SSA Futures Camp held for the first time at the AIS

SSA FUTURES was held at the AIS for the first time last weekend, with 32 young developing athletes attending.

Participants in the residential program were provided with a unique opportunity to experience what it is like to train, eat and sleep at the country’s leading high performance facility, which is regularly used by Olympians and Paralympians.

The weekend allowed athletes to take part in a series of educational sessions including goal setting, recovery, nutrition and hygiene.

Additionally, two acrobatic sessions at the AIS gymnasium were conducted, which showcased how the fundamental movements of gymnastics are key to skill development and coachability of athletes in all disciplines.

Participants provided some great feedback on the camp. Here are some of the highlights:

• I really enjoyed learning about how to recover from a long day at the snow and what to eat before and after.
• The education session on coachability, talent and skill progression from Anthony Khoury was a good reflection on what we had learned from the camp program.
• The Athlete Well Being session presented by Kristie Wallace, Australian Opals Basketball Team, taught me how to set goals for the upcoming winter season and beyond.
• The Ski & Snowboard Australia Athlete Pathway session was informative of where to go next in the sport.
• From Anthony’s Acro session on breaking down the elements involved in a back flip and then completing the back flip, I learned something I’ve always wanted to do. It was really really good to work towards a goal.
• It was great to learn from such a skilled coach (John Curtin, Gymnastics Australia Men’s Coach)
• The Acro session was fun and good to learn new things I otherwise would not have done.

The SSA Futures Camp at the AIS will be back in 2020 and will cater for new athletes to attend as well as the2019 camp athletes, where they will build on the lessons and skills learned in 2019.

The Thredbo Acro Futures will be held on the 13, 14 and 21 of July. Registrations are now open https://www.skiandsnowboard.org.au/events/42755/