Sailor, Evelyn Haseldine and Water Polo player, Loui Schuler were named Female and Male Blues of the Year at the annual Blues Dinner held in the Great Hall on Friday night.
Evie (pictured left) a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Media and Communications) is an Australian Sailing Team member, sailing with Sydney University alumna Olivia Price, the pair are campaigning in the Olympic women’s skiff, the 49erFX and this year qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Last year, the pair placed third at the Almere Hempel World Cup, just 6 months after teaming up with each other. This year, as the first placed Australian team in both the Palma and Hyeres World Cups, they were selected for and placed 10th at the Paris 2024 Olympic Test Event in July. They then went on to win a bronze medal at the 2023 World Sailing Championships in The Netherlands, qualifying the boat for the 2024 Paris Olympics and achieving history as the first Australian 49erFX team to win a medal at a World Championships.
Schuler (pictured below), a Bachelor of Commerce student, played 10 games for Sydney University 1st Grade in the NSW Metropolitan 1st Division and was selected as MVP of the 2023 Col Smee WPSNSW competition. He also played in 22 games for the Sydney University Lions in the Australian Water Polo League where the team claimed silver overall. Loui was a member of the Sydney University team that brought home gold from the UniSport Nationals in Perth in 2022 and silver from the Gold Coast this year. Loui also represented New Zealand at the Under 20 World University Games in Chengdu, China while also winning the Under 21 Club Championship with New Zealand. He is now a member of the Australian Open training squad.
There were 36 Blues and 10 Golds awarded at the function which was attended by over 220 guests, including many former Blue and Gold recipients, parents and friends. The University Pro-Vic-Chancellor Professor Richard Miles and the Chair of the Sydney University Sport, David Mortimer AO, welcomed guests.
Mr Mortimer said 2023 was a good year for Sydney University Sport following the tumultuous years of Covid-19. “We had many on-field successes, including our 12 gold pennants across 10 different sports at the UniSport Nationals; the Championship wins of our women’s Australian Water Polo League; our U19 Aussie Rules team and our 2nd Grade men’s rugby team. The Cricket Club also had three teams reach grand finals,” he said.
“While it is great to reflect on our successes and the terrific efforts of our student athletes, it is equally important to look forward and ensure that we are building for the future of University sport in Australia. To that extent, I’m pleased to announce that Sydney University Sport has been working hard in the background with the University’s infrastructure team on developing a sports road map for the next decade. As our student population continues to grow so too does our need to continue to invest in sports infrastructure to maintain and improve the University’s competitive advantage.”
Mr Mortimer said two large projects – the development of a synthetic field at The Square and the development of a new sports precinct at the Cumberland campus – were in the pipeline. “In the short term, we will be resurfacing the Football Ground with a hybrid field, installing a new electric scoreboard at the swimming pool and developing a new retail and gym entry via the boardwalk at SUSAC,” he said.
Mr Mortimer acknowledged he will be stepping down as Chair of SUSF at the end of the year and welcomed, Jane Spring AM into the role. He also thanked SUSF CEO, Ed Smith and the SUSF staff for their efforts during the Covid-19 years and the successful rebound in 2023.
During the evening, Master of Ceremonies Stephanie Brantz conducted an informative interview with three alumni, Sarah Cook OLY, CEO, Rowing Australia; Jane Spring AM, incoming Chair, Sydney Uni Sport; and Phil Waugh, CEO Rugby Australia.
The St Andrew’s College Male Vocal Group – BlueBirds, opened the evening with a moving rendition of ‘Loch Lomond’ and closed proceedings with ‘The Varsity’.
2023 Recipients
| FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | BLUE OR GOLD | SPORT |
| Benjamin | Bishop | Blue | Athletics |
| William | Freyer | Blue | Athletics |
| Alexandra | Harrison | Blue | Athletics |
| Austin | Little | Blue | Athletics |
| Alyssa | Lowe | Blue | Athletics |
| Isabellah | Walker | Blue | Athletics |
| Thomas | Garlepp | Blue | Basketball (Awarded for 2016) |
| Meg | Jefferson | Blue | Basketball |
| Alexandra | Kayrouz | Blue | Basketball |
| Mitch | Smith | Blue | Basketball |
| Holly | Wills | Blue | Basketball |
| Mikey | Yoong | Blue | Basketball |
| Chandler | Skelton | Blue | Basketball |
| Declan | Ellis | Blue | Canoe/Kayak |
| Emily | Watts | Blue | Cycling |
| Daniel | Botha | Blue | Football (Rugby Union) |
| Amelia | Kirgan | Blue | Netball |
| Mia | Baggett | Blue | Netball |
| Jason | Welmer | Blue | Netball |
| Elizabeth | Bolster | Blue | Rowing |
| Zoe | Bond | Blue | Rowing |
| Tiffany | Botha | Blue | Rowing |
| Stefanie | Preller | Blue | Rowing |
| Sophia | Wightman | Blue | Rowing |
| Zoe | McKellar | Blue | Rowing |
| Evelyn | Haseldine | Blue | Sailing |
| Jack | Hildebrand | Blue | Sailing |
| Margaux | Chauvet | Blue | Soccer |
| Sophia | Varley | Blue | Soccer |
| Elizabeth | Gan | Blue | Swimming |
| Rachel | Jeffs | Blue | Touch Football |
| Reyer | Carpenter | Blue | Ultimate Frisbee |
| Savannah | Henshaw | Blue | Water Polo |
| Tyler | Krenkels | Blue | Water Polo |
| Loui | Schuler | Blue | Water Polo |
| Lachlan | Reeve | Blue | Wrestling |
| Graeme | Fowler | Gold | Rugby League |
| Myles | Fowler | Gold | Rugby League |
| Immanuel | Green | Gold | Gymnastics |
| Elizabeth | Hawtin | Gold | AFL |
| Troy | Isidro | Gold | Football (Rugby Union) |
| Mitchell | Liddle | Gold | Baseball |
| Leonie | Lum | Gold | SUSF |
| David | Pacey | Gold | SUSF |
| Maisie | Squadrito | Gold | Soccer |
| Gillian | Ragus | Gold | Athletics |
