The South West Academy of Sport (SWAS) will be holding their 3rd athlete education and personal excellence day of 2017 at Warrnambool College on Sunday 30 July. SWAS is especially excited about guest speaker Melissa Tapper, Australia’s first ever athlete to compete at both an Olympics and Paralympics in the sport of Table Tennis. Having just come back from a Gold Medal performance at the ITTF World Tour, Korea Open and with a Commonwealth Games bronze medal and World Para championship medal behind her, Melissa brings a wealth of knowledge to share with the Academy athletes.
Nic Kaiser, CEO of SWAS said, “to have someone like Melissa able to share her story with the athletes is extremely pleasing, Milly is a fantastic athlete and is someone who can help others believe in themselves and achieve their own greatness no matter what the size or the obstacle she is a great role model for the SWAS athletes”.
The day for athletes, parents, coaches and trainers will consist of musculoskeletal and physical fitness testing for the athletes followed by education on ‘Avoiding injuries and managing training loads’. The day will also see the roll out of an exciting new program for the Academy with the introduction of the new myAISbasecamp program.
The myAISbasecamp program provides physical sessions and educational resources through an online program with the aim to improve the readiness of pre-elite athletes for the physical and mental demands that will be placed on them when entering the elite performance environment. The program uses a multi-disciplinary and evidence-based approach to athlete development. “The AIS supported program is a fantastic step forward for the academy and the athletes, we are thrilled to be bringing this program into the academy” stated Chairperson Kathryn Emeny.