SMAANZ 2024 Announcement

SMAANZ is pleased to announce the awarding of the hosting rights for the 30th anniversary SMAANZ Conference to Deakin University. The conference will be held in the beautiful Melbourne suburb and bayside town of Geelong, Victoria  from December 4 - 6, 2024.

SMAANZ thanks the multiple bidding teams that responded to the EOI to host SMAANZ in 2024. SMAANZ President and Associate Professor Adam Karg and incoming SMAANZ President Dr Ashleigh-Jane Thompson recognised Deakin's comprehensive and unique bid within the EOI process:

"SMAANZ looks forward to working with Deakin University to deliver an outstanding conference experience for members in 2024. The Deakin bid provided an excellent opportunity to position the conference as a celebration of 30 years of SMAANZ, with the Geelong region providing a unique location for the event. The Deakin bid team leverages a wealth of experience with SMAANZ hosting, and the bid is well supported with Deakins' regional campus in the city of Geelong, as well as already committed partners for the conference".

Dr Jonathan Robertson, the conference chair, will be supported by the Deakin Sport Management team and the Centre for Sport Research, Deakin University. Dr Robertson said:

"On behalf of the Deakin sport management team we are excited to welcome the SMAANZ community to Deakin's Geelong Waterfront Campus in 2024. The conference theme will be 'Celebrating 30 years of SMAANZ scholarship' and we look to celebrating the history, growth, and diversity of the SMAANZ community over the past three decades. With the surf coast on our doorstep, and the 2026 Commonwealth Games preparations in full swing we look forward welcoming you all to Geelong in 2024."

More details on the conference will follow.

FUTURE SMAANZ CONFERNCES

• 2022: Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology
• 2023: Canberra, University of Canberra
• 2024: Geelong, Deakin University
• 2025: EOI to follow (New Zealand based applications strongly encouraged)