amazing to see how so many communities have been located on the beach fully influenced by the surfing culture e.g. Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Great Ocean Road. Did I mention Surfing remains to be one the most marketable sports in Australia? So yes my course isn’t only about paddling out and catching waves all day, even though I do a bit of that, it actually requires studying and studying hard! During the first semester I learned about Sport Business, Sport Media and Sport Marketing; these were very entertaining subjects that have given me a great overview of what it takes to start up and run a business within the sport industry.

Soon after I had finished all my assignments and my exams, I had the opportunity and time to do other things. Over a period of two months I undertook an internship with Surfing Australia. Surfing Australia is the governing body of surfing in Australia, which is in charge of guiding and promoting the development of Surfing in the country. Surfing Australia’s main activities include: organising surf competitions, camps, training coaches and judges and working with surf schools and surf clubs. It has been an exciting experience for me in which I have learned I lot!

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