Regional students to experience what it is like to be an Elite Athlete

Melbourne Vixens and Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) athletes Emily Mannix and Tegan Philip are headlining a high performance experience organised by the VIS in conjunction with Barwon Sports Academy and Deakin University

Melbourne Vixen’s and Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) athletes Emily Mannix and Tegan Philip are headlining a high performance experience organised by the VIS in conjunction with Barwon Sports Academy and Deakin University.

On Friday 16 November over fifty local students and athletes from the Geelong area will flock to Deakin’s Waurn Ponds campus to be inspired, tested and educated on what it is like to be an elite athlete.

The day kicks off with Geelong natives Mannix and Philip’s opening presentation where they will share stories of their journey to the highest level of netball. In 2017 Mannix established herself as one of Australia’s brightest young netball stars and followed that up with a selection to the Samsung Australian Diamonds. The Vixen’s goal keeper has most recently been named in the squad to contest the 2019 Quad Series against England, South Africa and New Zealand.

Philip, known as one of the competitions strongest and hardest goal attacks, celebrated her 100^th game with the Vixens earlier this year. The Vixen’s stalwart debuted with the Diamonds in 2014 winning gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. In the same year she helped the Vixens claim the ANZ Championship Premiership and was named Grand Final MVP.

Local students in Year 8-10 have been invited to participate in the event and are representing more than six different Geelong schools both government and non-government. Also participating in the event are regional athletes, identified through the Regional Academy of Sport network and identified as potential future VIS scholarship holders.

Following the keynote presentation athletes and students will head to the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences where they will undertake four practical sessions including; a strength and conditioning gym session with an expert Physical Preparation Coach, talent ID testing with a Sport Scientist, nutrition workshop and cooking class with a VIS Sport Dietitian and a functional movement session to help them gain awareness of their body.

The experiences will help further develop the strong contribution regional areas already make to the state's sporting success, they will also encourage regional schools, clubs and service providers to develop better programs that promote healthy lifestyle choices.

The VIS and Regional High Performance Experiences are part of the VIS’ valuable partnerships with the Regional Academies of Sport, and would not be possible without the support of the Victorian Government, who provided a $200,000 funding boost in 2017 for VIS community initiatives to help give talented regional athletes more opportunities to experience VIS facilities and expertise.