Mark Sayers

Associate Professor Mark Sayers is an academic and researcher in Sports Biomechanics at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), affiliated with the School of Health. He holds a PhD from RMIT University (2001) and has been with UniSC since 2005. His expertise includes biomechanics of team sports, injury prevention, and high-performance coaching. He served as the biomechanist for the New Zealand All Blacks (2000–2001, 2004–2008) and currently directs UniSC’s High Performance Sport programme. Awards include a national Office of Learning and Teaching Citation (2012) and recognition as one of Australia’s top ten lecturers (2010).

His research focuses on technique analysis in sports like rugby union, agility training, spinal biomechanics, and the biomechanics of injury prevention. He has secured nearly AUD$900,000 in grants and supervised over 50 HDR students. Current projects include investigating concussion in rugby league and developing computer vision tools for sports coaching.

Teaching responsibilities include courses like Biomechanics 2 and Performance Enhancement. He is also involved in community projects promoting healthy aging through sport for First Nation Australians.