Countdown is on to the 2018 Athletics Carnival
During September students go from playing a full range of winter sports to focusing on athletics training and trials in preparation for the Senior School Athletics Carnival with some aiming to qualifying to be part of the Achilles Cup Team.
Athletics is the basis for many sports, for example running, jumping and throwing skills, which date back to the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
The athletics trials and Athletics Carnival provide challenges for everyone, no matter their ability with trial points being a major contributor towards House points for the Athletics Carnival.
During the trials, boys get the opportunity to improve their times, performance and skills by attending coaching sessions on Saturday mornings in the lead up to the Athletics Carnival.
The Senior School Athletics Carnival on Friday 21 September is a very special day and all parents are invited to a day full of colour and activity and to be part of the carnival atmosphere on Wilson and Caterer Ovals. The day kicks off at 8.30am and concludes at approximately 3.30pm. There will be a parent tent for seating near the finish line however you are most welcome to roam around the various events which are spread far and wide.
The Senior School boys look forward to seeing you there.
For anyone wishing to find out more about, please click on the following link:
https://keystone-apps.stpeters.sa.edu.au/athletics
Students attend expert sports nutrition and time management information sessions
On Wednesday 5 September, the Year 10, 11 and 12 boys were invited to an information session given by sports professionals involved with athletes at Olympic, National, State, Junior State and school levels.
The two topics included:
- Time Management and Organisation
- Diet and Nutrition
The first presentation Elite behaviours – how to juggle time and make decisions was delivered by Mark Gregory, Senior Athlete Career Advisor at the South Australian Sports Institute. His topic focused on juggling sporting commitments with the boys’ competing demands.
Mark Gregory provided the boys with some practical solutions for prioritising and managing their time. A useful tool he presented was the Decide diagram – Decide whether to Do, Diarise, Delegate or Ditch. Sleep hygiene was also mentioned as being extremely important.
Sports Dietician, Dr Olivia Warnes presented on Nutrition for Sports Performance, an equally informative session. Olivia’s message strongly linked back to the first presenter, reaffirming that through organisation, nutrition and diet needs of athletes can be better met and managed, with tangible benefits for performance, both on and off the field (pool, track etc).
Daily fuelling advice around what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat and when to hydrate was also a great source of information for the boys. Dr Warnes also asked the boys to consider the difference of two daily diets.
Carefully considering daily nutrition has positive consequences physically and mentally, in the classroom, at home and on the sports field. It can also greatly aid in recovery. It was suggested that the boys review their diets and determine if there were any changes that could be made .
Around 70 boys received the benefits of these two high level sessions. Both provided thought provoking information and also some solutions to the challenges that boys experience every day in juggling their busy schedules. Hopefully some positive change has already come from these presentations and these changes will continue to help students achieve their short and long term goals.
Thank you to those who attended and benefited from these sessions.
Grant Wyman
Director of Sport and Athletic Development