London - NSW Institute of Sport

Issue 20 JuNe 2011 THe OFFICIAL MAGAZINe OF THe NsW INsTITuTe OF sPORT
A Winter
Wonderland
Snowboarding world
champions
London
2012
A sneak peek ahead
of the Games
ALSO
Five
minutes
with Kurt
Fearnley
Rowing in
focus
2011 FIFA
Women’s
World Cup

There are over 1,400 clubs in NSW.
To find one near you, visit
www.clubsnsw.com.au/findaclub
ClubsNSW has been the principal partner of NSWIS since 1995,
with our annual contribution of over $1 million helping to ensure that
the NSWIS remains one of Australia’s leading sporting institutes.

CEO’s
Message
t is an exciting time for sport in Australia as
we near one year out from the 2012 London IOlympic
and Paralympic Games. To add to the
anticipation of the London Games is the recent
announcement by the Federal Government to
increase funding to high performance sport
in Australia.
The Institute hosted the Direct Athlete Support
(DAS) announcement by Senator the Hon. Mark
Arbib, of a $3m boost to elite athlete funding
ahead of London next year. Around 70 NSWIS
athletes from a possible 665 Australian athletes
are eligible for the DAS funding, increasing our
chances of success in London and beyond.
This funding may also have an immediate
impact during the upcoming world championship
season, which, for many, will provide a rehearsal
for their campaigns in London. For those not
competing at the world championships, their
preparation during the final six months of this
year will be equally as important as they strive for
Olympic and Paralympic selection next year.
The Institute has partnered with Altitude
Training Solutions (ATS) to further aid our athletes
in their preparation for London and beyond. In
conjunction with the NSWIS, ATS has recently
created a world-first pool based altitude facility
which covers two 25m lanes of a swimming pool.
Not only will this assist aquatic athletes with
altitude training, it will also complement the dry
land altitude systems we have in place including
portable tents and a converted RV motor home.
The Institute is also in the process of
redeveloping our website. Our website, www.
nswis.com.au, plays an important role in
promoting the achievements of our athletes and
coaches and now more than ever serves as a key
communication tool between our organisation,
athletes, coaches, stakeholders and the sporting
community.
I would like to wish everybody the best success
for the rest of the year as we continue our march
towards London.
Charles turner CEO
COntEnts
REGULARs
02 NSWIS in Images
12 Sport in Focus
14 Five minutes with...
22 Where Are They Now?
26 Four to Watch
28 ClubsNSW Update
29 Did You Know?
31 Calendar
32 The Performers
04
06 A winter wonderland
NSWIS snowboarding world champions
08
the edge is the official magazine of the NSW Institute of Sport
Editor: Kirsten Thomson Email: Kirsten.Thomson@nswis.com.au
Contributors: Chris Jones, Olivier Bjorksater-Bleylock, James Young, Patsy Tremayne, Jeremy Rolleston and Kenneth Graham
Photography: All photos courtesy of Getty Images unless otherwise stated Cover Photo: Getty Images
Design and Production: Southern Design www.southerndesign.com.au Tel: +61 2 9587 7722 • Fax: +61 2 9588 9299
© Reproduction of any material without written permission from the Editor is strictly prohibited.
New South Wales Institute of Sport www.nswis.com.au 6 Figtree Drive Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127 Australia
Tel: +61 2 9763 0222 • Fax: +61 2 9763 0250 ISSN 1441 - 5631
04 London 2012
A lasting legacy for the UK
08 2011 FIFA Women’s
World Cup
The Australian Matildas’ quest
for the cup
10 two sisters standing tall
NSWIS sisters creating history
06
10
nswis.com.au // the edge // 1

NsWIs IN IMAGes
NSWIS IN
IMAGES
Jenny Owens (R) leads skiers at the 2011 FIs Freestyling skiing World Championships
John steffensen
makes a statement
at the 2011 Australian
Athletics Championships
2 // the edge // nswis.com.au
Nicola Zagame, NsWIs water polo
athlete, during a morning training session
NsWIs athletes with NsWIs Chairman Phil Coles (R), senator the Hon. Mark Arbib (second
from R) and the Hon. Graham Annesley (L) at an announcement for Direct Athlete support funding

Matthew
Mitcham (R)
matches up
with Australian
WNBA prospect
Liz Cambage (L) The Institute’s new world-first pool based altitude facility
NsWIs cyclist Kaarle
McCulloch (L) with Anna Meares
accepting her gold medal at the
2011 uCI Track Cycling World
Championships
NsWIs IN IMAGes
nswis.com.au // the edge // 3

LONDON 2012
When the 2012 olympic Games begin
in London on July 27, 2012, it will mark
the third time the olympiad has been
held in the United Kingdom’s capital. The
Paralympic Games, beginning on August
29, 2012 will be held in London for the
first time. For over six years London and
the UK has been preparing for its time
to shine, and the opportunity to show
the world of its progression into a
sporting powerhouse.
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes
The raw numbers for the Games are staggering. The Public Sector
Funding Package is nearly £10bn, the global audience is estimated
to be 4 billion people and over 130000 businesses are competing for
contract opportunities linked to the 2012 Games. Over 8000 unemployed
and economically inactive people have participated in schemes designed
to engage the community in volunteering opportunities, and over 22000
people have worked on the Olympic Park site for at least five days since
April 2008.
Whichever way you look at it, the goal of the 2012 Games is to create a
lasting legacy for the UK. A report published by the Government Olympic
Executive (GOE), a unit of the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport
stated that there were four key areas of the Olympic legacy, including,
“ensuring that the Olympic Park can be developed after the Games as one
of the principal drivers of regeneration in East London.”
East London has undergone a transformation similar to that
of Homebush Bay, which, prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympic and
Paralympic Games, was used for industrial purposes. However, after its
redevelopment, Sydney Olympic Park and surrounding areas are thriving
residential and commercial precincts. The East London site has the
same potential.
“Beyond 2012, we want to ensure these Games deliver a strong legacy
– not just regenerating this part of East London, but boosting our national
economy and inspiring a new generation to get active and get into sport,”
said UK Prime Minister David Cameron in December 2010.
“In the longer term the Park, together with Stratford City, will provide
the foundations for a new growth economy built around cultural, sporting,
leisure and tourism business opportunities,” said the GOE’s report. “The
Park is expected to support some 8000-10000 jobs, over and above the
employment of 20000 forecast for Stratford City.”
To couple the regeneration of East London, the UK Government is
putting plans in place to increase grass roots preparation in sport,
particularly young people, and to encourage the entire population to
become physically active.
This includes utilising facilities created for the Olympic and Paralympic
Games post competition and creating the “School Games” which focuses
on hosting annual events at school, district, county and national level. The
plan to increase physical activity has been launched worldwide through the
International Inspiration programme, which aims to increase access to high
quality sporting opportunities.
The report said, “The programme has reached more than 6 million
children globally, while in the UK over 300 schools have forged educational
partnerships by becoming International Inspiration partner schools,” a
reflection of the global reach of the Olympic and Paralympic movement.
One of the driving forces behind London’s successful bid is Lord
Sebastian Coe, a two time Olympic gold medallist and now Chairman of
4 // the edge // nswis.com.au
The idyllic Weymouth will host the Olympic sailing events
The main stadium is the centrepiece of London’s Olympic precinct
Live
Londo
the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. Coe, a great
ambassador for the Olympic movement, was recently in Australia and
discussed the impact the success of the Sydney Games will have in 2012.
“Australia’s status in the Olympic movement is pre-eminent,” said Coe
when speaking at Parliament House in Canberra. “This country has created
a template for a strong sporting culture that supports immense diversity.”
“From Sydney I want the party atmosphere that was driven by athleteled
performance in the venues, and that permeated the city and I think the
whole country.”
Under Coe’s guidance, the development process of the Games has
been largely untroubled; the Lee Valley White Water Centre was unveiled
in December 2010, the first of the new venues for the Games, and the
Olympic velodrome was opened shortly after in February this year. The
Olympic Stadium and the external structure of the Olympic Village are also
scheduled to be completed during 2011, with the Olympic Village scheduled
to be transformed into 2800 homes after the completion of the Games.
The development of venues naturally leads to the development of

as
n 2012
oneWenlock
transport infrastructure for London, most notably the Stratford District
which sits adjacent to the new Olympic and Paralympic precinct.
According to the GOE’s report, “the aim is to host the first ‘public transport’
Olympic and Paralympic Games with 100 per cent of spectators travelling
by public transport, walking or cycling.” Given that nearly 500000
spectators are expected daily, on average, across the Olympics and
Paralympics, it is understandable why improvement to the public
transport system is imperative.
The expected spectator numbers are incredible, so it is no surprise
the Games’ ticket allocation is not meeting the demands of spectators.
There were nearly 7 million tickets available for 650 sessions of Olympic
competition, with more than half of those sessions already oversubscribed.
Two million tickets for the Paralympics will go on sale in
September this year, with the prices being structured to ensure as many
people as possible will be able to see the action.
“The London 2012 Paralympic Games will be the pinnacle for many of our
Paralympic athletes and will be a fantastic spectacle of competitive sport,”
LONDON 2012
(L) and Mandeville (R), Official Mascots of
the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games
said Hugh Robertson, the UK’s Minister for Sport and Olympics. “I would
encourage everyone to apply for tickets not to miss out on this once in a
lifetime chance to see the Games.”
Nearly 4 billion people around the world are expected to watch the
Games on television, and the key for the London Games is to unite the
UK like never before. The Olympic and Paralympic mascots, Wenlock and
Mandeville, were ‘created’ by drops of steel from a Bolton steel works
factory and incorporate iconic British imagery, such as headlights from
London taxis. Contracts for infrastructure could have easily gone to
companies outside the UK, but a conscious effort has been made to tie
everything to the Games’ home soil.
It’s hard to believe that the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games
are nearly four years passed; it seems like it was only yesterday. However,
the City of London has been waiting for this moment since 2005, and it
seems no expense has been spared in order to make sure these Games are
not only the world’s sporting showpiece, but a lasting legacy of success for
the UK. n
nswis.com.au // the edge // 5

WINTeR sPORTs
For a nation to have three gold medallists at one world championship event is no mean
feat. When that nation is Australia, and the world champions are snowboarders, the
result is even more remarkable. nSWIS snowboarders Alex Pullin, nate Johnstone and
Holly Crawford created history at the 2011 FIS Snowboarding World Championships, and
officially put Australia on the map as a force in the world of winter sports.
World championship victory for all three athletes came less than
12 months after their respective Winter Olympic experiences. For
Pullin it was justice after a crash ended his Olympic campaign; for
Johnstone it was the realisation that he could contend with the best after
injury shattered his Olympic dream, and for Crawford it was retribution
after an Olympic result that, in her eyes, could have been better.
Pullin’s debut Olympic Games saw both the highs and lows of competition,
from being the number one snowboard cross qualifier into the finals, to
crashing out during the high intensity final rounds. “Even though I wasn’t
able to take it to a podium finish in the finals, I gained so much from the
experience,” Pullin said of his debut Olympics.
“We obviously picked the world championships as the event to win for the
2011 season, which meant I was focusing once again on a standalone event
much like the Olympics,” Pullin explained. His world championship win was
sweet in so many ways; conquering an event that was more or less the sole
focus for his season, completing a journey that started in Vancouver and
becoming the first Australian to win a snowboarding world championship.
“I don’t think there’ll ever be a perfect run for me as there’s always better,
but I enjoyed my racing that day, winning was the great reward. In the
moment while standing on the podium, I was really just experiencing pure
happiness,” said Pullin. “I remember when we were all sitting around the
dinner table looking at each other later that night after the half-pipe finals,
there were some pretty big smiles! It felt great to be a part of that.”
Snowboard cross is one of the most exciting sports on the snow, where
racers initially qualify through individual time trials. The racers are seeded
and then compete in groups of four, with the top two from each race
moving through the rounds until a final four is established, eventually
determining the medals. The result is often determined by a minute error
in judgement from a single racer, creating havoc for the other three racers
given the high speeds.
“There are so many levels of strength which come into play when racing
boarder cross. I work a lot on speed, agility, balance and power training,”
said Pullin, who has also introduced mountain biking as part of his training.
“Getting a good amount of time on snow here in Australia (during the
offseason) plays a big part in the ability to make it through a whole tour. But
once we are rolling, it’s just my hunger to win, and the fun I have doing it
with my coach Ben, that keeps me so motivated to ride my best.”
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes
Australia finished at the top of the medal tally at the championships, a
remarkable feat for a nation whose sporting history has essentially been
shaped by medals in summer sports. While winning a snowboard world
championship might not garner the same attention as an Olympic medal, as
a competitor Pullin sees only positives coming from their success.
“The media coverage will hopefully follow more of our events to give
Aussie spectators the chance to share in our success. I’m also looking
forward to having more opportunities to work with juniors in our sport
during our domestic winter, to hopefully help give a leg up for more riders
coming through,” he said.
Johnstone, the newly crowned men’s half-pipe world champion,
echoed Pullin’s sentiments. After Australia’s freestyle snow sport success
in Vancouver and again this year, he has high hopes that the next crop of
youngsters will be given the same chance to chase gold.
“Hopefully the results will help upcoming kids that are looking to do the
same thing, and that there will be more funding for programs to help them
to do it,” said Johnstone, who only 12 months prior was forced to withdraw
from his debut winter Olympics after suffering an ankle injury. Undoubtedly
a difficult time, Johnstone focused on the positive and used his time in
recovery to plan what would eventually become a world championship
winning season.
“It was tough at the time. To sit there and watch it (the Olympics) on
television from Australia was hard, but it’s a long time ago now and it doesn’t
bother me so much.
“I think after it happened I had a long time to think about things; things
that I wanted to get done in the season coming up... I was super excited
to get back on snow and start training again. All that time waiting for the
season to come around was the key (to my success).”
Most of that “waiting around” was spent in rehabilitation, strengthening
the ankle that had failed him at the most inopportune time. Johnstone
worked closely with John Marsden, who is responsible for the provision of
sport science services to athletes in the NSWIS Winter Sports Program. The
rehabilitation work meant Johnstone returned to the snow in August 2010
feeling fitter and stronger than he did in the lead up to Vancouver, eventually
carrying that confidence into world championship gold.
“It (winning world championship gold) was a pretty special feeling, easily
one of the best,” said Johnstone on his half-pipe victory, “but it didn’t really
A winter wo
6 // the edge // nswis.com.au
Pullin (green pants) crosses the line first in the fast paced snowboard cross
Pullin, Australia’s
first ever snowboard
world champion

“I remember when we were all
sitting around the dinner table
looking at each other later that
night after the half-pipe finals,
there were some pretty big smiles!
It felt great to be a part of that.”
Alex Pullin
A near flawless first
run was the key to
Johnstone’s victory
Crawford capped
off a golden result
for the NsWIs
snowboarding trio
WINTeR sPORTs
sink in until the next day when we were driving back to the airport. It was
just awesome that we all got to share the exact same experience, which I
think made it so much better. It was pretty unreal.”
Australia is home to arguably the world’s most passionate sporting
fans, and although there was a raucous team of supporters at the world
championships, Johnstone’s source of inspiration came largely from
Pullin, who won gold 24 hours earlier.
“One of the biggest things that helped me was when Chump (Pullin)
won gold the day before. He and his coach were watching us on the day
of the finals, and after each training run I rode past and saw how stoked
they were from his win. I was thinking ‘man I just want to feel that right
now,’ so for my run I just gave it everything... and that first run was the
run that won it for me.”
For three snowboarders to all achieve ‘that’ feeling in a matter of
days is an indication of how far Australia has come in the winter sports
arena. Half-pipe snowboarder Crawford has been at the forefront of that
improvement since her arrival on the international scene, creating history
at her last two world championship appearances; this year by winning
gold, and two years ago in 2009 by becoming Australia’s first snowboard
world championship medallist after taking silver.
“Winning gold at the world championships was definitely a realistic
target as I was already holding the number two spot after the last world
championships in Korea,” explained Crawford.
It was the Winter Games that spurned Crawford on to creating her own
slice of history in 2011, as a disrupted preparation resulted in an eighth
place finish at the Games. Following on from Vancouver and another
injury, Crawford’s plan for the year was to “ride... and hopefully achieve
some good results along the way,” a much more relaxed approach that
eventually paid dividends.
“It (standing on the podium) was most definitely a time to enjoy
the victory, especially after just missing out on the win a couple years
earlier,” said Crawford.
Like her Olympic campaign, Crawford’s world championships
were also a testing time, being diagnosed with food poisoning. Unlike
Vancouver, the setback was not enough to disrupt Crawford from what is
now her career defining victory.
“To be honest I was just really happy to have made it through the day
and still manage to get the result I wanted! I knew that all I had to do was
land on my feet, which is often easier said than done, and I managed to
do so food poisoning and all!”
Oddly enough snowboarding has now become a year round sport, with
Pullin, Johnstone and Crawford rarely being able to enjoy a full summer
season anywhere in the world. A couple of weeks off here and there are
really all they’ll get before the start of the Southern Hemisphere winter,
and then the heavy competition of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter.
The NSWIS trio has swapped the surf and sand that many Australians
enjoy for the sleet and snow of the winter months around the globe, and
for that they are now on top of the world. n
Johnstone bounced back from
injury in 2010 to win world
championship gold
nderlandnswis.com.au // the edge // 7

2011 FIFA WOMeN’s WORLD CuP
The World Cup Trophy on display
in Washington, DC, usA.
The Australian women’s soccer team,
the Matildas, created history last year
when they triumphed at the 2010
AFC Women’s Asian Cup. In winning
the cup, the Matildas became the first
Australian team to claim an Asian
football title and qualified for the 2011
FIFA Women’s World Cup, which they
will tackle this year in Germany.
2011
FIFA Women’
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes
Matildas coach Tom Sermanni was at the helm during the Asian
Cup, guiding the team through a number of injuries to a penalty
shootout victory over North Korea in monsoonal conditions in
China. Since the feat, Sermanni has reflected on how important the victory
was for the ongoing development of the team.
“Winning the Asian Cup was a significant turning point for our squad,
giving us the belief that we are capable of competing with and winning
against the world’s best teams.
“This belief was further bolstered by our wins against Japan and North
Korea, both ranked in top five of the FIFA rankings, without two of our key
players. This would have been unthinkable prior to the tournament.”
NSWIS athlete Kyah Simon proved to be a pivotal member of the
triumphant Australian team in China, calmly converting what was eventually
the winning penalty. There aren’t many athletes, who, at 20 years of age,
would willingly subject themselves to the pressure of a penalty shootout, but
Simon is one of them.
Sermanni gave the team an opportunity to volunteer for the penalty kicks,
completely putting his faith in his squad that was on the verge of history.
“Four penalty spots down and still one to go; a slight pause overcame the
group. Then something in me said, ‘put your hand up Kyah,’” recalled Simon.
“So that’s what I did. I put my hand up, not entirely realising what I was
getting myself into, but just took my chance.”
Confident that her placement would get the better of the North Korean
goalkeeper, Simon told herself that she only had one shot to make it count.
“It was a relief to see that ball hit the back of the net! It was a great
achievement by the team and we were very proud of each other. On a
personal note, I’m my toughest critic so I’d say there’s always room for
improvement,” which leads to her quest to represent Australia at the 2011
FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The tournament will take place in Germany during June and July, and
thanks to their win in China and continued strength at the elite level, the
Matildas are looking to make an impact. They will have their work cut out for
them as they face Brazil and Norway, two teams ranked in the world top five,
and Equatorial Guinea, an unpredictable and largely untested force on the
world stage.
It’s a tough group with Brazil and Norway ranked higher than us in the
FIFA rankings and very much an unknown entity in Equatorial Guinea,”
explained Sermanni.
8 // the edge // nswis.com.au
“However there’s no such thing as an easy draw in the World
Cup Finals. When the pools for the draw were announced I
wanted to avoid Germany, England and Sweden, which we
managed to do.”
Simon’s views are similar to Sermanni’s, only the best teams
qualify for a chance to win football’s greatest prize. “If the team
is to keep progressing, you’re always going to be coming up
against tough opponents,” said Simon. “Every world cup and
every international match you play is going to be a challenge
because you’re up against the best female footballers in
the world. We as a team are just taking it step by step and
game by game.”
The Matildas’ first world cup match takes place on June
29, where the team faces Brazil. Sermanni is confident
that the players who take to the pitch for Australia
will be in the best position they’ve ever been to win,
saying, “We have the strongest and most competitive
squad since I took the job six years ago.”
Alen Stajcic, in charge of the NSWIS Women’s
Soccer Program and Sydney FC in the Westfield
W-League, echoed Sermanni’s sentiments on
the strength of the Matildas team. Stajcic is
also having an impact on the growth of
women’s football on the international
stage with his involvement as coach of
Australia’s under-20 women’s football
team, the Young Matildas.
“For the first time ever the Matildas
are capable of beating any team.
Five years ago the team could have
defeated a top five team on occasions,
but now the team legitimately
challenges the world’s
best teams in every
match,” said Stajcic.
“Success at the
world cup comes back
to consistency. If the

NsWIs athlete Kyah simon
hopes to spearhead Australia’s
campaign in Germany
2011 FIFA WOMeN’s DID yOu WORLD KNOW? CuP
s World Cup
team can produce consistently strong results match after match then there’s
no reason why they can’t have a very successful tournament.”
Sermanni’s difficulty in selecting the squad can only be a positive for
women’s football in Australia, and is directly related to the rise of the
W-League, which began only three years ago.
The majority of players in the Matildas squad are from either Sydney FC or
Brisbane Roar, the two teams that have met in the W-League final over the
past two years.
“The W-League has surpassed my expectations on many fronts;
significant improvement in the level of football, keeping players in the
game who would have decided on retirement, encouraged players to return
to playing football seriously and extended the playing years for our elite
players,” said Sermanni in a glowing review.
The development of athletes has not been lost as the W-League continues
to grow. Sermanni explained that there are currently five players from
Victoria in the under-20s squad, where in the previous two years there had
been no Victorian footballers in the squad.
Perhaps more importantly, Sermanni said that “the W-League has been
a great advertisement for women’s football,” and when coupled with
outstanding results will “inspire youngsters to take up the game.”
Simon has been one of the leaders of the pack in the W-League as
Sydney FC’s striker. A fantastic 2010/2011 season saw her net 11 goals in
12 matches for the Sky Blues, as the team went on to finish runners-up
to the Brisbane Roar.
“Our Sydney FC team has always set high goals for ourselves.
We set them so high because we believe in our ability,” said the
youngster.
“I think 2010 was our greatest season yet, and it was a shame we
didn’t win back to back titles. It was very disappointing knowing that
you were the best team all season, but Brisbane was the better team
on the (grand final) day.”
Simon’s outstanding season was capped with a
number of awards including the Julie Dolan Medal,
recognition of her individual talent and contribution to
Sydney’s success. “It is an amazing feeling,” said Simon.
“I’m humbled and very honoured to receive the awards,
especially the Player’s Player Award. Having been voted
by my peers really means a lot to me.
Coach Tom sermanni
will lead Australia in their
second consecutive FIFA
Women’s World Cup
“I did set a few goals for myself at the start of the season. The Golden Boot
Award was one of my main goals, as well as trying to stay consistent and
really make a difference on the park, week in week out,” explained Simon.
“It’s a great feeling to know that I achieved those goals that I set way back at
the start of the season before we really knew what was ahead of us.”
Simon’s breakthrough domestic season has her eyeing off selection on
the Matildas team when they line up against Brazil. She is confident that her
best on any given day is good enough to make in impact at the international
level, and the recent accolades from football critics and her peers are a
testament to that.
Over the past 12 months Stajcic has seen Simon develop into one of the
key members of Australia’s football future, and a potential X factor for
Australia in Germany.
“Kyah is definitely the most in form player since the end of the W-League
season. This season she became one of the most consistent performers on
the Sydney team, but she is also a creative and spontaneous player and the
Australian team will definitely benefit from her natural flair,” said Stajcic.
Regardless of the team’s structure, Sermanni remained focused on not
thinking about the ‘what ifs’ at the showpiece of women’s football, saying
“there’s no point in looking or thinking further than progressing through the
group stage.”
In years gone by the men’s national team has been criticised for playing
too defensively, but Sermanni is confident that the women’s team’s
approach of playing a positive and dynamic style of football will bode well
against the world’s best.
“Playing in Asia helped us improve our technical qualities while
still retaining our physical strengths, which has benefitted our overall
development. Our main aim is to continue to improve the way we
play football.”
For Simon, world cup glory is just one career goal. Still considered a
youngster in the sport, Simon offered a word of advice for those who want to
follow in her footsteps.
“Playing football at an elite level requires commitment, hard work,
dedication and a passion to succeed. So set your goals high, because
anything is achievable if you set your mind to it.” n
nswis.com.au // the edge // 9

eMMA AND HOLLy LINCOLN-sMITH
standing
Two sisters
ta
“A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very
much not ourselves - a special kind of double.” - Toni Morrison
One sister has achieved her childhood dream; the other is close to
making hers a reality. One spends her time flying along the ice; the
other bides her time in the water. For every difference that draws
these two athletes apart, there is a family bond that brings Emma and
Holly Lincoln-Smith back together.
Raised on Sydney’s Northern Beaches they were born into a sporting
pedigree, with both parents heavily involved in sport during their
formative years.
Emma chose running, a sport that came naturally to her. She
competed in both track and beach running from a young age with the
dream of someday representing Australia. It wasn’t until 2004, when
Emma was 18 that her sporting career took an unexpected turn.
The Australian Sports Commission launched a talent identification
program with the aim of improving Australia’s performance in lower
profile sports. Emma was selected to trial for skeleton, a winter sport in
which you slide head first down an ice track, reaching speeds of around
150km/h. Seven years later, Emma is now an Olympian and supported
through the Institute’s Individual Scholarship Program, which allows her
access to the facilities and services that the NSWIS has to offer.
“Although I have trained all over the world, the gym at the NSW
Institute of Sport is probably the best gym I’ve trained in, and the support
I have received from all areas of the organisation has helped me achieve
my goals,” said Emma.
Holly found herself heading into the water when she was young, both
in surf life saving and swimming. It was around the age of 13 when she
fell into the sport of water polo, beginning her career playing with the
Sydney Northern Beaches club. Having Sydney Olympic water polo gold
medallist Debbie Watson as a school teacher, it was no surprise that
water polo quickly became a priority in Holly’s life.
“Debbie really encouraged me to play polo, she has been an amazing
mentor throughout my career,” said Holly.
Rewarded with an NSWIS scholarship at age 15, Holly was a raw talent
that current NSWIS Women’s Water Polo Coach Ryan Moar has worked
10 // the edge // nswis.com.au
stORy JAMes yOuNG phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes
hard to mould into a world class centre forward in the pool.
“Holly showed promise and potential from a very young age. She
has overcome many hurdles along the way and if she can continue to
improve and grow as an athlete she has every chance to achieve Olympic
success,” said Moar.
Success has not come easily for Emma or Holly, with family tragedy
and major injuries placing pressure on their dreams.
It was in 2005 when their mother Vicki was diagnosed with breast
cancer; a disease that now affects one in nine women in Australia by
the age of 85. Their father Marcus also underwent open heart surgery to
remove a tumor on his heart. Vicki has now gone five years in remission,
Marcus has recovered, and both use the strength gained from their
experiences to support their daughters in their pursuits.
In 2009 Emma saw her Olympic dream coming near. A year out
from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, she was sliding
the best she ever had, and went into the off season brimming with
confidence. Holly had a great year after being selected into her first
world championship team and coming away from the 2009 FINA Aquatic
World Championships named Australia’s most valuable player of the
tournament. Both were unaware that their biggest challenge still awaited
them.
In September 2009, their eldest sister Jessica Lincoln-Smith passed
away, bringing their world to a crashing halt. Jess had battled anorexia,
depression and bipolar disorder for around 12 years, illnesses that are too
common amongst young women in today’s society.
“I remember being there when my parents and I were told – I
remember it so well, but it is a blur at the same time,” said Holly.
Although Jess had been sick for over a decade nothing could prepare the
family for the finality of death. “Even now I cannot believe it’s real and
the finality of it hits you at the strangest times. Times when all you want
is a hug from your big sister but you can’t, and times like Christmas and
birthdays are always hard.”
Only four months out from the Winter Olympics, Emma was faced with

the daunting task of refocusing on her sport, something that her sister
had always been proud of. “I wasn’t sure if I would be able to pull myself
together to make the Olympics. I just kept going, if I hadn’t I would have
fallen apart. The Olympics were a focus for me, a reason to get up every
day. I had to keep going for myself, my family and most of all for Jess.”
Holly was hit with another setback two months later when she found
out that she had suffered several tears in her shoulder, an injury sustained
at the world championships and not diagnosed till later. The injury meant a
ll
full nine month rehabilitation before she
would play water polo again, and three
months before she could even swim,
putting a dent in her Olympic dream.
Holly reflected on this time, “I really
struggled because when Jess died I used
water polo to keep me going. It was
my escape, so when I found out that I
couldn’t train or play I did not know
how I would get through it. I was lucky
I had such amazing people around me
supporting me in every way. Mum and
Dad were constantly there for me
doing anything they could
to help.”
“Although I have trained all over
the world, the gym at the NSW
Institute of Sport is probably the
best gym I’ve trained in, and
the support I have received from
all areas of the organisation has
helped me achieve my goals.”
Emma Lincoln-Smith
The three
sisters; Holly,
emma and Jess.
eMMA AND HOLLy LINCOLN-sMITH
The silver lining was that the injury allowed Holly the time to travel to
Vancouver to watch her sister take part in the 2010 Vancouver Winter
Olympic Games. With a short history in the sport and three Olympic
debutants, not much was expected from Australia’s skeleton athletes. To
add to this, the event was shrouded in controversy when only days earlier
Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili tragically crashed and died in
the practice rounds, an accident that occurred metres from where Emma
was standing.
It was a tough time for Emma, “I was mentally a bit shattered and it was
hard trying to push the incident to the back of my mind. After everything
I’d been through the last year I just had to forget what I’d seen. I couldn’t
let anything stop me.”
Emma blistered through her first run sitting in sixth going into the final
round, and only three-tenths of a second off a medal. Her second round
was tougher and she eventually finished in 10th place overall, Australia’s
best result in skeleton at the Olympic Games.
“Competing at the Olympics was the most amazing and surreal
experience of my life and just felt like it was all a dream. Overall I was
disappointed with my 10th place finish, as I know there is more in me.
My family was so proud, it was amazing having them there. It is usually
silent as I come down the track, but as I rounded curve 16 I heard Holly
screaming. She was more excited than I was.
“It was hard not having Jess there as I know she would have been the
proudest person, I like to think that she was there with me. She never saw
me slide, but she was in my heart coming down the track.”
Holly stuck to her rehabilitation program and showed that she was ready
to play when selected straight back into the national team for the 2010
Sydney Six Nations Tournament and 2010 FINA World Cup. She was once
again a pivotal member of the Australian team, winning a gold medal and
being named in the All-Star team for the Sydney tournament, as well as
winning a silver medal at the world cup in Christchurch.
“Through my nine month rehab I had the goal of playing at the world
cup, even though it was only one month after my return to the pool.
My physiotherapists Liz Steet and Andrea Mosler ensured I was doing
everything I could to get my shoulder strong enough to compete against
the best players in the world, and coach Moar made sure that I was doing
everything in the gym and pool that I needed to have the best chance
possible to make it. I was also really lucky that (Australia’s women’s coach)
Greg McFadden gave me the opportunity to attend the camps and prove
that I was ready.”
Today these two sisters are closer than ever, with Holly just over a year
out from the London Olympics and Emma working towards the goal of a
second Winter Olympic Games. If Holly qualifies for the Australian Olympic
team they will be the first sibling combination to represent Australia at a
summer and winter Olympics, an achievement that will not be lost on
the sisters.
“I remember after Jess died, Em came up to me and said ‘I’m your big
sister now, we have each other no matter what.’ We have always been
close but losing Jess bonded us even more, we have to stay strong for each
other. I am so lucky to have a sister like Emma, she’s one of my closest
friends as well as my sister,” said Holly.
Emma has graduated with a Bachelor of Education and aims to someday
become a teacher, while Holly recently graduated with a Bachelor of
Human Resource Management. While focusing on water polo Holly also
finds times to volunteer for Beyond Blue, a national charity that aims to
raise awareness about depression.
“I miss and think about Jess every single day. There will always be a
piece of me missing but now I live my life as if I’m living for two people. She
is and will always be in my heart. I can still see her face and feel her hugs
and I know I won’t ever lose that.”
Both sisters hope that they can help others through the experiences
they have had with Jess, “I learnt a lot through my experience with Jess. I
want to be able to help, not just those directly affected by depression but
family members who get drawn into this disease by their loved ones and
don’t know how to help,” said Holly.
Emma hopes to ride from Sydney to Brisbane to raise awareness for
depression and anorexia, saying, “It’s something I want to do for Jess, and
these diseases affect so many people, there needs to be more awareness.”
If you meet the sisters you will find a tattoo of their sister Jessica’s name
scripted on their bodies, a source of reflection and motivation to achieve
their goals. Life only gives what you take from it, and these sisters are
leaving nothing to chance. n
nswis.com.au // the edge // 11

sPORT IN FOCus
S P o R T I n F o C U S
Rowing
A number of recent changes have the nSWIS Rowing Program
firmly positioned in the national framework as a key pathway for Australian rowers to
achieve success on the international stage. As Marty Rabjohns, 2008 Beijing olympian
and manager of the nSWIS Rowing Program, explains, the rowing program now uses a
two pronged approach to support athletes.
have a program that caters for rowers on the national
team, providing them with support prior to, and post,
“We
the international rowing seasons. The program is also
structured to support athletes in their home environment, allowing them
to balance their work and lifestyle needs with training.”
With NSWIS rowing scholarship holders based in and around Sydney,
including the recently launched facility on the Parramatta River at
Sydney Olympic Park and Penrith’s International Regatta Centre,
the program has been instrumental in seeing athletes return to elite
competition. NSWIS rowers Amy Ives, Rod Chisholm and James Chapman
have recently returned to the Australian rowing team after taking some
time away from the sport, and all spend their domestic season at the
Institute’s headquarters at Sydney Olympic Park.
“Making your way back into a national team is no easy feat. The NSWIS
athletes who have been selected for the Australian team after taking
time away from sport have achieved a great result for the program,”
said Rabjohns. “I also think it’s a great result for rowing in Australia.
These athletes have had the trust placed in them to train in their home
environment, instead of at a centralised location, knowing they have to
achieve a certain standard if they want to represent Australia.”
Rabjohns identified that the program’s realignment with Rowing
12 // the edge // nswis.com.au
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes
Australia, an NSWIS Program Partner, has been assisted by the
introduction of Curtis Jordan as an NSWIS coach, working with athletes
primarily during the domestic season.
Jordan is a world renowned rowing coach, having come from
Princeton University in the USA where he spent 19 years as the head
coach. The most successful coach in Princeton’s history, Jordan is also a
four time Olympic coach, having guided the American lightweight four to
bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
“It was quite an in depth process as we explored options with our
program partners, Rowing Australia and Rowing NSW. As we were
midway through an Olympic cycle we had to get creative with how we
were going to involve Curtis,” explained Rabjohns. It was eventually
determined that having Jordan on deck during the domestic season
was critical, because that was where athletes would benefit most from
his guidance.
“I retired from Princeton in the summer of 2009 with no intentions
of coaching again anytime soon, but I got a call from Andrew Matheson
(Rowing Australia’s National High Performance Director) with a proposal
to do some coaching in Australia. I truly had no idea what I was getting
myself into but the opportunity was too intriguing to turn down,”
explained Jordan.
“The NSWIS program is great. The strength and conditioning
staff are the best I’ve ever had, the ACE staff helped me out
with accommodation, the gym and training times are really
flexible and the whole place just has a great vibe.”
Brooke Pratley
Brooke Pratley (second from L) competes at the 2010 FIsA World Rowing Championships

“I couldn’t be happier (with how everything has turned out). I work in
a well organised environment with great athletes and colleagues. My role
has a wide spectrum of responsibilities including a supervisory role. I do
a significant amount of coaching, but most of my coaching is done with
elite rowers based at the NSWIS.”
Two athletes who have benefited from Jordan’s introduction and the
structure of the NSWIS program are scholarship holders Dan Noonan and
Brooke Pratley, members of the Australian team bound for the 2011 FISA
World Rowing Championships in Slovenia. During the domestic season
Noonan and Pratley train in Sydney, allowing them to balance their work
and training commitments through the NSWIS Rowing Program.
“Curtis generally coaches us during the domestic racing season,
including this year in the lead up to nationals. He’s been great for getting
us into race mode when our big domestic events come around,” said
Noonan. “Marty generally focuses on the endurance work of my training,
and it all fits in nicely with my coaching work at Scots College.”
Pratley was just returning to rowing when Jordan first arrived at the
NSWIS in 2010, taking a year off from the sport before moving from
Brisbane to Sydney to pursue a Master’s Degree in sports physiotherapy.
“At that stage I had just moved back to Sydney and was trying to find
my feet with work, life, and deciding if I wanted to continue rowing,”
admitted Pratley. “I started rowing with Curtis as his only athlete and
rowing became fun again.
“The NSWIS program is great. The strength and conditioning staff are
the best I’ve ever had, the ACE staff helped me out with accommodation,
the gym and training times are really flexible and the whole place just has
a great vibe.”
From the domestic season and Australian team trials, Noonan and
Pratley then head to national team duties. Noonan joins the men’s
quad crew in Tasmania, and Pratley joins the women’s quad crew in
Canberra. Although the approach of having different crews based at
various locations across the country seems disjointed, the method
has worked wonders as Australia continues to contend for medals at
international events.
“We’ve come to Tasmania ahead of the international season every
year for about five or six years, which I think works really well,” Noonan
said. “This way it’s nice and quiet, the pressure is off and you can really
focus on the rowing and have a good couple of months.”
Noonan and Pratley are two of 13 NSWIS athletes who will compete
at this year’s senior world championships in Slovenia. Noonan won
bronze and silver in the men’s quad scull at the 2010 and 2009 world
championships, respectively, while Pratley was crowned world champion
in the women’s double scull in 2006. Both athletes believe they will once
again be in the mix for medals come September.
“This year the Australian team has a really good tour lined up,” said
Pratley. “We leave in June to race the Henley Regatta in England before
heading to Australia’s European training centre in Varese, Italy. From
there we compete in the third world cup in Lucerne, which is a beautiful
NsWIs rowers Dan Noonan (L) and Nick Hudson (R) at the launch
of the Institute’s new rowing facility at sydney Olympic Park
sPORT IN FOCus
venue, head back to training and then on to the world championships
in Slovenia.”
In non-Olympic years the world championships are the pinnacle event
for rowers, and in the year before an Olympics the championships serve
as a Games qualifier.
“The Australian team’s focus is to qualify as many boats as we can for
the Olympics, and as a crew our goal is to medal,” Pratley explained.
Having won world championship silver and bronze in recent years,
Noonan is also aiming for the top prize, saying, “Gold is the aim. We’ve
been on the podium for a couple of years and we have every medal but
the gold, so that’s the one we’re all after.”
A further 15 athletes from the NSWIS Rowing Program will contest
world championship events; 11 at the 2011 FISA World Rowing Junior
Championships in England, and four at 2011 FISA World Rowing U23
Championships in Amsterdam.
“To have that many athletes from the NSWIS program competing at
world championship events is a great achievement; especially after most
of the changes have occurred during the current Olympic cycle. We also
have two coaches who have been selected for senior world championship
duties, and one coach for the junior world championships,” said Rabjohns.
“I think it’s a great reflection of where the NSWIS program is at right
now. We have put a structure in place, with the help of Rowing Australia
and Rowing NSW, where world class rowers are familiar with each other
during the domestic season. That allows them to be comfortable in a
national team because everyone knows what’s expected of each other.”
Rabjohns identified that the three or four months after the world
championship season will be critical to the number of NSWIS athletes who
are potential Olympians in 2012. Those three months will shape the form
of NSWIS rowers ahead of selection trials, the make or break point for
rowers striving to compete in London.
“At the moment we’re outlining a few strategies that we feel will be
of the most benefit to our athletes,” said Rabjohns. “One of those ideas
is basing athletes for three or four months in a camp-type environment
at the International Regatta Centre. It’s an Olympic venue and by training
and living close by it means the athletes will have some sort of experience
of being exposed to the Olympic environment.”
Rabjohns explained that the changes made to the NSWIS program have
already had a significant impact on the rowers ahead of the 2012 London
Olympics, but it will be the quadrennial leading into Rio where the national
network expects to see the most benefit.
“There is no doubt the changes we’ve already implemented have made
a positive impact to the program,” admitted Rabjohns. “However, as the
national scope for the program progresses it will be interesting to see how
much effect the realignment has in the lead up to Rio in 2016.
“As an Institute we couldn’t have asked for more from Rowing
Australia, Rowing NSW and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. They have
helped us rebrand this program, and now more than ever you can see the
athletes’ pride in being an NSWIS scholarship holder.” n
Dan Noonan
(second from
R) competes
in the men’s
quad four
nswis.com.au // the edge // 13

FIVe MINuTes WITH...
Five minutes
with...
14 // the edge // nswis.com.au
Kurt
Fearnley
In my spare time I like to…
My favourite sporting moment
would have to be…
The biggest influence on my
sporting career has been…
The best piece of advice I’ve
received is...
My favourite thing about
competing is…
The strangest food I’ve eaten is…
I never leave home without…
If I wasn’t a professional athlete
I’d be…
If I could trade places
with anyone, dead or
alive, real or fictional,
for a week, who would
it be and why…
If your life was a movie, who
would you have playing the
lead role and why…
play Xbox or be at the beach.
personally, winning
marathon gold at the 2004
Athens Paralympic Games.
Otherwise, watching
Kieren Perkins defend his
gold at the 1996 Atlanta
Olympic Games.
my coach Andrew Dawes.
“Life is like an elephant, one
mouthful at a time.”
simply racing in
wheelchairs. When I’m in
my chair I know I’m built
perfectly for racing.
raw horse in the Japanese
mountains. The locals
are famous for having fed
samurai warriors the
same thing.
my wedding ring.
teaching P.E.
I recently heard a story
about the discovery of
a frozen caveman in the
Himalayas, who had an
arrowhead lodged in his
stomach after being
chased by a local tribe.
Living a week of his life
would be an experience, he
would have definitely been
a tough cookie.
Sam Worthington. He’s the
first and only character
I’ve ever liked as an actor
playing the role of someone
in a wheelchair.

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MATT sTIeGeR
The nation’s most prestigious amateur golf tournament, the Australian Amateur
Championship has been won by some of the most famous names in the history of
Australian golf. This year, nSWIS golfer Matthew Stieger added his name to the list of
champions after winning a tense, 36-hole battle against Kiwi Ben Campbell at Victoria
Golf Club in Melbourne.
Matt Stiege
Stieger went into the Australian Amateur on the back of red hot form
after winning the 2011 Tasmanian Open, a professional tournament,
by seven shots, and finishing runner-up at Australia’s second largest
amateur tournament, the Riversdale Cup.
“Prior to that stretch of play I did some work with (sport psychologist)
Noel Blundell, so my mindset heading into those tournaments was
probably the feature of my game that stood out for me the most,” Stieger
said. “At the Tasmanian Open especially, if I hit a bad shot I would use what
I had learnt to make sure it didn’t affect me. For example, if I was at risk of
making double bogey, I would apply the skills learned in those sessions to
eliminate that risk and, at worst, make a bogey.”
The final of the Australian Amateur was one of the tightest in recent
history. The first 18 holes saw Stieger down in the match, however
instead of panicking he decided to take a relaxed approach ahead of the
final 18 holes.
“Ben finished strong and was one up through 18. I went into lunch
thinking it was nothing major, but then he started the second 18 with an
eagle and two birdies to go three up,” recounted Stieger. “Although I was
down I realised that there was nothing I could do about him making birdies.
I thought ‘I’m going well as long as I’m not making bogeys,’ and then I
made three straight birdies to get it back to all square.”
The move is tempting, but stieger will wait until next year to turn professional
16 // the edge // nswis.com.au
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs HAMIsH JONes
The match continued to see-saw until the 17th hole when Stieger saw his
opportunity to gain the upper hand. It’s not often you hear a golfer saying
they’re aiming to hit in a bunker, but that’s exactly what Stieger did and it
paved the way to his eventual victory.
“My bunker play had been awesome all week, so decided to play to my
strengths. He went for the pin, blocked it into the rough and I hit my shot
out of the bunker to about five feet away from the hole,” Stieger explained.
“That was pretty much the moment that changed the match. I could see
he was getting a bit angry because I had played three really good holes
in a row. I hit a good drive down 17 to put a bit of pressure on him, and
fortunately for me he buckled.”
Stieger’s steely resolve under pressure is evident in his approach to
claim victory at the Australian Amateur. Obviously ecstatic with his win,
the Narrabri-born golfer explained that he saw his win as “getting the job
done.” Stieger came to the tournament expecting to win and did just that,
any other result would not have satisfied him.
Stieger has come a long way in the 10 years he has been playing golf.
He was introduced to golf by his father and instantly loved it, and at 17
made the choice to focus on golf after juggling his sporting commitments
with football.
In late 2008 he made the move to Sydney, and by mid 2009 was a
scholarship holder at the NSWIS. Glenn Whittle, Head Coach of the NSWIS
Golf Program, has been in charge of Stieger’s short game and worked in
conjunction with John Serhan, who coaches Stieger at his home golf club of
St Michael’s in Sydney’s east.
“I always saw Matt as a talented kid, but never one who had that
immediate ‘wow’ factor,” said Whittle. “However, he has worked extremely
hard to get where he is now, especially on his bunker play, pitching and
putting, which have all greatly improved since he’s been on scholarship.”
Stieger explained that Whittle has been able to “tighten” his short game
by mimicking tournament conditions, so pressure is eased when it comes to
the crunch. However, Whittle said that getting rid of Stieger’s self doubt has
been one of the key factors in his recent success, and the future success
that Whittle predicts will come Stieger’s way.
“I always say that the best players are still just people; they have a set of
golf clubs, they sleep, they eat and they feel emotion. The key for Matt was
to make himself believe how good he really is,” said Whittle. That comes in
the form of feedback from training drills and competitions, as well as using
technology to see where Stieger’s strengths and weakness really are in
comparison to where he thinks they are.
Whittle identified that Stieger is truly a product of his environment, he
seized the opportunity to improve his game when it was presented to him.
“The good players utilise the resources they have around them, and take
advantage of the opportunities they’re presented,” said Whittle. “It would
be great to see Matt compete on the world stage and continue to support
kids playing golf who followed the same pathway as he did. He can truly be

“He has worked extremely hard to get where
he is now, especially on his bunker play,
pitching and putting, which have all greatly
improved since he’s been on scholarship.”
Glenn Whittle
r
a role model for kids; they can use his blueprint to say ‘I know what I have
to do, so here’s how I’m going to utilise opportunities given to me.’”
Although the riches of the professional tour are tempting, Stieger has
already mapped out a plan of attack for the next couple of years. He will
tackle the prestigious British and US Amateur Championships over the
coming months, and at a world ranking of 15 it would not be surprising to
see him contend for victory.
Stieger has already proved he has what it takes to win internationally.
On his first trip overseas he won the stroke play rounds of the 2010 Pacific
Northwest Amateur, which Whittle believes demonstrates his potential.
“All coaches, no matter what sport, look for a couple of ingredients
when identifying potential success. Coping with the travel, being able to
MATT sTIeGeR
A see-sawing match
resulted in a 1 up
victory for stieger
Matt stieger with the 2011
Australian Amateur trophy
compete and having poise down the final few holes is huge in golf, so I’ll
think he’ll do great,” said Whittle.
It would be unwise to expect immediate success when Stieger makes
the transition to the professional ranks. Golf is a sport where athletes
can be competitive well into their 40s and beyond, and although he has
achieved remarkable success in a relatively short period of time, Stieger
has years to refine his game to suit the professional tours.
“I’m going to keep the same mindset that I have for recent tournaments,
just try and minimise bad shots and holes. I’ve always said that golf is a
funny game, you can shoot six under one day and six over the next, so you
just have to wait and see what the day brings.” n
nswis.com.au // the edge // 17

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NSWIS Sport Psychologist Patsy Tremayne believes the secret to
success at an elite level is maintaining a calm mind and loose body
during competition, “Being able to perform without too much tension
in the body while being able to focus the mind on the present moment.
“A calm mind is achieved by increasing focus to the task and minimising
distractions – internal distractions such as your own thoughts, or external
distractions, such as the noise of the crowd, which you can’t control,” said
Tremayne.
“Each athlete has a personal trigger for increased arousal, which stems
from their life and sport experiences, their belief systems, and their
attitudes. In order to perform at their best they need an optimal level of
arousal for the particular task and should be aware of any situations which
may increase their arousal.
“If the level of arousal is above the required level for the task, that may
actually decrease the athlete’s attentional capacity to the task, and may
lead to a less than optimal performance, so it’s a fine line between too
much and too little.”
At a basic level, triggering a certain level of arousal means an athlete
must be in the right frame of mind for what they’re doing. Not enough,
or too much, arousal will mean it is likely the athlete won’t perform at
their best.
Strategies such as cue words, imagery, goal setting, muscle relaxation
and arousal regulation through various breathing techniques, are ways to
control arousal level so it maintains or returns to an optimal level for the
task at hand.
Perception is a key aspect of sport psychology, and a person’s
perception of any performance can vary depending on their role –
athlete, coach, parent, or official. “Each athlete is different because their
perceptions regarding various situations are different. For example, two
hockey players may experience exactly the same issue on a surface level,
but one may not perceive it to be as challenging as the other,” states
Tremayne.
“The athlete and coach may also have differing perceptions, which can
be positive or negative. An athlete may be pleased with their performance
at a competition while their coach may not, and vice versa.” So
communication between coach and athlete is very important in order that
both perform to their potential.
stORy CHRIs JONes AND PATsy TReMAyNe phOtO GeTTy IMAGes
sPORTs PsyCHOLOGy
Mental as Anything
“The game of golf is 90% mental and 10% physical,” said Jack Nicklaus when describing the
importance of a strong mental capacity in the game of golf. Now, athletes from all sports are
increasingly incorporating the benefits of sport psychology to complement their athletic improvement.
Tremayne explains that one of the most important characteristics of
sport psychology is making sure that the work being done is preventative,
that athletes are implementing their strategies in training to maximise their
output during competition time. They are training physically and mentally.
For this reason it is uncommon for athletes and coaches to make
wholesale changes to their program in the days leading into, or during
competition. Most changes during that time, if they’re made at all, will be
minor tweaks to ensure that their strategies are successful when it counts.
“We aim to have the strategies and techniques put in place become
second nature during competition, just as are the physical skills,”
Tremayne says.
“We teach skills well before major competitions such as the Olympic
or Paralympic Games to ensure that the athletes are comfortable using
particular strategies. Then it’s just a matter of refining these skills and
helping the athlete maintain their form prior to competition.”
With the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games fast approaching, many
NSWIS athletes with aims of competing in London will begin developing and
implementing their sport psychology techniques in the coming months.
Geographical distance between athlete, coach and sport psychologist
has presented problems in the past, but now with programs such as Skype,
interacting with athletes overseas has become easier than ever.
“Undoubtedly, the best way to conduct sessions is face to face,” says
Tremayne. “You’re able to see the subtle effects of body language, use
of voice, and behaviour, and there is more information available to the
psychologist which can help when working through specific issues.
“With Skype there is a limited visual image, with phone calls one
relies on the emotion and voice, and with email one has the words.
Consequently you don’t get as much information, but using these forms of
communication to connect with an athlete is better than using none at all,
and the technology is improving all the time.”
Tremayne stresses that successfully including sport psychology into
an athlete’s training and competition plan is a decision that needs to be
embraced by coach and athlete, and that “if all things are equal on game
day, the athlete who has the calm mind and loose body usually wins.”
Something to think about. n
nswis.com.au // the edge // 19

JeReMy ROLLesTON
“A man is not old until
regrets start taking the
place of dreams”
Unexpected
Curve
stORy JeReMy ROLLesTON phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes
There I am at the top of the controversial and notorious bobsleigh track
at Whistler in Canada during my second Winter Olympic Games. I am
in the best physical and mental shape of my life. I know I’m ready
to perform. I am nervous, but in fact, overall I am much calmer than I
expected to be. It is a good sign. It is a beautiful night, and the crowds are
large and vocal. I can hear them cheering and the cow bells ringing, but I
only half hear the noise, like a dull sound in the back of my head. This was
what I’d trained so hard for: to proudly represent myself and my country
at the Olympic Games once again and to break my Australian record.
These moments only come around every four years, if you’re lucky and
everything goes to plan in terms of performances and injuries.
I am the last sled to go off during the first heat. As we explode off
from the start, I feel strong and powerful, like I am pushing well. I’m
ready to have the race of my life. I jump into the sled... and then my
nightmare begins.
Before I know it I am surrounded by medics after having crashed and slid
the whole way down the track on my head. Ten days earlier the track had
tragically claimed the life of Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili. I
am fine physically but I am crushed. I can’t believe it. I get out of the sled
wishing the ground could open up and swallow me whole. Why me?! Why
now at the Olympics?! Why here in front of the whole world?! Why would
my equipment fail me in such a way, something that had never happened
in my entire career to date?! Why?! I deserve better! And I’m much better
than this! I was so ready. Surely this cannot be my Olympic Games. No! Oh
please let the ground swallow me up!
It was this devastating crash of mine, in the two-man bobsleigh at the
2010 Winter Olympic Games, that was the catalyst for leading me down an
expected and different path - writing a book! But let me first rewind a
little bit...
As I worked through my disappointment and answered everybody’s
inevitable questions, I was surprised by people’s reactions. I realised that
there was something that many people didn’t intuitively understand that
makes a big difference in so many ways. I want to share some thoughts on
this with you.
20 // the edge // nswis.com.au
THE
Rolleston is a two time Olympian
having also competed at the 2006
Torino Winter Olympic Games
A LIFE THAT
A LIFE
THAT
COUNTS
COUNTS
JEREMY ROLLESTON
Two-time Olympian Jeremy Rolleston
invites you to join the inner circle and learn the secrets
behind the success of ten famous Australians
Lydia Lassila, Dick Smith, James Tomkins, Gai Waterhouse,
Louise Sauvage, Matthew Burke, Matt Shirvington,
Michael Milton, Jason Stevens, Alexandra Croak
Jeremy Rolleston
Featuring contributions from Australian legends such as
Gai Waterhouse, James Tomkins, Matt Burke, Louise Sauvage,
Lydia Lassila, Matt Shirvington, Jason Stevens, Dick Smith,
Michael Milton & Alex Croak.
You see how many of us have dreams? Everyone. But how many really
chase their dreams? Very few. So what’s the missing link? What holds most
people back? It is our fears and our limiting mindsets. Our fears that we
may fail. Our fears that we may not be good enough. The limitations we
place on ourselves that hold us back. The voices in our head, either from
ourselves or other people, telling us we can’t do that, or shouldn’t do that.
Other people’s opinions that we take on as our reality as if they define
our future. Our fear that we might put all that effort in, the time, energy,
sacrifice, money, blood, sweat and tears, and yet things may not work out
like we dream they will.
I will always be disappointed by how things turned out in Vancouver.
In fact, I couldn’t have scripted things worse if I’d tried! And what’s
more, I’m not sure that I’ll ever stop being disappointed when I think of
my Olympics in Vancouver. But here’s the point, there is a big difference
between disappointment and regret. I don’t regret all the hard work, all
the financial sacrifice, all the commitment. I don’t regret giving up a great
job in investment banking that I enjoyed, in order to follow my heart. I
don’t regret qualifying for my second Games. I don’t regret helping my
teammates qualify for their first Olympics.
Disappointment? Yes, absolutely. Regret? No, they’re different.
This leads me back to my book, A Life That Counts. In it I decided to
share my own learnings as well as the lessons and advice of ten famous
and high-achieving Australians on following your dreams, success,
reaching our potential, and living a life that counts. One of the many topics
we covered was regret and daring to dream. Here’s what some famous
Australian Olympians had to say.
When former NSWIS athlete Matt Shirvington reflected on his career
he explained, “I think to myself there are expectations that should have
been fulfilled in my career. I should have been the first white man to run
under 10 seconds. I should have made the Olympic final in Sydney... that’s
frustrating... but the opportunity and the success I’ve had far outweigh
any regret or any ill-thought when I look back on my career. I’ve been
so blessed by the timing of my career ... and its also opened up other
opportunities I never would have had.”

Jeremy Rolleston, author
of A Life That Counts
Rolleston (behind)
in action at the
2010 Vancouver
Winter Olympic
Games
JeReMy ROLLesTON
“I really think it’s important to have no regrets whatsoever,” said
NSWIS diver Alex Croak on chasing her Olympic dream. “Right now, I could
think, what if I don’t make the next Olympics in London 2012, because
there’s always the chance I’ll miss out. People say, ‘you can’t go along
thinking that,’ but that’s a reality. I may miss out despite all my hard work.
It’s not 100 per cent guaranteed I’m going to make it. So, when I try and
think about how I’d cope if I didn’t make the Olympics . . . if I’ve given my
all, I have no regrets. I tried my best. “It sounds so clichéd, but really, all
you can do is put yourself in the best possible position to achieve what
you want to achieve. That’s all you can ask for, and if you make it, then
you make it, and if you don’t make it, then you know you’ve done
everything you could do. That goes for sport and for everything outside
of sport as well.”
Three-time Olympic gold medallist, James Tomkins puts it this way. “It’s
that whole thing of getting 10 years down the track and looking back and
saying, ‘If only I’d have done that!’”
And therein lies the lesson that I believe many people don’t intuitively
understand. A lesson that is useful to us in our sporting endeavours but
also in our lives post sport; you’ll always be more disappointed by the
things you don’t do than by the things you do. If you don’t chase your
dreams or if you don’t go after them with everything you have, you’ll
always think about it and wonder,”what if?” You’ll wonder whether you
could have or would have achieved it. It will gnaw away at you and eat
you up inside. In contrast, if you have the guts to go after your dreams
with everything you have, you’ll have no regrets regardless of the
outcome, whether you win the gold medal or whether things couldn’t
have turned out worse, as they did for me. Trust me; it’s easier to deal with
disappointment than regret!
This appreciation and understanding of the difference between
disappointment and regret will then also help you in your future transition
from sport to life post sport. Why? Because you won’t have regrets
gnawing at you as you embrace life after competing. Absolutely, preparing
early for life post-sport is crucial as it will help you avoid the situation
where, before you know it, you are cast on the athletic scrap heap once
the lights go out on your sporting career. For any athlete, this difficult time
challenges the core of our identity because so much is linked to our sport;
our worth, the sport itself that we love, the limelight, an outlet for our
competitive drive, our social circle and our support networks. (No wonder
a huge percentage of athletes say they believe they suffer depression in
retirement).
So as you chase your dreams, ponder the thoughts and advice from
these amazing athletes as well as my own story. A story of highs and lows,
of successes and failures. Of disappointment, but no regrets. And that
makes all the difference, both now and post-sport!
Jeremy’s book, A Life That Counts, is available at http://www.
alifethatcounts.com.au. n
nswis.com.au // the edge // 21

WHeRe ARe THey NOW?
Blackburn in action on the
open water
W H e R e A R e T H e y n o W ?
Michael Blac
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes
In 2006, at 36 years of age, Michael Blackburn became the oldest sailor to win a laser class
world championship. The world championship gold came six years after Olympic bronze
and was the precursor to what has become an extremely successful foray into coaching.
Blackburn receives
his bronze medal at
the 2000 sydney
Olympic Games
22 // the edge // nswis.com.au
Blackburn’s contribution to
Australian sailing continues as
a high performance coach

Blackburn’s sporting success is one that many athletes would dream
of having, and he is now passing his knowledge onto the next
generation of Australia’s elite sailors.
“I know a lot about laser sailing, but have 10 years less experience
in coaching at the highest level than being an athlete,” he explained.
“Because of that I learn every day and aim to pass my knowledge onto
those I am now coaching to help them achieve their goals.”
Blackburn’s methodology is working. He is the coach of NSWIS sailor
Tom Slingsby, who, following an unsuccessful 2008 Olympic campaign,
now tops the laser world rankings. Blackburn and Slingsby were former
training partners, and their respect for each other at a competitive level
has led to a successful coach-athlete partnership.
“Tom’s performance in 2009 was still a little choppy and he had to get
used to me being by his side as a coach rather than competing with him,”
said Blackburn. “However we worked extensively on his weaknesses and
he was rewarded in 2010 by winning all but one of the major regattas, and
being honoured as the 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year.”
Blackburn explained that the development of sailors at a domestic level
is one of the key contributors to Slingsby’s success. “Another key factor
I’m working on leading to London is nurturing a strong laser squad
to develop the next generation of talent, including NSWIS
sailors Ash Brunning, Tom Burton and James Burman,” said
Blackburn. “Strong domestic competition is very important
when Europe is so far away, and these guys provide
great competition for Tom and it assists with their own
development.”
With a resume as extensive as Blackburn’s, it is no
surprise that his transition from athlete to coach has
largely been trouble free. Blackburn competed in one
of the toughest classes in sailing for the majority of his
career, often facing Ben Ainslie and Robert Scheidt, two
kburn
of the world’s most successful laser sailors in history, in his quest for gold.
Blackburn finished in the top six of the world championships on eight
consecutive occasions, including his victory in 2006. At the Olympic level,
Blackburn finished fourth in the men’s laser in Atlanta before setting his
sights on Sydney.
“It (Atlanta) was the time of my life, as each Olympics seem to be! I
didn’t expect to qualify for the Games, but won the (Australian) trials by a
single point,” recalled Blackburn.
“I was just two points off the bronze medal (in Atlanta), and I can still
picture one moment in a race where I lost 10 points quickly. That gave me
more drive to do well in Sydney.”
Four years later and Blackburn was again in the mix for medals.
Unsurprisingly Ainslie and Scheidt posed the biggest threat to gold for
Blackburn, who eventually went on to win gold and silver, respectively,
ahead of Blackburn.
“I fully believed I could do it (win) again for the Games, but simply didn’t
have a great regatta.” Although in Blackburn’s eyes his regatta wasn’t
great, he did finish with a bronze medal and the experience of competing at
an Olympic Games in front of his home crowd.
“It was a fantastic experience to compete in a home Olympics on Sydney
Harbour, so many highlights. I got to run with the Olympic torch, stay
with a professional and well-prepared team, go in a series of ticker-tape
parades and even dance with Susie O’Neill in a nightclub!”
Blackburn experienced a change of pace after the Sydney Games.
Twelve years of sailing in the laser class had whetted his appetite for a
greater challenge, so he headed to Sweden to gain experience on the round
the world yacht crews.
He eventually missed out on the chance to compete in one of the
sailing’s most prestigious events, so instead of continuing down that path
he turned to the 49er class.
“I spent a year in the two-handed 49er class, which gave me a lot more
technical knowledge about the sport. I was crewing in the 49er and crews
WHeRe ARe THey NOW?
“It was a fantastic experience
to compete in a home
Olympics on Sydney Harbour,
so many highlights. I got to
run with the Olympic torch,
stay with a professional and
well-prepared team, go in a
series of ticker-tape parades
and even dance with Susie
O’Neill in a nightclub!”
Michael Blackburn
don’t have as much input into the decision making side of the sport. I
realised I missed that part a lot so I went back to the laser for Athens.”
His laser campaign in Athens ended in a ninth place finish, and then in
2005 for “a bit of fun”, Blackburn decided to take on the treacherous Bass
Strait in the laser boat, the stretch of water infamously associated with the
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Taking no chances with his preparation, Blackburn had a support
boat for the journey but was well stocked with adequate safety gear. He
eventually posted a record time of just over 13 hours in the successful
crossing, saying that as they were given the right conditions it “wasn’t
a problem.”
By this stage Blackburn’s career had seen three Olympic Games and
countless competitions around the world, but it wasn’t long before he
was standing atop the podium at the 2006 Laser World Championships. It
wasn’t by coincidence that Blackburn claimed victory at 36 years of age.
He had identified that at that stage of his career; his training had become
focused on quality and not quantity, and was perfectly complemented by
the work he had published during his career on sailing fitness.
“I studied physiology as an undergraduate at university, but always
appreciated the role of psychology in sport, so I did a combined psychophysiological
study for my PhD project. That led to the making of Sailing
Mind Skills, a CD devoted to imagery, relaxation, mental preparation and
decision making for sailing,” said Blackburn.
“I’ve been writing and producing stuff for years as a result of my
academic research and sporting experience. The first sailing fitness article I
wrote was published in 1993. Sailing fitness has not traditionally been a big
area of discussion, so I thought I’d share some of what I had discovered.”
Blackburn credits his academic work as one of the reasons why he
achieved so much success on the water, and why his coaching career
is thriving. He puts into practice the research he discovers through his
studies, both as an athlete and now as a coach.
“I don’t think I was terribly talented in the sport, but had a lot of
motivation to do well and my studies pointed me in directions that
were proven.”
Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge always
pays the best interest.” A truer word may never have been spoken about
Blackburn, whose career has come full circle. From exceptional sailor to
successful coach, Blackburn has absorbed himself in the world of sailing,
and in doing so has long been, and will continue to be, one of the driving
forces behind Australia’s sailing success.
Visit http://www.sailfitter.com and http://www.sportsmindskills.
com for more information on Michael Blackburn’s sailing and coaching
resources. n
nswis.com.au // the edge // 23

WORLD CHAMPIONsHIPs PReVIeW
eyes
on thePrize
JAMeS MAGnUSSen – SWIMMInG
Coached by the Institute’s Brant Best, James Magnussen won his first
national title in the men’s 100m freestyle at the 2011 Australian Swimming
Championships in April. Already a Commonwealth Games champion at only
20 years of age, Magnussen undoubtedly has the goods to lead the nation’s
sprinting stocks.
STeVen SoLoMon – TRACK & FIeLd
Steven Solomon is another NSWIS young gun who has experienced a
breakthrough year. Recently turning 18, Solomon has already claimed the
prized scalps of Ben Offereins, Sean Wroe and Kevin Moore in the men’s
400m this season, clocking a personal best time of 46.12 seconds at the
2011 Melbourne Track Classic.
Jo BRIGden-JoneS – CAnoe SPRInT
Jo Brigden-Jones put the pain of missing out on the Beijing Olympics
behind her to become a dominant force in the canoe sprint world. Ranked
second in the world at the conclusion of the 2010 world cup season,
Brigden-Jones will lead one of the strongest teams Australia has ever
assembled throughout the 2011 international season, including the 2011
ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Hungary.
PRASHAnTH SeLLATHURAI
– Men’S ARTISTIC GyMnASTICS
With gold medals and podium finishes at the 2010
Commonwealth Games and 2010 FIG Gymnastics World
Championships, Prashanth Sellathurai is one of the
world’s best gymnasts. Success at the 2011 FIG
Gymnastics World Championships this year will come
with an added incentive for Sellathurai, a potential
berth at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
24 // the edge // nswis.com.au
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes, ReGALLO/CyCLING AusTRALIA & CANOe AusTRALIA
At the halfway mark of 2011, many athletes are still looking to stamp their authority on their
respective sports during the various upcoming world championships and beyond. While the real prize
for many athletes will be selection for, and success at, the 2012 London Games, these athletes are
doing all they can to make 2011 just as successful.
Mo’onIA GeRRARd – neTBALL
The Australian women’s netball team fell to New Zealand in the final
of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in a closely fought battle. NSWIS
netballer and NSW Swifts player Mo’onia Gerrard was part of the silver
medal winning team and will undoubtedly be striving to achieve gold at
this year’s netball world championships as part of the Australian team
defending its championship crown.
JAyMe PARIS – PARA-CyCLInG
Jayme Paris has already racked up the trophies this year with two
Australian titles, two Oceania titles and a para-cycling world cup title.
Paris will target the 2011 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships
later this year in Denmark before turning her attention to the 2012
London Paralympic Games. Three years ago in Beijing Paris won
bronze, next year she’s looking for gold.

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All the latest in NSWIS news, nutrition
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4 TO WATCH
Despite travelling the world and seeing, among other places, the
Mediterranean and Caribbean, for Will Ryan there’s no place like
Lake Macquarie, where his parents bought him a 20 year old
wooden boat to hone his craft, and the place he calls home.
“Most of my first sailing memories are of sailing on my grandfather’s
yacht. He still has the same boat now so it’s been a nice part of my sailing
life,” Ryan explains.
“I find myself constantly telling other sailors about how good the sailing
is on Lake Macquarie. It’s a fantastic spot and I love getting back home and
going for a wind surf or sail on the lake.”
Last year Ryan achieved what has so far been his career defining
moment, a win in the 470 class with Mathew Belcher at the 2010
International 470 Spring Cup.
Ryan filled in for fellow NSWIS athlete Malcolm Page, whose schedule
did not match up with the Spring Cup, and took full advantage of the
experience to record his first win on the senior international stage.
“It was a fantastic learning experience and helped me to develop my
sailing skills; but the greatest lesson was becoming much more aware of
the level of professionalism required to be successful at a high level in any
sport,” Ryan says.
“The world’s best sailors are trained to handle each situation to remain
focused on their goal and use it as motivation to keep improving.”
Everything has clicked for the 22 year old over the past year, from his
maiden international 470 win to his continued rise through the Australian
Development Sailing Team (ADST). The coming 12 months, however, will
potentially be the most important of his career.
Under the tutelage of sailing’s “medal maker,” Victor Kovalenko,
Ryan will tackle the open water in a bid to compete at the 2012 London
Olympic Games.
“I’ve been fortunate to come into the ADST at a good time in that a clear
pathway is now present, and support is offered to assist athletes to reach
the pinnacle of Olympic success.
“This year contains all of our Olympic qualification events. All of the
teams on the circuit will be pushing hard to gain selection for their country
so the level of racing will be very high and quite exciting. We hope to
qualify for the Australian Sailing Team (top 10 at world championships) and
to be in contention for Olympic selection.”
Ryan and his skipper Sam Kivell will have a tough time of qualifying for
London, but they expect no different. Their rival for the spot is the reigning
world number one pair of Belcher and Page, who double as Ryan and
Kivell’s training partners.
“We will certainly be pushing hard to gain the spot, but we first need
to place in the top eight at the world championships in Perth in December
2011 to satisfy the Australian criteria, and then we may be nominated for
selection by the Australian sailing federation,” says a confident Ryan.
And he should be confident. Still a youngster, especially in the sport of
sailing, all signs are pointing to Ryan’s continued success on the water.
Off the coast of France or on Lake Macquarie, Ryan is always striving to
achieve his dream of winning an Olympic medal.
26 // the edge // nswis.com.au
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes, GuILLAuMe DuRAND AND AusTRALIAN WATeR POLO INC.
WILL RYAN (SAILING)
Will Ryan (R)
competing in France
NICOLA ZAGAME (WATER POLO)
Nicola Zagame knew she wanted to compete at an Olympic Games
after watching the Australian team enter the main stadium in
2000 at the Sydney Olympics. Almost eleven years have passed
since ‘the best Games ever’ and Zagame is now closer to achieving her
Olympic dream than ever before.
“I am focusing solely on this year,” explained Zagame, when asked if she
is thinking ahead to London 2012. “Everything being done now is for London
and to win gold, but it’s important that I don’t get ahead of myself.”
It wasn’t long ago that Zagame made her debut as an Australian
national player, her first match in the green and gold came as part of the
Australian women’s under-17 side. Two years later and Zagame was the
youngest member of the senior Australian women’s water polo team,
the Stingers, at the 2009 FINA Aquatic World Championships.
“I didn’t get a lot of pool time in Rome but it was an amazing
experience, especially considering we could hear the crowd at the
swimming with world records being broken every day,” said Zagame.
“It was also very daunting because you hear of the reputations of your
opponents, and then the first time you’re playing them is at a world
championship.”
Zagame’s role in the pool drastically changed on her arrival to the
Stingers team. Australian women’s head coach Greg McFadden made
the decision to convert Zagame from an outside shooter and driver to a
centre back, the most important defensive position.
“That was a really difficult, almost disastrous, time for me as I had never
played that position before. But learnt a lot from that experience and
personally feel as though I have really progressed as an international player.
“It has been a gradual process. At first (after the position switch) I was
cautious, scared and didn’t contribute a lot, but now I’m at the same
level as everyone playing international water polo,” Zagame said. “Last
year was the best year for me because a few of the girls had a year off
and gave me a chance to step up and take their place.”
Zagame was part of the Australian team that finished with silver at the
2010 FINA World Cup in Christchurch, however being a key member of
the Cronulla Sharks in the National Water Polo League has given her the
week-in, week-out challenge of competing with the best of the best.
“We have a really good team this year with Alicia (McCormack), Bec
(Rippon), Patrice (O’Neill), Maddy (Schmid), Holly (Lincoln-Smith) and I all
in the line up. Having more experienced international players to train and
compete with every day is beneficial for my career.”
Zagame’s goal for this year and next is to cement her position as the
starting centre back, with an aim of dismantling the best attackers from
around the world.
“We have a lot of girls who can play centre back, but we don’t have a
specialist centre back. This year I’m aiming for number one, so I become
the intimidator.”
Nicola Zagame rockets a shot at goal

Jessica Fox, the 2010 Out &
About Marketing and Media
Junior Athlete of the year
JESSICA FOX (CANOE SLALOM)
“I stated Jessica Fox on her unconventional start in canoe slalom. In
broke my arm in 2005 doing gymnastics and my physiotherapist
suggested I do some paddling for rehab. I never really liked it,”
only six years Fox has become one of the young guns leading the charge
for Australia’s future Olympic campaigns, which is not so surprising given
her sporting lineage.
Fox’s mother, Myriam, and father, Richard, are both Olympians;
Myriam having won women’s K1 bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic
Games and Richard finishing fourth in the men’s K1 at the 1992 Barcelona
Olympic Games. Understandably they have played a huge role in Fox’s
successful so far.
“I hope I can learn as much as I can from their experiences and advice.
The sport has evolved since they competed; the race length is shorter,
boats are very different and so are the courses. The technique has also
changed but it’s good to have them to guide me and really reinforce the
basics to help me improve.”
The 2010 season was a sign of Fox’s rapid rise on the white water
rapids; winning two junior world championship gold medals, the first
ever Youth Olympic Games canoe gold medal, a bronze at the senior
world championships and world cup gold. All achieved at only 16
years of age.
“I would never have dreamt of those results. I spent three months
training and competing in Europe and learnt so much about racing in big
events. It was an amazing experience.”
In a sign of her maturity, perhaps a reflection of her parent’s advice,
Fox admits that although she achieved great results, it’s now onwards
and upwards for further success. “After last year’s success it’s important
for me to realize I can’t replicate that this year as there are no major
junior races, but (now) I want to get exposure on the senior circuit and
gain as much experience as I can,” as she continues her charge toward
London and beyond.
This year’s hurdles come in the form of the senior world
championships and the Higher School Certificate (HSC), but given her
previous results it’s safe to assume that she’ll be at her peak when it
counts. More importantly however, Fox will finish her HSC this year
which gives her the perfect preparation ahead of a tilt at next year’s
Olympic Games.
“The Olympics are definitely a goal of mine. Whether it is London or
Rio, I don’t know as I’m still young. I’ll give London a shot but it will be
tight competition as only one girl can go to the Olympics from our sport!
So it will be hard but we’ll all give it our best,” explained Fox.
It’s odd to think, given her family’s rich history of sporting success
that Fox may not have even started canoe slalom if it wasn’t for a broken
arm; but in this case the injury was a blessing in disguise. Since taking
up the sport six years ago Fox has thrived in the white water and is now
considered one of Australia’s most promising athletes for London 2012
and beyond.
4 TO WATCH
JADE WARRENDER (HOCKEY – WOMEN)
Jade Warrender was, in her words, “too stubborn” to choose between
playing hockey and touch football. In late 2009 the decision was made
for her when she ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament, tore the
meniscus and sustained multiple compression fractures in her right knee
during a touch football match. The injury not only ended a touch football
career that saw Warrender represent NSW, but also seriously jeopardised a
tilt at competing at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
However, only 15 months later, Warrender was shedding a tear as the
Australian national anthem played during the opening of the 2011 Four
Nations Tournament in Argentina. Not only was it Warrender’s debut in the
famed green and gold of the Hockeyroos, it was the start of a dream that
had nearly ended before it began.
“I was so proud to be part of what I had dreamed of,” said Warrender.
“To have overcome a serious injury and be playing for my country 15
months later was a shock, but also a milestone for me as all the pain and
hard work of the rehabilitation had payed off.”
It was seven months of rehabilitation from the time Warrender sustained
her injury until she made her comeback to the pitch at the 2010 Australian
U21 Championships in June. It was a quick turnaround that was overseen
by a variety of experts from the NSWIS network.
“Without the support of the NSWIS and my family I would not have been
able to achieve my dream of playing for the Hockeyroos. The financial
support and organisation with the top surgeons and physiotherapists
was critical if I was ever to play elite hockey. Without the NSWIS my knee
reconstruction would not have been possible,” explained Warrender.
In years gone by without the decentralised program offered by the
NSWIS these challenges in the rehabilitation process may have destroyed
Warrender’s career. Thanks to the extensive network of service providers
on offer for NSWIS athletes, Warrender was able to live in the comfort of
her own home in Orange while making her comeback from injury.
“The rehabilitation was overseen by NSWIS physiotherapist Kingsley
Gibson and made possible by Angie Hubbard, a physiotherapist in my home
town of Orange. I would rehabilitate in Orange with a program given to
me by Kingsley and then have fortnightly check-ups with Kingsley at the
NSWIS,” said Warrender. “It was seven months of challenges; from
learning to walk again, to running and weight training, and eventually
moving to Sydney.”
The current Hockeyroos squad, including 19 year old Warrender, is
one of the youngest ‘senior’ Australian teams in recent history. After a
rough patch following on from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the team under
recently appointed coach Adam Commens, promises to be a force for many
years to come.
“We have a strong, fit and fast group of players all with extremely
good skills, knowledge and play making abilities. We have a mix of senior
and junior athletes training so the depth of the group is great and it is
a competitive squad that will be competitive in the major events; the
youth within the group is promising for now and the future,” expressed
Warrender.
Less than two years ago Warrender was at a crossroads in her sporting
career, wondering if she would ever reach the elite level she had
dreamed of. Midway through 2011 the defensive midfielder is now an
integral part of Australia’s hockey landscape, and on the cusp of realising
her Olympic dream. n
Jade Warrender competes
against Argentina
nswis.com.au // the edge // 27

CLuBsNsW uPDATe
MAx POTEnTIAL:
Coaching for Success
Maybe it’s millennium angst; today’s daunting surfeit of choice, higher
societal expectations or more demanding work environments.
Whatever the case, there’s a new hunt for direction and meaning
going on for literally thousands of people across our communities. Mix this
self-development fervour and one of the leading outcomes is an explosion of
coaching and mentoring.
Coaching is now the fastest growing form of helping find self-clarity.
Growth in the number of people wanting to push self-imposed limits,
plumb untapped potential, or gain greater satisfaction from life is being
met by a rash of new service suppliers, and thanks to the Max Potential
program, clubs are now delivering stellar support and results for their local
communities.
Max Potential connects community leaders with emerging young leaders
(aged between 17 years and 25 years) to accelerate their potential to achieve
over 22 weeks, challenge them to lift their game through eight hours of
personalised coaching, build their ‘can do’ attitude through a community
service project of their choice, and to explore their entrepreneurial spirit
through developing their leadership.
So, why would emerging young leaders need this kind of one-on-one
self-realisation support service? One of the main premises (and promises)
of Max Potential is that we could all do a bit better than we’re doing – if we
could just figure out exactly what it is we want to do and bowl those (often
self- imposed) barriers to actually getting on with it. And just like ourselves,
our emerging young leaders also have within them the ingredients for
performing bigger or better, with a lighter heart or stronger purpose.
Problem is, many of them have lost the recipe or the hunger, can’t focus
on the full menu, or are quite possibly sitting at the wrong table...and need
some direction to steer them back onto the right path.
Enter the Max Potential coach, whose job is to help our emerging young
leaders clarify where they want to be, establish a framework for getting
there, and keep them purposefully headed that way.
That this process is as relevant to everything they do in life be it work or
simply life in general relates to the growing realisation that people at every
level also bring more into their workplace than their relevant work skills.
They have a bundle of ambitions and inhibitions, strengths and needs, values
and beliefs – all of which have a bearing on how they perform in a range of
roles both in and out of the office
Back in 2005, the University of Western
Sydney (Macarthur Campus) sourced
Federal Government funding to conduct
Max Potential programs, and a year later
Deniliquin RSL was the first club
stORy OLIVIeR BJöRKsäTeR-BLeyLOCK phOtOs BeN syMONs
Max Potential is a club-based program enabling clubs to maximise their engagement with local
communities through connections with young people. The Edge takes a closer look at how this
program can benefit the local community.
28 // the edge // nswis.com.au
in New South Wales to launch Max Potential in their local area, achieving
incredible results in a short period of time. Today, Max Potential has been
welcomed across a number of clubs including the Barrier Social Democratic
Club, Broken Hill Legion Club, Broken Hill Musicians Club, Broken Hill Sturt
Club, Castle Hill RSL, Club Mudgee, Club Taree, Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic
Club, Finley Returned Soldiers Club, Gosford RSL, Liverpool Catholic Club,
Mingara Recreation Club, Norths, Port Macquarie Westport Club, Seagulls
Club, Silver City Workingmens Club, Singleton Returned Soldiers Club, St
Johns Park Bowling Club, and Tuncurry Bowling Club.
So, how does it make a difference to our emerging young leaders? I
caught up with Max Potential program facilitator, Wayne Deeth of Future
Achievement Australia. “The difference between coaching and other
guidance methods is significant. While counselling offers suggestions and
expertise in the name of improvement, coaching employs techniques that
explore and uncover a person’s own power and direction. A coach is a key
to unlocking what one already knows,” explains Deeth. “There are three
fundamental principles in the coaching offered through Max Potential – we
really listen to and identify with our young leaders and what’s important to
them – not what should be but what really is. Then we use that in guiding
the choices that they’re making. What we see is that they have intuitive
wisdom. They have knowledge of what the future is for them now, and how
they want it to be. But they may have old habits that aren’t aligned with
their more intuitive direction. Importantly, a Max Potential coach won’t tell
people how to get what they want. The philosophy is that they know exactly
how to get what they want for themselves...we simply help them realise
and achieve it. Coaching is one of the most effective forms of leadership
development, and one that meets all of the needs of youth as learners.”
So, if you’re interested in joining the Max Potential program as a mentor
to tomorrow’s young leaders, contact Maria Peña at ClubsNSW today on 02
9268 3010 or email mpena@clubsnsw.com.au. n

Recovery
THE
Nap
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs GeTTy IMAGes
is one of the most important parts of an athlete’s
training routine. Whether it is hydration, physical therapy or
“Recovery
sleep, proper recovery enables an athlete to perform at their
best during multiple training sessions each day,” said NSWIS Principal
Scientist Kenneth Graham.
The recent study by Daniel Davies was part of his honours thesis and
supervised by Dr Chin Moi Chow of the Discipline of Exercise & Sport
Science at the University of Sydney and Graham. It focused on endurance
based athletes, with the intent to assess how well athletes sleep following
a morning endurance training session. These assessments included
researching the time of day they started their nap, as well as the time
between their training session and nap.
“Understanding the impact of endurance training on sleep patterns
is an important part of developing an athlete’s training program,”
explained Graham.
“Historically, for example at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, athletes
compete in finals at night. When we were planning the research we took that
into account and asked, ‘what impact will that have on an athlete’s sleeping
pattern?’ and the research developed from there.”
The six athletes involved in the study performed a standardised 90 minute
endurance training session before taking a recovery nap at either 10:30am or
11:30am, for one or two hours.
A number of conclusions and results were drawn from the research, which
will ultimately provide coaches and athletes with a strategy to incorporate a
recovery nap into their regular training routine.
For example, the naps beginning at 11:30am showed a greater amount of
slow wave, or deep sleep, than the naps beginning at 10:30am. This wasn’t
due to the nap being at a two hour interval to training, but because the
DID yOu KNOW?
There are benefits, under the right conditions, of using sleep as a recovery tool.
It is not uncommon to hear athletes say they
are going home for a nap during the middle
of the day before returning to the gym for yet
another training session. Sleep is obviously an
important part of everyday life, but until now
the effects of a daytime recovery nap have
remained unexplored.
athlete who was tested had been awake for an hour longer.
“The results indicate that it’s more beneficial to nap post endurance
training, rather than not having one.”
“The research team looked at previous research and different variables
from other research on sleep patterns. The key with this study was that
while there is a lot of sleep research in other areas, identifying the impact
of prior endurance training on sleep patterns was completely original,” said
Graham, identifying that the study is a world first.
In identifying the impact of endurance training on sleep, Graham is able
to then work in conjunction with coaches at the NSWIS to introduce sleep
as a recovery tool for athletes’ training. In sport, where millimetres may
mean the difference between a win and loss, taking every available
opportunity counts.
Graham identified further positives from the research, saying that the
world first study is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sleep research.
“This stage of research could essentially be the first step of the next wave
of sleep research. We could look at the impact of shorter, high intensity
workouts on sleep, or the impact of an afternoon sleep on night time sleep.”
The studies’ findings are easily transferable to those who are just
looking to get the most from their training and subsequent recovery and
demonstrate that regardless of skill level, taking a morning nap after an
endurance workout will aid recovery. The best recovery, as the research
suggested, comes from naps taken later in the morning regardless of how
long after training it occurs.
Don’t feel guilty if you’re tired and feel the need to nap after your next
endurance workout. Under the right conditions, making sleep a regular part
of recovery will ultimately benefit you. n
nswis.com.au // the edge // 29

ALTITuDe TRAINING
Climbing the
Summit Nipperess,
Every athlete and coach searches for the
competitive edge which will separate them
from their competitors, because in sport, every
second, every inch and every movement counts.
The quest for sporting glory often leads athletes
and coaches to explore the benefits offered via
altitude training. Despite the potential benefits,
altitude training is an expensive process and
often an experience only the elite can acquire.
For some years now Altitude Technology Solutions (ATS) has been
creating altitude training facilities to assist athletes in gaining that
elusive edge over their competitors. From portable tents to an RV
home converted into an altitude environment, ATS, in conjunction with
the NSWIS, has developed a way in which athletes can reap the benefits of
training at altitude.
“The idea and research of training at altitude gathered a lot of momentum
after the 1968 Olympic Games because a lot of athletes who lived at high
altitude achieved excellent results in the higher altitude of Mexico City,”
explained Kenneth Graham, the Institute’s Principal Scientist.
“Since then scientists and coaches have trialled a number of different
options with respect to the benefits of altitude training, which has essentially
led us to the production and use of specialised, portable altitude facilities.”
When you travel to altitude to train there is a reduction in the amount
of oxygen available to breathe in due to the lower air pressure. When
simulating altitude training, the training solutions on offer at the NSWIS
simulate rarefied air by removing some of the oxygen in the air and replacing
it with nitrogen.
One athlete that has taken to using an altitude tent is NSWIS runner James
30 // the edge // nswis.com.au
stORy CHRIs JONes
The converted motor home
is a component of the
Institute’s altitude arsenal
who did his own research before deciding to explore and use his
own altitude tent.
“I read a lot on the internet about other elite athletes using altitude tents
in distance running, and researched a few studies myself. I consulted Dr Philo
Saunders from the Australian Institute of Sport on a few issues before Nicole
Boegman from the NSWIS put me in touch with the sport science experts at
the NSWIS.
“They then helped me test the tent before I bought it and consulted with
my coach for periodising my use of the tent. I saw one advertised for what
was quite a reasonable price on the internet and I jumped at the chance
if it would give me the slightest advantage over my competitors,” said
Nipperess.
“I usually use it when building up for a competition and I think it has
helped; I’ve often raced well after having a block of sleeping in my tent.”
ATS has recently introduced a new product into its range, a portable pool
based tent for aquatic athletes. In a world first development, the portable
tent sits over two lanes of a 25 metre pool with a series of vents creating a
hypoxic environment to mimic conditions experienced at altitude.
“The tent was constructed because aquatic athletes didn’t have as many
altitude training options as athletes who compete on dry-land. With the
tent those athletes can now conduct their sport specific training, and we
also have a wider range of options if athletes are going to use the pool as a
recovery option,” said Graham.
The new pool based facility is one of the altitude facilities that the NSWIS is
employing in the pursuit of increased athletic performance; also available to
athletes at various times are portable tents and an RV home.
As Graham explains, the idea behind creating a variety of altitude training
options is so the Institute can provide a “suite of solutions” to athletes.
Whether it is swimmers, cyclists, runners or rowers, NSWIS athletes are
being given the opportunity to maximise their potential by training in
rarefied air.
“The altitude solutions we have in place allow NSWIS athletes to achieve
the benefits of altitude in their home environment. We are coming up with
a range of technologies that give us the flexibility to mix and match with
individual athletes to provide solutions tailored to them and their needs.”
The Institute’s altitude arsenal forms a key part of the preparation of
NSWIS athletes in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic
Games. The opportunity to access an altitude environment every day cannot
be understated. The altitude facilities on offer at the NSWIS give competitors
and coaches a competitive edge without leaving their home environment or
outlaying the expensive costs associated with overseas travel. n
The Institute’s world-first pool based altitude facility at the sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre

JUnE
n 14 – 19 June 2011 – 2011 FINA Water Polo World League Final
(Women)
n 21 – 26 June 2011 – 2011 FINA Water Polo World League
Final (Men)
n 25 June – 3 July 2011 – 2011 Women’s Champions Trophy (Hockey)
JULy
n 3 – 11 July 2011 – 2011 Netball World Championships
n 16 – 31 July 2011 – 2011 FINA Aquatic World Championships
Kenneth To will make his
swimming world championship
debut in shanghai
AUGUst
n 10 – 15 August 2011 – 2011 uCI Junior Track Cycling World
Championships
n 18 – 21 August 2011 – 2011 ICF Canoe sprint World Championships
n 27 August – 4 september 2011 – 2011 IAAF Athletics World
Championships
n 28 August – 4 september 2011 – 2011 FIsA Rowing World
Championships
The 2011 FIsA World Rowing Championships take place in Bled, slovenia
C A L e n d A R
sEptEMBER
n 7-11 september 2011 – 2011 ICF Canoe slalom World
Championships
n 11 september 2011 – 2011 ITu Triathlon World Championship Final
n 19-25 september 2011 – 2011 uCI Para-Cycling World
Championships
OCtOBER
CALeNDAR
n 7 – 16 October 2011 – 2011 FIG Gymnastics World Championships
n 25 November – 4 December 2011 – 2011 Men’s Champions
Trophy (Hockey)
nOVEMBER
Gymnast Prashanth sellathurai at the
2010 World Championships
n 25 November – 4 December 2011 – 2011 Men’s Champions
Trophy (Hockey)
n 5 – 16 November 2011 – 2011 Weightlifting World Championships
nswis.com.au // the edge // 31

THe PeRFORMeRs
The Performers
Eight on board for shanghai
Eight NSWIS athletes have been selected on a 52 strong Australian
swimming team bound for the 2011 FINA Aquatic World
Championships in Shanghai later this year.
Heading the selections is Geoff Huegill, who will line up in the men’s
100m butterfly and 4x100m medley relay. Huegill finished outside the
qualification time set by Leigh Nugent before Australia’s head coach
decided to take all swimmers who finished first or second in their event,
inside the FINA qualification time.
Joining Huegill will be fellow NSWIS athlete Eamon Sullivan and world
championships debutants James Magnussen, Kenneth To, Matthew Abood,
Jarrod Killey, Jessica Ashwood and Olivia Halicek.
Halicek caused a major upset on the final night of competition by taking
out the women’s 50m freestyle. The 22 year old clocked a time of 24.88 to
secure her maiden national title in a new personal best time.
The Australian championships doubled as selection for the 2011 Para Pan
Pacific Championships in August this year. NSWIS athletes Jacqui Freney,
Matt Levy, Andrew Pasterfield and Teigan Van Roosmalen were all selected
on the team heading to Canada in August.
Geoff Huegill leads NsWIs selections ahead of the 2011 FINA World Championships
Kookaburras laughing at Azlan
shah Cup
The Australian Kookaburras recently won gold at the 2011
Azlan Shah in Malaysia after a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory
against Pakistan.
The two teams traded goals for all of regulation time; Australia
scoring in the 11th minute only to be equalised in the 31st minute,
before pulling away again in the 44th minute to concede an equaliser in
the 61st minute.
The extra time period was just as tense with both teams failing to
convert good chances at scoring the golden goal. It eventually came in
the 83rd minute when Chris Ciriello bagged his second for the match
and Australia’s first victory in the Azlan Shah cup since 2007.
NSWIS athlete Simon Orchard was rewarded with a spot in the
Sultan’s Azlan Shah XI all-star team after a strong tournament that saw
him net a number of goals on the road to victory.
The Kookaburras won their first
Azlan shah Cup since 2007
32 // the edge // nswis.com.au
st Lawrence fastest ever
NSWIS runner Ben St Lawrence etched his name into the history books
during May by setting a new Australian record in the men’s 10000m.
St Lawrence slashed his personal best by 40 seconds en route
to clocking 27:24.95, smashing Collis Birmingham’s previous Australian
record by over five seconds and recording an ‘A’ qualifying time for the
2011 IAAF Athletics World Championships later this year, where he will
also compete in the men’s 5000m.
Ben st Lawrence is now Australia’s
fastest runner over 10000m
Brandt and Murphy named
All-Academic
Former NSWIS basketball scholarship holders Angus Brandt and Rhys
Murphy were named on the Pac-10 All Academic First Team earlier
this year. The pair attends Oregon State University in the USA where
they have successfully maintained a 3.0 GPA while competing on the
university’s basketball team, the Beavers.
“The selection is a great result for Angus and Rhys and our program here
at the NSWIS,” said NSWIS Basketball Program Head Coach Damian Cotter.
“Not only are they making the most of the sporting opportunity, they’re
also taking full advantage of the academic opportunities handed to them,
which many players in college don’t do.”
Four NSWIS scholarship holders are on their way to the USA next year.
Jackson Aldridge heads to Butler University, Daniel Trist has accepted an
offer from Lafayette, Sam Rowley will play for Albany and Paige Melville
will join New Mexico State.
Angus Brandt (L) guards
American Jesse Perry

Proudly supported by
The New South Wales Government
principal partner
strategic partners
NSWIS gratefully acknowledges the financial support the Australian Sports Commission provides to its
programs and is pleased to assist with the delivery of NTC programs and services.
sponsors & partners
providers
NSWIS endorsed training centre status
a Paralympic Training Centre
Endorsed by the Australian
Paralympic Committee
venue supporters

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