Certificate in health and sports massage students had the chance to help out at the finish line massage tents at the Lake to Lighthouse event and the Gisborne Half Marathon in November.

Tutor Nancy Kahalewai, who in the past has worked at worldranked events like Ironman in Hawaii, says it’s a golden opportunity for her students to apply all the skills they have learned over the semester-long course. The Lake to Lighthouse event attracts world-class athletes and is “one amazing event”, according to Nancy.

“It’s a very classy and unique multi-sport event,” she says.

Students had to deal with everything from hamstring and ankle strains, through to extreme hypothermia during the two day event.

“Having to deal with a situation like hypothermia is exciting and scary at the same time, and having successfully dealt with the situation, I could just see the confidence in my students soar.”

Between the two events the students saw hundreds of clients.“It’s been a very busy and full on few weeks for us all. We’re lucky to have this sort of opportunity and real-life sporting events while our students are training here, but also the athletes are lucky to have such a service provided for free.”

Her graduates are scattering themselves through the industry in the widest of senses, with one heading off to Europe to work on a cruise ship, another working with people at a senior centre, one taking the next step to do a business course, three also continuing their tertiary studies with the new spa programme and a few others opting to work part time.

Waka ama coach Kiwi Campbell oversees paddler Olivia Mador-Puna's training regime.

Loving her first year of Bachelor of Recreation and Sport studies, waka ama paddler Olivia Mador-Puna feels lucky to have been awarded an EIT Elite Sportsperson Scholarship.

From Gisborne and a former boarder at Sacred Heart College in Napier, Olivia is one of six current EIT students to have received the prestigious scholarship, which is jointly supported by EIT and Sport Hawke’s Bay. Olivia is also the recipient of a Year 13 Study Grant.

“It’s amazing,” says the 18-year-old. “I probably couldn’t have come to EIT without them.”

Olivia first tried her hand at paddling outrigger canoes when she was at Gisborne Intermediate School, when she and other students were offered the opportunity to try different sports. Slow to choose, she and a friend found paddling outrigger canoes was the last option left to them. They decided to give it a try, and the friend was then invited to turn up at the local Horouta Waka Hoe Club.

Olivia, miffed about being overlooked, tagged along and she was the one to stay the course while her friend dropped out after a couple of training sessions. Once she’d notched a few wins, Olivia was hooked.

It is a demanding sport, and Olivia admits there were more than a few times she felt like giving it away, but thanks Kiwi Campbell, to her coach of six years, she is on the up. She now appreciates that extra effort was needed to make her a more confident competitor.

Kiwi herself is a regular at EIT Tairawhiti, where she has worked for eight years, working a variety of positions, but most recently as coordinator of the Star and Gateway programmes, as well as being responsible for student recruitment and liaising with high schools.

“Waka ama is just as intensive as other sports,” says the awardwinning coach. “It’s quite full on. Training is twice a day, six days a week, so it’s a huge commitment.” Waka ama coach Kiwi Campbell oversees paddler Olivia Mador-Puna’s training regime

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“Study is full-on right now,” says the 21-year-old, who was in the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Academy and Under 20s squad for two years but is focused now on completing his Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design.

In the third and final year of his degree, Zane says the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union, which is helping support him with an EIT study scholarship, is being very understanding about his ordering of priorities.

“They know that once I finish my studies, I’ll be keen to get back into the game.”

Sporting excellence is in the genes of this quietly-spoken flanker, who still manages to play club rugby for Havelock North. Born and raised in Wairoa, Zane proudly points out that his parents, Sara and Kelvin Rangi, and other family members have quite a track record in sports.

His father, who got involved in Kong Chang when Zane was at intermediate school, has a black belt in the martial art. At 42, his mother recently won a Fight for Life boxing match against a girl half her age.

Zane attributes not only his rugby talent but also his general athletic ability to his grandparents who he says were all talented at sports. The father of Sara, Zane’s grandfather Mike Bird was a very good athlete. “Back in the day, he was into rowing, boxing and rugby too, of course.”

The mother of Kelvin, Zane’s grandmother Joe Edwards is still is a very capable athlete. “At 65, she is playing competitive tennis down in Waipukurau almost every year. It’s in the blood on both sides of the whanau.”

At Napier Boys’ High School, where he was deputy head of the hostel and head of sport, Zane filled his art portfolios with paintings. Moving to EIT, he realised the art and design world offered many other possibilities.

“Coming here exposed me to a lot of new stuff and I was blown away at first.”

Attracted to computer design, drawing and model-making, he has made spatial design his focus. This year, he drew up plans for a joint entry in a design competition open to level-7 spatial design students at EIT. The brief was to explore the potential of Napier’s Marine Parade, and the design submitted by Zane and three of his classmates was among the top four chosen for further development.

“I enjoyed doing an applied project,” he says. “That was the most important part of the whole experience. As a real project, we had to present to real clients and there was all the pressure that comes from that. I am stoked with what our team achieved.”

Once he finishes his degree, Zane hopes to find architectural work in Hawke’s Bay where he can be close to his family.

“I miss being in Wairoa,” he says. “When I go back everything seems to be slower, more cruisey, and everything is there for me – my whanau, including my brothers Thornton and Brock, and also my Nannies and Popps.

“The time will come when I go overseas to see the world and I hope that may come with rugby or mahi.”

On the road again – triathlete Fred Koenders will be in the company of some of the best competing for the final leg of the world championship series.

A talent for multi-tasking is taking leading Hawke’s Bay athlete Fred Koenders all the way to China where he will represent New Zealand in the World Triathlon Championships.

Koenders has a high profile in Hawke’s Bay, not only as a triathlete but also as EIT’s Dean of Humanities, Arts and Trades, president of the Hawke’s Bay Multisports Club and chairman of Sport Hawkes’ Bay. 

Adding to the challenges of a busy life, he has had to work hard at overcoming a serious injury to get back into competitive sport.   After damaging his Achilles tendon running, he had reconstructive surgery 3 ½ years ago and puts his full recovery down to carefully following his rehab programme and the advice of his physiotherapist.

To now realise his dream of wearing New Zealand’s silver fern is all the sweeter, he says – “it’s always been a goal to represent my country in sport”.

Koenders will compete in Beijing on 11 September in an event that will attract competitors from all over the world.  Any one country is permitted a maximum of 12 entries in each age group and he is one of three New Zealanders who will take part in the 55-59 year category.

“I’ve waited until this age where there is less competition to qualify,” he laughs about this first tilt at a world champs at the age of 55.  “It’s a battle of attrition now.”

Another triathlon goal was to take part in the New Zealand Ironman event, which he did in 1994 and 1995.   Realising his ambition to compete in a world championship doesn’t mean he has any thoughts about retiring from the sport.   

“The world champs are to be held in Auckland next year and I plan to be there for that, fingers crossed.”

Most days involve two training sessions, and the weekly regime is for 10km of swims, 205km of runs and cycling totalling 170kms.  To that, he adds three weights sessions focused on core strengthening exercises.

Koenders has been a triathlete for 20 years, and one of the aspects he most enjoys is his involvement with the Hawke’s Bay Multisports Club, where he has been president for the last seven years.

“Everyone gets on, everyone is positive and they are incredibly supportive of one another,” he says of a wide-ranging membership.     

The club has 250 members and last year had 7300 participants in its events, making it one of New Zealand’s biggest for the sport.   It’s also been very successful, winning New Zealand Club of the Year for two successive years.  Eight members qualified for the world champs, although Koenders is the only one going.  

Basketball was Koenders sport when he was younger, and he played at a representative level when he was a student at Massey University. 

“I’ve always been active really,” he says.  “I think it helps with my job at EIT in that it’s a good way of maintaining a work-life balance.  I feel really fit and can cope with a lot of work because of that.” 

Pumped up for World Cup action, five of six Hawke’s Bay-based members of the Manu Samoa squad with, centre front, performance analyst Marcus Agnew and, centre back, coach Tom Coventry. From left back, the players are Kas Lealamanua, Kane Thompson and Logovi’i Mulipola, and from left front, Sinoti Sinoti and Anthony Perenise. Absent is Kahn Kotuali’i.

Many seasoned rugby followers are tipping Manu Samoa as the Rugby World Cup’s sleeping giant following the team’s recent shock defeat of Australia.   The spectacular victory is seen as boosting the chances for the tiny Pacific nation to finally take its place among the pantheon of top rugby-playing countries.   

Unlike most, Hawke’s Bay-based performance analyst for Samoa’s Rugby World Cup side Marcus Agnew wasn’t at all fazed by Australia’s upset loss.   Given the hard work the squad has been putting into developing structure and discipline, he believes the side is going to prove very competitive in its World Cup games.

Agnew is a lecturer in biomechanics for EIT’s Bachelor of Recreation and Sport.  Dean of Health Sciences Dr Susan Jacobs says his expertise leads to great opportunities such as working with Manu Samoa.

“In turn, his experiences enable him to make his lectures and labs with Bachelor of Recreation and Sport students come alive.”   

 Agnew became involved in helping to lift Samoa’s game at the behest of Tom Coventry.

 Better known as the coach for the Hawke’s Bay Magpies and newly-appointed forwards coach for the Chiefs, Coventry became Samoa’s co-coach last year, sharing the role with ex-Crusaders and Wellington coach Aussie McLean.

Agnew and Coventry worked together with the New Zealand Under-20s squad and the Magpies and share a technical appreciation of the game.

In his role as performance analyst, Agnew films players training and during matches and then uses specialist software to separate out the footage into various aspects of their play – passing, tackling, line-outs and so on.  With coaching guidance, the players can then work more effectively towards improving their techniques.      

While explosive power has always been a feature of Samoan rugby, Agnew says the team has been working hard at applying that same passion to developing more disciplined structure in their game.    Encouraging players to drive analysis and tactics and practising doing this at training sessions have been pivotal to team improvement.

“Samoa’s performance against Australia has boosted team confidence – not only because of the result but also because of the way the defence comfortably held out Australia for long periods of play before responding in turn with well-taken scoring opportunities.

 “The win generated huge excitement in Samoa with official celebratory functions and talk about a national holiday,” says Agnew, who admits to feeling “quietly excited” himself about the team’s World Cup chances. 

There are further gains to be made for Manu Samoa, says Agnew, who has left for Apia to join the players and coaches in a training camp being held in the lead-in to the World Cup.

Recently returned from the three-week four-match Pacific tour which included the game in Australia, he points out that while Samoa lost to Tonga and Fiji, most of the first XV was sent ahead to Australia to prepare for the game there.  The outcome vindicated the decision of the coaches and management to send the advance party at the risk of fielding a weaker team against other Pacific rivals. 

As it turned out, Samoa also beat Japan. 

In the Rugby World Cup, Samoa will have to overcome a so-called ‘pool of death’ to progress past the group stage of the tournament.    If, as expected, world champions South Africa do top the group and Namibia struggles, that will leave Samoa fighting it out against Fiji and Wales for the second quarter-final spot.

Samoa has previously demonstrated that it can perform at this level, having famously defeated Wales in 1991 and 1999 Rugby World Cup games played in Cardiff. 

There’s a further connection with Hawke’s Bay, with six of the Samoan squad’s players living in the region – Kahn Fotuali’i, Kas Lealamanua , Logovi’i Mulipola, Anthony Perenise, Sinoti Sinoti and  Kane Thompson.  

Ticket sales for the team’s first game against Namibia on September 14 have spiked.

“Manu Samoa is New Zealand’s second favourite team.  So many Samoans live here and they’ve shown so much talent for years.  They have looked spectacular at times but haven’t been able to achieve consistency. 

“The challenge now is to grow from the performance against Australia – to build belief and the team structures necessary to defeat the traditional giants of world rugby.

“What better time to do that than at Rugby World Cup 2011?” Agnew asks.

He’ll be representing New Zealand in the World Triathlon Champs in September.

Fred has a high profile in Hawke’s Bay, not only as a triathlete but also as EIT’s Dean of Humanities, Arts and Trades, president of the Hawke’s Bay Multisports Club and chairman of Sport Hawkes’ Bay. 

He’s a great example of someone walking the talk. 

At EIT we encourage our students to overcome personal challenges, and Fred has certainly had to do that. 

After damaging his Achilles tendon running, he had reconstructive surgery 3 ½ years ago and puts his full recovery down to carefully following his rehab programme and the advice of his physiotherapist.

All the best Fred – we’ll be cheering for you from Hawke’s Bay.

Much of Damon’s job is home-based, analysing video footage of rugby games.

Damon Ngatai is legendary for his coverage of the rugby paddock – but he’s not there to play the game. 

The Bachelor of Recreation and Sport graduate doesn’t actually rate his skills with the rugby ball, but he is highly-valued as a video analyst who is helping sharpen up the performance of the region’s most promising players.  

Recently awarded an EIT-Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union Scholarship in acknowledgement of his contribution to the sport, Damon took on his voluntary job while studying for his degree at EIT. 

He has now staircased to EIT’s Diploma in Hardware and Operating Systems, so the scholarship – normally given to elite rugby players in the HBRU Academy or Magpies – is supporting him while he fine tunes his skills working with computer hardware.

EIT biomechanics lecturer Marcus Agnew, who introduced Damon and fellow classmates to the effectiveness of video analysis in honing the techniques of sports players, says his former student has done really well.

“He developed so much during his three years doing the degree.  The students need to gain work experience for their professional practice and write a report on that.  That’s what led to him doing video analysis.  I set up the opportunity for him to meet with the rugby union.

“They gave him the job and he learned to use the video analysis software at weekends, going away with teams and developing his videoing skills.”      

Damon started by filming players in Hawke’s Bay’s Under 20 team and can now be seen racing up and down the sideline videoing members of the EIT-sponsored Hawke’s Bay Academy.

Back at his Tamatea home, he uses the specialist software to separate out the footage which allows individual players to see how they measure up in different aspects of their game.   With coaching guidance, they can then work more effectively towards improving their techniques.   

Academy manager Joe Payton says Damon is obviously learning vital skills that are going to benefit him in the work place.  When he completes his diploma studies at the end of the year, he will be well set up for a career working with professional rugby teams. 

As it is, he is already picking up other contracts.

That’s quite an achievement for someone who played just one season as a winger while attending Tamatea High School.  Damon, who has enjoyed badminton for the last seven years, feels his time at EIT and work experience with the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union have taken him a long way in learning to communicate more effectively with others.

“I was a bad emailer,” he says, “sending the information, but in an unstructured sort of way.  Now I’m talking to a lot of different organisations and have become more technology-based.

“It’s been great that I’ve had these opportunities for professional development.  That’s been my most significant area for personal growth by far.”

Damon is one of a number of recently-announced recipients of this year’s EIT-Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union Scholarships.   Others are Zane Rangi (in the final year of a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design), Bronson Neera (carpentry) and Kaleb Sweet (carpentry).

Waka ama coach Kiwi Campbell oversees paddler Olivia Mador-Puna’s training regime.

Loving her first year of Bachelor of Recreation and Sport studies, waka ama paddler Olivia Mador-Puna feels lucky to have been awarded an EIT Elite Sportsperson Scholarship.

From Gisborne and a former boarder at Sacred Heart College in Napier, Olivia is one of six current EIT students to have received the prestigious scholarship, which is jointly supported by EIT and Sport Hawke’s Bay.  Olivia is also the recipient of a Year 13 Study Grant.

“It’s amazing,” the 18-year-old enthuses.  “I probably couldn’t have come to EIT without them.”

Olivia first tried her hand at paddling outrigger canoes when she was at Gisborne Intermediate School and she and other students were offered the opportunity to try different sports.

Slow to choose, she and a friend found paddling outrigger canoes was the last option left to them.  They decided to give it a try, and the friend was then invited to turn up at the local Horouta Waka Hoe Club. 

Olivia, miffed about being overlooked, tagged along and she was the one to stay the course while her friend dropped out after a couple of training sessions.  Once she’d notched up a few wins, Olivia was hooked.

It’s a demanding sport, she says, and there were times when she felt like giving it away, particularly when she was pushed by her coach for the last six years, Kiwi Campbell.

Now the 18-year-old appreciates that effort was needed to make her a more confident competitor.  

Kiwi shares a link with EIT.  For eight years, she has worked on the Tairawhiti campus, where she coordinates the Star and Gateway programmes and is responsible for student recruitment and liaising with high schools. 

“Waka ama is just as intensive as other sports,” says the award-winning coach.  “It’s quite full on.  The training regime is twice a day, six days a week, so it’s a huge commitment.”

Other current EIT Elite Sportsperson Scholarship winners are:-

 Brennan Alexander-Parker of Taradale, a hockey player who is in his second year of Bachelor of Recreation and Sport studies; Kate Chadwick of Napier, a golfer and second-year Bachelor of Nursing student; waterskier Jaaron Fritz of Napier, a second-year Bachelor of Recreation and Sport student; Jaimie McIvor, a golfer who is into the second year of a Bachelor of Business Studies; and cyclist Ashleigh Neave of Napier, also a second-year Bachelor of Recreation and Sport student.

Professor Bob Marshall, EIT's new Research Director

Well known for his research work as a sport scientist in biomechanics, Professor Bob Marshall has been appointed to EIT’s newly-created position of Research Director for the next two years.

 Research Professor with EIT’s Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Marshall has established a reputation for innovative research in tennis, squash, cricket, softball and yachting – work that has assisted many New Zealand coaches and athletes.    Additionally, Bob’s work in the last decade has involved numerous projects evaluating health initiatives and practices.

EIT Chief Executive Chris Collins says that as a proven researcher with outstanding credentials, Professor Marshall is ideally placed to take on the important new role.

“Bob will take a lead in enhancing the quality of research across EIT,” Mr Collins said. “He will also oversee our participation in the Government’s 2012 Performance-Based Research Funding round and explore strategies to attract external research contracts.”

Originally from Canada, Professor Marshall taught at the University of Otago and the University of Western Australia, and he was Associate Professor and Foundation Head with the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Auckland before being appointed EIT’s first research professor in 2002. 

He has published more than 160 refereed articles and presented 150-plus papers at conferences worldwide.

EIT has substantially developed its research culture since launching its first degree in 1996.  It now offers 11 undergraduate degrees, graduate and postgraduate certificates and diplomas, an honours degree and a master’s degree.

Across faculties, 100 lecturers undertake research as part of their educational role.  Last year, EIT staff garnered over $358,000 in external research contracts.

 Mr Collins said that in employing professors of international repute, EIT signalled its ongoing commitment to research and working alongside the community on applied projects that made a difference across a wide range of services and industries.

Professor Marshall will be working closely with EIT’s three other research professors, deans and senior research staff while continuing in his role as Research Professor with the Faculty of Health Science.