Active Women in Sport Plan
UNSW is the first university in Australia to launch a specific plan for women's sport. The UNSW 2025 Women's Sport and Active Recreation Plan was launched in March 2020, and is commonly known as the UNSW Active Women in Sport Plan. Download and read the Active Women in Sport Plan.
A revised version for 2024/25 has since been published showcasing the commitment UNSW has made to this plan.
The UNSW Active Women in Sport Plan was a global finalist in 2021 for the FISU (International University Sport Federation) Gender Equality Award. In 2022, we held our inaugural Active Women's Strategy Awards where we also announced our new Active Women's Coaching & Officiating Grants.
The plan builds upon the SHE CAN program run by Arc Sport @ UNSW, and has received significant support and guidance from the NSW Office of Sport and aligns with the state-wide Her Sport Her Way Strategy
Meet our Active Women in Sport Ambassador: Takwa Tissaoui
Hi,
My name is Takwa. I’m a UNSW alum and currently a PhD candidate in Public Health at the University of Sydney. I completed my Bachelor of Arts, majoring in International Relations and International Business, in 2018.
My sports journey at UNSW began during O-Week. I was walking around with a high school friend who was keen to join another martial arts club when she pointed out the Taekwondo Club tent and reminded me that I’d done taekwondo back in high school. I’d almost forgotten; at the time I’d taken it up simply as an extra-curricular and because I wanted an indoor sport. Little did I know that stopping to chat with Dino (another UNSW alum, incredible athlete, and now a close friend) would take me from having almost no sporting background to becoming part of the UNSW Elite Athlete Program.
I joined the club as a white belt, fell in love with both the sport and the community, and soon became passionate about health, both my own and others’. In my first year I joined the executive team in an assistant role, and by 2018 I was president of the club, a member of the Elite Athlete Program, and had earned my black belt. And somewhere along the way, I also met my future husband.
Balancing high-level training with my studies wasn’t easy, but it was incredibly fulfilling and it strengthened my confidence physically and mentally. Being part of the She Can program from its first launch and watching our club continue to grow brings me so much joy. I loved training and supporting others in their own health and sporting journeys. Although my personal health has had its ups and downs since then, my time in UNSW Taekwondo changed me for good. It made me someone who genuinely loves being active, whether at the gym, in the pool, or back in the dojang.