Bay of Plenty Polytechnic lends NZRL a helping hand

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic lends NZRL a helping hand

22 July 2011

Twenty Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Sport and Recreation students got the experience of a lifetime on Tuesday when they assisted New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) carrying out a range of Sports Science tests on the New Zealand 16 and 18 Year Rugby League squads.

The students, assisted by three Polytechnic Sport and Recreation teaching staff, carried out a series of human performance tests on the players. A first for NZRL at this level, the testing was aimed at providing NZRL staff with valuable data on their squad players to assist in the selection of teams ahead of upcoming international matches. The data will also provide valuable benchmarking for future testing and teams.

Tony Kemp, NZRL Football Manager says his training staff and players were impressed with the Polytechnic’s testing team. "We approached the Polytechnic to see if they were interested in assisting us to implement our battery testing at our 16s and 18s National Elite Camp in Rotorua and they jumped at the chance. Having the Polytechnic do this for us brought a very professional feel to the process and has been a valuable tool."

Sports science testing is a new feather in the cap for the Polytechnic and being involved with the NZRL National Elite camp provided a fabulous opportunity for both the Polytechnic staff and students to get involved and showcase the new sports science testing services.

Peter Sommers, Group Leader Sport and Recreation, said “We are delighted that an organisation with the prestige of NZRL has requested our services to work with them to carry out these important Sports Science tests. We are really pleased with our students who were highly professional throughout the day. This is an awesome opportunity for our diploma / degree pathway students to put their learning into practice.”

The new sports science testing services available at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic includes two human performance laboratories where clients are able to book in for testing such as biomechanics, anthropometry, exercise physiology, physical conditioning, sports nutrition and sports psychology. Testing can also be done on site to suit the client and is available from grass roots through to international level training or sport.

© Scoop Media