Celebrating 110 years of the UQ Blues Awards

By Michael Jones

As a child, rising swimming star Elizabeth Dekkers dreamed of emulating the feats of Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Susie O’Neill OAM.

It motivated her to get out of bed well before sunrise each morning and drove her to train harder as she swam lap after lap at the local pool every day.

Dekkers is now realising that dream, with the 18-year-old Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) student following a similar path to the 2-time Olympic gold medallist, known fondly as Madame Butterfly.

UQ student Elizabeth Dekkers in action during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. *Image: Elsa/Getty Images*

UQ student Elizabeth Dekkers in action during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. *Image: Elsa/Getty Images*

Dekkers won gold in the 200 metres butterfly final at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and capped a remarkable 2022 this month by receiving a UQ Blue – the same award O’Neill received in 1996.

“I’m honoured to be receiving a Blue. It’s pretty incredible when you look at the people who have won Blues in the past,” Dekkers said.

“Susie is definitely someone I have looked up to for a while now. Not only was she an amazing athlete, but she is the most humble and incredible person.

“It’s pretty surreal, but a lot of my swimming idols are now my teammates.”

It’s been a whirlwind year for Dekkers (pictured), who also won gold in the 200 metres butterfly at the Australian Championships, and 3 gold medals at the Queensland Swimming Championships.

“I feel like I haven’t reflected on everything that has happened this year because I still have so much that I am working towards,” she said.

“The fact that I’m a Commonwealth Games gold medallist hasn’t sunk in yet. For a long time, it was something I had only ever dreamed of achieving and it’s driving me to want to push myself even more.”

Several Australian Commonwealth Games representatives are among 19 student-athletes recognised for their sporting achievements as UQ celebrates 110 years of the UQ Blues Awards.

Eight Blues – regarded as UQ’s highest sporting honour – were awarded to students for exceptional results at national- or international-level competitions in 2022, and a further 11 Half Blues were awarded for outstanding achievements at state, underage or UniSport-sanctioned events.

Commonwealth Games stars Elizabeth Dekkers and Claire Colwill on stage during the 2022 UQ Blues Awards.

Commonwealth Games stars Elizabeth Dekkers and Claire Colwill on stage during the 2022 UQ Blues Awards.

UQ Clinical Exercise Physiology student Claire Colwill received a Blue after a stellar season on the hockey field.

She was part of Australia’s silver medal-winning side at the Commonwealth Games and bronze medal-winning performance at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup.

Other Blue recipients included UQ para-swimmer and Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) student Harrison Vig, who finished fourth in the S9 100 metres backstroke at the Commonwealth Games; and Felicity Cradick, a Bachelor of Health, Sport and Physical Education (Honours) student, who competed in the Commonwealth Games as a guide for Australia’s sole female para-triathlete Erica Burleigh.

“It’s an amazing honour to receive a Blue among some incredible athletes,” Cradick said.

“I had only known Erica for 3 months before the Commonwealth Games. I met her the day before nationals and helped her achieve a PB and a qualifying time.

“After the race, she asked me to guide her in Birmingham as I had prior experience as a guide.

“We overcame a lot just to get to the start line with 2 broken tandem bikes, so I was very happy to cross the finish line in the green and gold, regardless of the place.”

Felicity Cradick (left) and Erica Burleigh ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. *Image: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images*

Felicity Cradick (left) and Erica Burleigh ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. *Image: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images*

Master of Physiotherapy Studies student Emily Meany (diving), Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Sciences (Honours) graduate Jack Clayton (cricket), Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours) student Cara Feain-Ryan, (athletics) and Bachelor of Business Management student Mac Grealy (rugby union) also received UQ Blues.

Bachelor of Health, Sport and Physical Education (Honours) student Shemaiah James received a Half Blue following a standout year in track and field. James represented Australia at the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships, claiming bronze in triple jump. He also won gold in the same event at the 2022 Queensland State Athletics Championships and Australian Open Athletics Championships.

Other Half Blue recipients included Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology (Honours) student Jacob Crook (fencing), Bachelor of Mathematics / Bachelor Computer Science student Eve Gath (water polo), Bachelor of Mathematics / Bachelor of Science student Ryan Gray (orienteering), Doctor of Medicine student Jeremy Hunt (athletics), Bachelor of Science (Honours) student Chelsea Mailer (lifesaving), Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) student Jana Milutinovic (beach volleyball), Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Education (Secondary) student Jayden Morrow (surf lifesaving), Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) student Elizabeth Newell (rowing), Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology (Honours) student Natalie Wright (rugby sevens) and Bachelor of Business Management / Bachelor of Economics student Corbin Zahn (surf lifesaving).

^{Image: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images}

An image UQ student Elizabeth Dekkers with her goggles on the top of her swimming cap and resting on a lane rope after a race.

An honour steeped in history

This year’s UQ Blues dinner on Friday 4 November marked the 110th anniversary of the awards, presented to champion UQ athletes for their outstanding sporting achievements and for enhancing the reputation of university sport.

The first athletes honoured were Trevor Francis (athletics), Norman Lloyd (rugby union) and John Radcliffe (tennis) in 1912, while the first females to receive Blues were 7 members of the UQ Hockey Club, including Nesta Brown, Julia Birkbeck, and Zoe Martin, in 1919.

UQ Sport Chief Executive Officer Bryan Pryde said a University Blue or Half Blue is one of the highest accolades a student-athlete can receive.

“Being an award recipient means you’re joining a very exclusive club,” Mr Pryde said.

“Since 1912, the University has awarded fewer than 2,500 Blues and Half Blues – which represents only one per cent of UQ graduates to date.

“This year’s awardees represent 15 different sports and include 9 UQ Sporting Scholarship recipients. I congratulate all the athletes on their remarkable sporting achievements this year.”

The Blues name is derived from the inter-varsity rivalry between Britain’s Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

A Cambridge oarsman famously tied a light blue ribbon, the colour of Eton College, to the bow of a boat during a race in 1836.

The Blues legacy was born, and the tradition of Blues Awards has been widely adopted by universities all over the world.

The 2022 UQ Blue and Half Blue recipients.

A champion legacy

At UQ, O’Neill – who won a total of 8 Olympic medals – is just one in a long list of notable UQ Blues award recipients.

Fellow Olympic gold-medal swimmers Dr David Theile AO (1957) and Kieren Perkins OAM (1992) received Blues as they were beginning to make their mark on the world’s biggest sporting stage.

Theile remains the only Australian to win an Olympic gold medal in backstroke, after winning the 100 metres title at both the Melbourne (1956) and Rome (1960) Games.

Kieren Perkins OAM. Image: Bob Martin/Getty Images

And Perkins is one of Australia’s most celebrated swimmers. After qualifying fastest for the 1500 metres freestyle final at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Perkins broke his own world record by 5 seconds (14:43.48) to win Australia’s only gold medal in the pool at those Games.

He defended his 1500 metres freestyle title 4 years later at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, despite almost failing to qualify for the final.

Past Blues recipients also include several ex-Wallabies captains, such as Dr Mark Loane AM (1973), Michael Lynagh AM (1982) and Stephen Moore AM (2005).

Michael Lynagh AM. Image: Sportsfile/Corbis/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Lynagh represented Australia 72 times between 1984 to 1995 and captained the side from 1993 to 1995. He was a member of the 1984 Grand Slam-winning team and was vice-captain when Australia won the 1991 World Cup.

Lynagh retired as the world record holder for most points scored in Test rugby, with 911 points.

Ken Archer. Image: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Australia’s oldest living Test cricketer Ken Archer (aged 94) was awarded a Blue in 1947 for both cricket and baseball, while radio broadcaster and former Wallabies coach Alan Jones AO received a UQ Half Blue for tennis as an 18-year-old in 1961. Sixteen years later, he won a Blue at Oxford University.

More recent notable Blue recipients include former Australian women’s cricket captain Jodie Purves (2013), and Paralympic gold-medal swimmers Brenden Hall OAM (2012) and Lakeisha Patterson OAM (2018).

Jodie Purves. Image: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Olympian Richard Powell is Chair of the Blues Advisory Committee and received a Blue for rowing in 1984.

He said you can feel the sense of pride from previous recipients when Blues and Half Blues are presented to student-athletes.

“I was absolutely thrilled when I received my Blue in 1984,” Mr Powell said.

“I had mates who had received Blues in previous years, and they raved about the experience and how much fun the dinner was.

“At the time I didn’t fully appreciate the enormity of the achievement, and it was only since returning to multiple awards nights as an ‘Old Blue’ that I fully grasped the significance of what a UQ Blue means.”

Mr Powell said tradition is an important part of university life.

“It is because sport is so important to the fabric of the university experience that it endures, along with the traditions that go hand-in-hand with sport, like the conferring of Blues. If the Blues weren’t revered and coveted by university athletes, then they would have withered years ago.

“Outstanding student athletes – like our academic achievers – aspire to be the best and the University celebrates and recognises that success through the Blues Awards.”

See the full list of UQ Blues Awards winners over the past 110 years