Year 11/12 Professional Sport Immersion Experience

On Friday 25 June 2018, the Year 12 PDHPE, Year 11/12 SLR (Sports Life and Recreation) class and Year 12 student, Jamie Stephenson (Cert ll in Sport and Recreation) took part in a Professional Sport Immersion Experience in Canberra.

We made our way to the University of Canberra where we toured the Sports Science facilities with Dr Stewart Semple. During the tour we were able to observe an experiment which was testing the effect of heat on maximum oxygen uptake during exercise. After this, we made our way to the sport science lab, where practicals take place for the students studying sports sciences and rehabilitation. We then visited the ACT Brumbies (Rugby Union) training facilities, which is located on campus. The Brumbies training facility includes; a million-dollar training field, an elaborate gym which contains NASA produced technology used to determine balance and create a weightless environment for the athlete. The Brumbies facility also includes sleeping quarters, which are used during training seasons between sessions.

The Sports Psychology Seminar followed with Dr Richard Keegan (Sports Psychologist). As a group we took part in a team-building activity, which subconsciously demonstrated to us the impact of overthinking, also known as arousal levels or over-arousal within sport, and how imagery/visualization can also affect performance. Interestingly, psychology in sports accounts for 80% of performance at an elite level however, is currently not a major focus point within many elite sports.

Our last activity included a movement screening practical workshop conducted by Dr Nick Ball. During this practical we were individually assessed on how well we performed a movement targeting different areas body. The movements consisted of; a deep squat, hurdle step, shoulder mobility, lunges and core balance. The purpose of this activity was to identify weak areas of muscles or groups of muscles prior to beginning a resistance training program.

After our University of Canberra tour we made our way to the Canberra Raiders headquarters where we met Leigh Woodbridge, the Strength and Conditioning/Nutritional Raiders coach, also a former Boorowa Central School student. On arrival we began our tour through the Raiders training facilities including, the Raiders changing room and the resistance training facility. We then explored ‘team builder’, a form of technology used by the Raiders, which creates personalized training sessions according to individual athlete’s needs and tracks and monitors training cycles. Leigh also discussed a variety of different aspects of daily life for Raiders players including their periodization plan (training program for the year), nutritional requirements, management of cramps and caffeine, recovery strategies and work-loads. We were also fortunate to meet Junior Paulo, a Canberra Raiders player, who was returning from a rehabilitation session where he was using an anti-gravity treadmill. This treadmill is designed to allow an athlete to run in a harness which reduces the amount of body weight impacting on the injury.

A tour of the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) followed which included the following sports training facilities: Olympic swimming pool, resistance training gym, volleyball courts, gymnastics arena and the ‘function room’, which is the original AIS arena. The Olympic swimming pool is 3 meters deep. It contains two diving blocks, which are used to divide the pool allowing the athletes to practice ‘tumble turns’ without swimming the full 50 meters of the pool. The pool also accommodates an underwater glass viewing panel, used by coaches to assess how their athletes train. There are also underwater cameras in the pool, used to film the athlete’s performance allowing them to accurately identify their

techniques from different perspectives. The main gym of the AIS, is open to athletes and their trainers only and is prohibited to the general public. The volleyball court consists of a men’s and women’s court, this is due to the height difference of the nets, the men’s net height being 2.42 meters and the women’s 2.24 meters. An interesting fact, the world record for high jump is 2.46 meters! This is higher than the men’s volleyball net (2.42 meters). Volleyball players can train for up to 36 hours in the gym a week.

The gymnastics arena is also divided into a female and male apparatus. The females have four apparatus (floor, beam, vault, bars) the floor is padded with a special type of foam, used under the bars which absorbs impact and is designed to replace foam pits, this is due to efficiency. The males have six apparatus (floor, horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar). The gymnasium accommodates cameras for athletes to review their techniques and performance. A harness is also located in the middle of the arena, this is a safety measure to prevent and practice different techniques without the risk of injury. The AIS holds gymnastic based camps however, because females mature and peak before the age of 18 unfortunately they cannot reside on campus due to legalities. Gymnastic camps are only available at the AIS for males and this is due to the fact male gymnasts peak at the age of 18.

The function room was the first AIS arena built, accommodating for more than eight individual sports. It was inconvenient as athletes needed to change the floor every training session to accommodate for the sport being practiced. The structural aspects of the original arena was designed so there was no visual obstruction, therefore it is supported by its exterior. The building was designed in such a way that, even if the walls fell down the structure would still be standing. The arena is now used for concerts and private functions.

Finally, ‘Sportex’ (extension of AIS tour) consists of interactive sport simulations. This includes basketball (Paralympic), soccer, wheelchair racing, rugby and AFL goal kicking, Cricket target practice, rock climbing, Sit and reach chin-up bar, skeleton run, skiing, rowing and bicycle riding. Sportex also has memorabilia displays, including Olympic clothing, photographs of famous athletes and medals.

Our final stop was to watch the NRL game between the Canberra Raiders and Manly Sea Eagles at GIO stadium. We arrived early as we had pre-arranged ground passes that allowed our group to walk onto the field and to watch the players during the warm-up. We then made our way back to our seats and watched a thrilling game where the Raiders kicked a field goal to win the game 21/20 in the last minute of the game.

Thank you to Mr Jones for organising the excursion.

Report written by Larissa Corcoran and Stacie Wales of Year 12 PDHPE (personal development, health and physical education)

Western Cross Country

On Wednesday 13 June, 13 high school students represented the Cowra District at Western Cross Country in Geurie.

Congratulations to Bianca Roach and Larissa Corcoran who will be representing the Cowra district at state later in the year.

Student behaviour and sportsmanship were exceptional and all students ran their races giving their all. Well done to all students on your efforts, you should all be very proud of yourselves.

Miss Jessica Freestone

Cross Country Coordinator

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