UQ Sport back on track thanks to community support

UQ Sport has praised its customers and the local community for their support throughout the flood recovery process.

Sporting facilities at UQ have already begun to reopen after the floods saw much of the St Lucia sports precinct under water.

UQ Sport Executive Director Kim Guerin said it was thanks to dedication of the UQ Property and Facilities team and the generosity of volunteers that the clean-up was done so quickly and thoroughly.

“The Property and Facilities team really committed themselves to the recovery and rebuild plan and have been responsive and effective,” Ms Guerin said.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of volunteers who came down straight after the floods so eager to help us out in some way,” she said.

“We simply wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”

More than a hundred volunteers joined in the cleanup at the UQ Tennis Centre, UQ Aquatic Centre, UQ Sport & Fitness Centre and UQ Athletics Centre.

There was even a volunteer catering service on hand to fuel the recovery effort.

“We really want to thank Mike, Tuyet and Linh from the Campus Pharmacy for feeding all those hungry bodies for two days,” Ms Guerin said.

The UQ Sport and Fitness Centre is now open except for the bottom level of the weights gym, while the group fitness timetable is back running as normal.

The UQ Inter-Professional Clinics and UQ Staff Gym are also now open, while the UQ Tennis Centre is currently closed but progressing very quickly.

UQ Tennis Centre Manager, Alex Reeman-Clark said the clean-up was completed extremely quickly given the state of the centre after the floods.

“There was roughly five tonnes of mud removed from one court alone,” Mr Reeman-Clark said.

“With all the cleaning now completed we are hoping to be fully operational by April,” he said.

The UQ Aquatic Centre and UQ Athletics Centre are also currently closed with structural engineers in the process of assessing damage.

Further information on these facilities will be posted on the UQ Sport website as soon as it becomes available.

Media: Simon Byrne (07 3346 7518, simonb@uqs.com.au)