Associate professor Carl Paton monitors oxygen levels while graduate Philip Shambrook exercises in EIT’s sport science laboratory.
EIT recently staged New Zealand’s second ITP Sports Research Symposium as a platform for researchers based at institutes of technology and polytechnics nationwide.
Head of EIT’s School for Health and Sport Science, Kirsten Westwood said the symposium was an opportunity for academics to outline research projects and present findings to colleagues working in the sector.
It also provided opportunities for exploring future collaborative ventures.
The one-day symposium attracted members from the school’s advisory committee, physiotherapists and Sport Hawke’s Bay staff as well as academics from Otago Polytechnic, AUT, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Unitec and EIT.
“The event was very successful,” Westwood said, “with a full presentation schedule.”
The symposium, only the second of its kind to be held in the sector, encompassed 20 presentations covering sport science, community health, student health in tertiary education and social aspects of sport and recreation.
One of the two keynote speakers was Mark Fulcher, an Auckland-based doctor who specialises in sports medicine. Fulcher works closely with New Zealand Football as the doctor for the All Whites, Football Ferns and Silver Ferns. He is also the medical director of the ITU World Championship Triathlon held in Auckland and the lead tournament physician of the ASB Classic and Heineken Open tennis tournaments.
He spoke about the FIFA protocol for injury and during the symposium a group of some 40 students were accredited with the protocol.
The other drawcard speaker was Levi Armstrong, an EIT Bachelor of Recreation and Sport graduate who established and runs PATU, a kaupapa gym network that operates throughout Hawke’s Bay delivering group exercise to whānau.
In organising the symposium, Westwood said she was well supported by EIT research professor Dr Bob Marshall. The event is set to become an annual event hosted by the participating ITPs.