Australasian University Health Challenge

The Australasian University Health Challenge (AUHC) is a health-focused initiative where staff and students increase their daily physical activity to improve their health and wellbeing.

Universities across Australia and New Zealand have teamed up to give their staff and students an opportunity to increase their physical activity through a fun and exciting inter-university competition.

It's not about following a strict exercise or training regime, it's about making the effort to move more.

All UQ staff and students are eligible to participate in the Challenge. There is no cost to take part.

• Challenge registration opens: Monday 5 August (sign up for a 10,000 Steps account can happen earlier)
• Challenge starts: Monday 19 August
• Challenge ends: Sunday 29 September
• Last day to log steps: Tuesday 1 October
• Winners announced: Wednesday 2 October

1. Go to the 10,000 Steps website and select:
   1. Sign up if you are a new member then continue to Step 2
   2. Login if you are an existing member then skip to Step 6.
2. Enter your details -- we encourage you to use your UQ email address.
3. Select that you would like to register as a participant.
4. Click the link in the verification email sent to you.
5. Complete the last details required to create an account.
6. Choose to participate* in the Challenge as;
   1. An Individual -- see Individual column below.
   2. Part of a Team -- see Team column below.

Individual

• On or after August 5, go to your 10,000 Steps account dashboard, scroll down and select learn more on the Health Challenges card.
• Select 2024 Australasian University Health Challenge from the list under current health challenges (this will only show from 5 August when registrations open).
• Scroll down to The University of Queensland card and click on Join Challenge Team.
• After this, The University of Queensland card will have a little ribbon on the corner saying Joined.

Team

• Gather your teammates -- max 10 people per team.
  • Each team member needs to be individually registered as a participant on the 10,000 Steps website (as described above).
• Nominate a team captain and have them email the team name to UQ Wellness. 
• On or after August 5, UQ Wellnesss will provide the team captain with a team invite code.
• Team captain to provide link to all team members to use to join the team.

*Regardless of if you join as an individual or a Team, all steps will contribute towards The University of Queensland's total AUHC step count.

No. It doesn't matter if you currently do 2,000 or 10,000 steps each day. This Challenge is all about making small behavioural changes that increase your physical activity levels. 

There are a range of step-logging options, including syncing some types of trackers, and manual entry. Check the tracking options available to you.

Throughout the Challenge you can track personal, team and the broader UQ team performance through the 10,000 Steps mobile app or the 10,000 Steps website.
 

Yes individual and team prizes will be on offer throughout the duration of the challenge.

Individual weekly challenges- a different challenge for each week of the 6 weeks of the AUHC has been designed to give extra incentive to increase your steps.The winner each challenge will win a Frank Green water bottle. The 6 challenges are:

• Commute to Curb Carbon Challenge - joint challenge with Sustainability Week
• Walking meditation challenge
• Lunchtime walk challenge
• Walk with a colleague challenge
• Walking bingo challenge
• Most overall individual steps challenges

Details on each of the individual challenges will be sent out on August 19.

Team prizes will be awarded at the end of the AUHC in the following categories:

• Highest average steps (based on total members in the team) - 2023 champions - FoM - Trka Stars
• Highest total steps (total steps of the top 10 team members) - 2023 champions - DVC-A - The Walking Dead

Each winning team will win a massage therapist in the office for a day.

AUHC glory, is awarded to the University with the highest average steps at the end of the 6 weeks. Last year UQ ranked 11th for average steps (1st for highest total steps). Full 2023 AUHC results.