High Performance Squad Camp

NATASHA KEY (HEAD COACH)

AHigh Performance Squad camp was held this year in Canberra in the week after Easter.At the Oceania Championships 2023 the High Performance Squad had run a fundraising BBQ. With help from the squad and many family members we had raised enough money to put on a threeday training camp after Easter. So after thawing out from the freezing cold Easter weekend we made our way to Canberra. We were extremely lucky to have the expertise of Ben Rattray, Professor of Exercise Science at the University of Canberra, and an ex-elite orienteer himself. Ben set up for the squad a specialised two-day testing program in the sports lab. Our athletes (Grace Crane, Angus Haines, Aston Key, Brodie Nankervis, Ewan Shingler, Nea Shingler and Caitlin Young) were put through a functional-movement-testing series, some cognitive tests, both active and passive, and a VO2 Max test.It was very informative, and the athletes came away with relevant information that can be used to help target their training programs. Also, it provided lots of foodfor-thought for the coaching team in how they might best support our top nationallevel athletes.

The High Performance Squad leaders were all present, Julian Dent, Grant Bluett and myself. I am very grateful that both Julian and Grant gave up their valuable family-holiday time to come and chat with the group. They shared with our athletes their wealth of experience, including years of European racing and podium places at JWOC and World Games as well as many other big races.

After the demanding four Easter races we started with rest and recovery on Day1 – Easter race analysis over coffee, a social game of laser tag, and a jog with Tara’s Tuesday-night-running group to shake out the legs.

Day 2 saw everyone participating in a VO2 Max test, and in true team spirit all stayed around to cheer on their squad mates, helping them to get through the gruelling last 5 min to reach their maximum efforts. All fared really well with their results, as we expected, of course! A team dinner and group analysis for WOC 2023 and 2024 on the big screen followed, thanks to the Agar family's hospitality.

On Day 3, we began with a series of functional-movement tests to help show any imbalances and areas to target to reduce injury risk. This was followed by a very interesting cognitive test sequence, and then the same cognitive test whilst running. Afterwards, we had a group chat with our squad leaders about the WOC 2023 challenges and how we may adapt training to meet the demands of the races. Ben discussed how the athletes can use their test results to train the most effectively. Ben's current study area is also extremely relevant for orienteering, and we were very lucky to listen to him explain it to us.

Thanks to the orienteering community for supporting our fundraising efforts that help us to provide these extra activities for our squad members.