ANZALS 2025 – Exploring Leisure Landscapes: Trends, Transformations and Traditions
UTS Business School hosted the ANZALS 2025 on the lands of the Gadigal People in their award-winning and easily accessible Frank Gehry designed building, located on the Ultimo Campus, in central Sydney.
The conference ran from Monday 1st through to Thursday 4th December 2025.
For further information, please contact the team at: Anzals@uts.edu.au
Photo by Chris Charles on Unsplash
ANZALS Student Research Scholarship
ANZALS was delighted to be able to offer up to five student scholarships to attend the half-day Higher Degree Research (HDR) Student Workshop on Monday 1st December 2025 and the three-day ANZALS conference to be held at the University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia from Tuesday 2nd to Thursday 4th December 2025.
The scholarship covered the cost of the HDR Student Workshop and the conference registration fee, and also included a two-year ANZALS membership (2026-2027). Students were required to pay for their own flights, accommodation, any meals not included in the conference fee and any other incidental costs incurred.
Scholarship winners were notified by email by Katie McDonald by Friday 22 August 2025.
Eligibility:
To be eligible to apply for the ANZALS Student Research Scholarship students need to:
- Be currently enrolled and studying (full-time or part-time) in an Honours, Masters by Research or PhD program at a tertiary institution
- Be able to attend the HDR Student Workshop held on Monday 1st December 2025
- Provide evidence of acceptance of their abstract by the conference organisers
- Not be employed in a full-time position at a tertiary institution
- Be undertaking research within the leisure studies field
- Attach a 500-word statement explaining how their research fits into the theme of the ANZALS 2025 conference, and how attending the 2025 ANZALS HDR student research workshop and conference will assist the student in furthering their studies
Must be a current (e.g., 2025) ANZALS student member (for more information on how to join click here: https://www.anzals.org.au/join-anzals/)
Criteria for evaluation:
The ANZALS Student Research Scholarship applications will be administered and ranked by a panel comprised of at least two ANZALS Board members. The assessment criteria for the awarding of the scholarships will be based on the ability of the student, in their application, to clearly articulate:
- How well the research fits into the theme of the ANZALS conference, “Exploring Leisure Landscapes: Trends, Transformations, and Traditions”
- How attending the workshop and conference will assist in furthering their studies
Priority will be given to applicants who did not receive a scholarship for the 2023 conference.
The panel reserves the right not to award scholarships if the applications submitted are not of sufficient merit and/or do not meet the eligibility criteria as stated above.
Application process:
The applicant must provide the following documents via email:
- The completed and signed ANZALS 2025 Student Research Scholarship application form Final
- A 500-word statement (anonymised and in Word format only)
- Proof of their current student status (confirmation of enrolment, letter from supervisor or similar)
- Proof that they have an abstract or full paper accepted to present at the 2025 ANZALS conference
In the event the abstract deadline is extended by conference organisers, the submission date for scholarship applications will remain the same. If applicants have not received notification of acceptance from conference organisers, they must attach proof of abstract submission with their application form.
Applications should be emailed to Katie McDonald, ANZALS Board Member (Katie.McDonald@latrobe.edu.au)
Please note: the 500-word statement must be in a Word document only and be anonymised (do not include your name or affiliation in this document so that it can be blind reviewed). Failure to comply with this will result in your application being rejected.
Deadline for submission: Friday 1 August at 5pm 2025 (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
2025 Elery Hamilton-Smith Award for Best Early Career Academic Paper
Eligibility, evaluation criteria and application process
The ANZALS Elery Hamilton-Smith Award for Best Early Career Academic (ECA) Paper is a biennial prize awarded to an early career academic (within five years of PhD graduation) who is first author on a published peer reviewed journal article that makes a unique contribution to the field of leisure studies. The 2025 Award will be presented at the ANZALS conference in Sydney, Australia being held 2-4 December.
The award winner(s) will be announced at the ANZALS Awards conference dinner on Thursday 3 December. The Award will consist of a plaque and a two-year membership to ANZALS. If the Award is granted to a team of ECA authors, the first author will be awarded the free ANZALS membership. The co-authors will receive a certificate acknowledging their contribution to the Best ECA Paper Award if they also meet the eligibility criteria.
Guidelines:
A copy of the article must be submitted. Articles for consideration should be published (or accepted for publication) in a peer reviewed leisure-related journal on a leisure-related topic. Evidence of acceptance must be provided if the article is not yet published. The article should have first been accepted for publication after 1 September 2023.
The ECA applicant must be the first named author on the article and have a written statement from co-authors (who are not ECAs) that they support the lead author’s application. A team of ECA authors of an article may also apply in a single application.
Applicants may only present one paper for consideration.
Eligibility:
Applicants must:
- Be a current 2025 ANZALS member
- Be within 5 years of graduation from their PhD (or Masters) degree – written evidence of the date that the degree was awarded or current enrolment status must be provided
- Have an abstract accepted for presentation at the ANZALS 2025 Conference
- Not previously have been the recipient of an ANZALS Best ECA Paper Award
Criteria for Evaluation:
The award will be administered by an Award Panel, appointed by the ANZALS Events Working Group and consisting of at least three people.
Applications will be assessed on the following criteria:
- Value of topic area, research problem or approach in context of leisure studies in Australia/New Zealand
- Value of contribution in relation to leisure theory, methodology or applied focus
The Award will be granted to the first author (or the ECA team of authors) of the article which, in the opinion of the Panel, makes the most valuable contribution to the development of leisure studies. The contribution may be theoretical, methodological or applied in focus.
In any one judgement period, the Award may not be made if the Panel is of the view that none of the articles submitted are of sufficient merit.
The panel may decide to provide the Award to more than one author.
Application Process and Deadline:
The applicant must provide the following information:
- A copy of the final article with evidence that it has been published (or accepted for publication) within the eligibility timeframe
- A letter of support from co-authors that they support the application from the first author (if applicable)
- Proof of their ECA status (degree, graduation certificate, official transcript or similar)
- Proof that they have an abstract accepted to present at the ANZALS 2025 conference
Applications should be emailed to the Chair of the ANZALS Events Working Group, Dr Trudie Walters trudie.walters@lincoln.ac.nz no later than 31 August 2025.
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