Fitness Journal October 2016

Avantidrome
conference
National Sport and Exercise Science
Conference comes to Waikato
Sport, exercise science, coaching,
health and human performance
are just some of the major topics
coming under the spotlight at an upcoming
National Sport and Exercise Science
Conference.
Being held at the Avantidrome in
Cambridge October 28-29, the event
is the annual conference of Sport and
Exercise Science New Zealand (SESNZ);
bringing together an impressive collection
of minds and experience.
A national organisation, SESNZ aims
to take the lead in developing a national
co-ordinated approach to integrating
sport science into sport at all levels, as
well as providing accreditation credentials
for sport science professionals.
University of Waikato academics Professor
Rich Masters and Dr. Matt Driller
are national board members for SESNZ.
This year, they are organising the conference,
which is taking place in the Waipa
district for the first time.
“We are absolutely delighted to have
the opportunity to host the conference in
Waikato and are excited to bring together
like-minded people with a passion for
the science of sport and exercise,”. says
Professor Masters.
And Dr. Driller reveals: “we have big
ambitions to turn the SESNZ conference
into one of the best in Australasia. We
would like to see it become a regular fixture
on the calendar for anyone working
in the sport, exercise and health industry”.
The conference will see a mix of
academics, students, coaches, athletes,
health practitioners and community sport
workers come together to hear university
and industry experts share their views on
a wide range of topics.
This year, the conference title is
Changing NZ Perspectives on Active
Health and Human Performance.
Themes will include health and human
performance, as well as sport, exercise
science and coaching.
Professor Alan St Clair Gibson, will
headline the conference as a keynote
speaker. Recently appointed Dean of the
University of Waikato’s new faculty of
Health, Sport and Human Performance,
Professor St Clair Gibson is famous for his
work in the ‘90s and early 2000s on the
Central Governor Theory.
The Theory claims that your brain
paces your muscles to keep them from
reaching exhaustion. When the brain
decides enough is enough (as avid readers
of Fitness Journal will be familiar with),
it creates sensations that you interpret as
muscle fatigue, which causes you to slow
down to protect yourself.
Professor St Clair Gibson is well known
for his other work too, and has published
more than 150 research articles in the
areas of basic brain function, control
system mechanisms, exercise regulation,
psychophysiology and complex system
integration.
The second keynote speaker is Professor
Damian Farrow. Professor Farrow
holds a joint appointment at Australian
Institute of Sport and the Institute of
Sport, Exercise and Active Living at Victoria
University in Melbourne. Professor
Farrow is the world’s foremost expert on
the role of practice in developing expert
skill in sport and is famed for his very
popular book on how to improve human
performance in sport, entitled “Run Like
You Stole Something”.
Professor Masters and Dr Driller say
that they are delighted in the interest
shown in the conference this year.
More than 70 abstracts have been
submitted by researchers and practitioners
from all over New Zealand, as well
Photo University of Waikato Adams Centre for High Performance – Tauranga.
as from Australia, the UK and even Hong
Kong.
Other speakers and their topics include:
Dr. Daniel Plews (High Performance
Sport NZ), Chasing the 0.2: Striving for
impact in high performance sport.
Danielle Salmon (University of Otago),
A baseline profile of brain health in a
semi-professional Rugby Union team
Associate Professor Jim Cotter (University
of Otago), Combined stressor
training and cross tolerance for health
and performance.
Associate Professor Mike Hamlin (Lincoln
University), Effect of repeated sprint
training under hypoxia on normoxic
repeated sprint performance.
Dr. Stacy Sims (University of Waikato),
Sex differences in hydration, thermoregulation
and performance.
Dan Archer (Unitec Institute of
Technology), Standing workstations:
Experience, acceptability, and effects on
occupational sedentary behaviour and
metabolic health of office workers
Dr. Blair Crewther (Imperial College,
London), The direct immunoassay of
blood-free testosterone: is it valid in sport?
Dr. Peter Maulder (Wintec), The acute
effects of ballistic jumps as a pre-conditioning
contraction on sprint performance
Julia Cassadio (High Performance Sport
NZ/AUT), Accounts from Rio: Optimising
performance support in a challenging
environment
Liis Uiga (University of Hong Kong),
The role of consciousness in balance
performance
Daryl Foy (University of Tasmania),
What we do in the (ONLINE) shadows -
an investigation of behavioural systems
design and social dynamics in an online
exercise community
Dr. Sarah-Kate Millar (Auckland
University of Technology), Using contrast
textures to enhance perceptual coupling
in high performance rowing
Francisco Tavares (University of
Waikato/Chiefs Rugby), Effect of training
load on acute fatigue and wellness during
an in-season non-competitive week in
elite rugby athletes
Tanja Allen (Wintec), Assessing the
potential for clinical exercise physiology
in the Waikato region of New Zealand: A
pilot study
Dr. Matt Driller (University of Waikato),
What do we know about the sleep
habits of elite athletes and how can we
attempt to quantify these?
Richard Ward (University of Newcastle),
Duration of concurrent muscular
strength and endurance training in soccer
players and effect on performance: A
review
Dr. Martyn Beavan (University of
Waikato), Salivary hormones and sport
science applications
SESNZ has developed a new website
(sesnz.org.nz) to reflect its evolving role
in the health, sport and exercise of New
Zealanders.
The conference is open to anyone
working in the sport, exercise and health
industry. To register visit sesnz.org.nz •
Sport and Exercise Science
New Zealand (SESNZ) objectives:
• To promote, encourage and
develop the proper use of exercise
science and technology to improve
the exercise, sport and health
performance of New Zealanders;
• To promote the importance
of exercise for optimal sport
performance and health;
• To educate people involved in
sport and exercise in the principles of
sport and exercise science and their
appropriate applications;
• To develop, promote and manage
standards for individuals or agencies
specialising in sport and exercise
assessment and development
programmes;
• To promote SESNZ and the role of
sport science in New Zealand sport
and to take the lead in developing a
nationally coordinated approach to
integrating sport science into sport at
all levels
Conference name:
Changing Perspectives on Active
Health and Human Performance
What is it: Sport & Exercise Science
New Zealand’s annual conference
Where is it: Avantidrome,
Cambridge on October 28-29, 2016
What is it about: Themes of the
conference will include health and
human performance, as well as sport,
exercise science and coaching.
Who can go: Anyone working in the
sport, exercise and health industry
To register or for further
information: www.sesnz.org.nz
30 FITNESS JOURNAL OCTOBER 2016
www.fitnessjournal.co.nz