News
Academy Southland Update - June 2010 Newsletter >>
The athletes have been chosen for Academy Southland, one of the NZ Academy of Sport South Island’s Talent Xcelerator 2010 talent development programmes across the South Island.
Talent Xcelerator, offered through Academy Southland, Academy Otago and Academy Canterbury, bridges the gap between promising athletes and the standards required at the high performance level, fast-tracking them on a performance pathway.
The goal is to produce more local athletes winning at national and international level. And judging by the success of the South Island programme’s graduates, including 2009 world champion cyclist Tom Scully from Invercargill and Dunedin’s discus medalist (also from Southland) Marshall Hall, it is on-track.
The programme increases the young athletes’ understanding and preparedness for what it takes to succeed on the international stage, through a two year long series of group workshops and individual support services.
This includes information on sports psychology, lifestyle management, nutrition and strength and conditioning, plus some inspirational input from successful world-level athletes over the year.
The Programme also offers and provides support to the athletes coaches via specific seminars with topics ranging from effective programme planning to using technology to benefit their high performance programmes.
Athletes are selected for inclusion each year on current performance and potential, their ranking, and their future ability to achieve at the highest level within their sport.
The regional programmes draw on considerable local support, with investment in the Academy Southland from key sponsors the Community Trust of Southland as well as from the Invercargill Licensing Trust.
