Bush Trip for Rugby Academy Players

Cameron McIntosh, one of the coaches at the Sport Lived Rugby Academy in Brisbane, organised a farewell social event over the weekend for the players on the 12 week programme.  The boys were taken to Cameron’s country home in northern Queensland where they enjoyed  farming activities such as hunting, horse riding, swimming and driving 4×4s.  It was a great finale for the boys who got to experience something entirely different to their 4 star apartment complex in Brisbane’s city centre. The Australian outback provides a great test of character whether travelling or farming and it was great for the boys to take a different look at life from the perspective of one of Queenslands farming districts.

Photos from the bush experience below.

 

Sport Lived Social Event: Sydney

Recently, Sport Lived organised for our participants in Sydney to get together for one of our enjoyable social events. This time Sport Lived took them to the ten pin bowling alley where the game was clearly the winner on the day. Events such as these provide a great opportunity for our participants to come together and get to know each other in a different setting. The ten pin bowling alley allowed our participants to express their competitive spirit in a different sporting field. A great day was had by all and we look forward to hearing about our next social event. Stay tuned for more…

 

Brisbane: Hot weather and hot sand

Brisbane is a typical southern hemisphere city – littered with lovely surf
beaches and culturally dominated by sport. Brisbane is home to a number of
professional sports teams in their own right – Brisbane Broncos (Rugby
League), Queensland Roar (Football), Queensland Reds (Rugby Union),
Queensland Firebirds (Netball), Brisbane Lions (Australian Rules) and the
Gold Coast Titans (Rugby League) play just an hour down the freeway.

The Gold Coast is an hours’ drive away and is the gateway to Queensland’s
theme parks with Movie World, Wet’n’Wild, Sea World and Dreamworld. The Gold
Coast is also home to Surfers’ Paradise – a picturesque golden sand beach
and boulevard that is so breathtaking it must be seen to be believed.

Sport Lived has a large group of players and coaches in Brisbane and they
have been out and about experiencing as much of Queensland as they can –
including Australia Zoo!

 

Richard Khodabakhsh and James Cunliffe watch the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium

Rugby Academy Players on the Gold Coast

Australia Zoo

Night out in Brisbane for Max’s birthday

Sydney: A Hub of Sporting Entertainment

Sydney is home to a variety of professional sports teams including Sydney FC (Football – Hyundai A-League), New South Wales Blues (Cricket), Sydney Swifts (Netball – ANZ Championship), nine club sides within the National Rugby League competition (including 2008 Premiership winners, Manly Sea Eagles), New South Wales Waratahs ( Rugby Union – Super 14), Sydney Swans (Australian Rules – AFL) and the Sydney Spirit (Basketball – ANBL). There is so much happening in and around Sydney you won’t be able to fit everything in.

Horse Racing is a massive industry in Australia and is a very common social event on the sporting calendar. Sport Lived organised a day at the races for our participants and here they are enjoying another one of Sydney’s superb sporting facilities – a day out at Royal Randwick Raceway.

 

Hockey in Sydney: The social side of the game

The Sport Lived hockey players in Sydney have been making the most of the
social activities organised by their hockey club. These have included a road
trip to Albury, on the New South Wales/Victoria border, where the players
participated in an Easter Weekend Hockey Tournament featuring teams from
Sydney, Melbourne and Albury.

Other club social events which the players have made the most of have
included a ‘New Players’ Night and a Pub Crawl through Sydney’s effervescent
and world-renowned nightlife.

 

Taran Evans in action for his club

Bondi Beach Trip and BBQ, Sydney

Sydney is the busiest and largest of Australia’s cities with a population of 4 million people in a country of over 19 million. It is situated on the south-eastern coastline of Australia and is home to some of New South Wales finest beaches. Typically the temperature during summer sits around 30*C and can get as high as 40*C so there is a real need to have a nice beach close by.

As a result of this, Sport Lived organised a day out at Bondi beach for all of our Sydney participants, just a 20 minute bus ride to the east of the city centre. The day at the beach was followed by a typical ‘Aussie’ BBQ.

 

Sport Lived Introductory Drinks in Sydney

Sport Lived recently sent a group of 29 prospective sports men, women and coaches to Sydney. Their tenure is set to last just over five months from 15 March through until 23 August. During their time in Sydney, the group will partake in sports such as hockey, rugby union, football and netball. We managed to get our hands on some of the photos from the ‘Introductory Drinks’ which were held at the Opera Bar in Sydney’s picturesque Circular Quay. Coincidentally, the date fell on St. Patrick’s Day which meant that there were two reasons to celebrate and as we can see the participants had a great night. This evening should be the start of what will be a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable programme for them all in Sydney 2009.

 

Boxing Day Test, Aussie Open and SL Socials in Melbourne

Sport Lived participants have been taking time out from their sports coaching and sports to make the most of the top sporting events which have been held in Melbourne over the Christmas and New Year period.  These include the Boxing Day Test Match where Australia took on South Africa, One Day Cricket Internationals where Australia played South Africa and New Zealand and the Australian Open Tennis Championships where Rafael Nadal reigned supreme.

Below is a selection of photos of participants at these events and other Sport Lived socials.

School Rowing Camp in Melbourne

James Faire is coaching rowing at a school in Melbourne between January and March 2009.  During the first week of their programme, James and Adam Lilley, attended their school’s pre-season rowing camp in Country Victoria.  Below is an article on the trip written by James.

“We arrived at the school boat house at 7.00am on the 22nd January, not really knowing what was in store for us.  We were immediately taken in by the other coaches and shown around the place, and then upstairs to watch the boys do their first 2k erg test of the summer.  After this, we were all driven about 400km east of Melbourne to the training camp, a holiday park on the River Tambo called Swan Reach.  The boys then proceeded to get stuck into 5 days of solid training, with Adam and I coaching the U16 E’s and D’s respectively.

The first couple of days were spent trying to work off the rustiness developed by a month or two without touching a rowing boat, as the Australian Summer holiday was just finishing, but once the major problems had been ironed out, we all got down to the hard work (at least the boys did). Three sessions a day was helped by unlimited amounts of food, and the coaches seemed to have the best of both worlds, since all coaching was done from a speedboat behind the crews!!

On Sunday we had the afternoon off and were taken to the local town for a break and change of scenery.  Here Adam and I were told we couldn’t leave without sampling an Australian delicacy, Chicken Parma.  This amazing mix of creamy, cheesy chicken, tomato and potato was delicious and the offer of a ‘Parma and Pint’ for $12 (or £6) was one we couldn’t easily refuse!!

All too soon the camp was over and we were facing the four hour bus ride back to Melbourne.  The camp was a great success and has given the crews a solid base from which to work off over the coming season.  Adam and I enjoyed ourselves hugely and the boys and staff couldn’t have been more welcoming, and we are both looking forward to winning some races in the following weeks.”

James Faire

Why not find out more information about Rowing Australia and the Coaching and Rowing Academies then visit www.SportLived.co.uk

Melbourne Golf Day and Christmas Party

Sport Lived’s cricketers, rowers, swimmers and athletes met at Albert Park, one of Melbourne’s premier golf courses in December, to celebrate Christmas and of course to find out who reserved the right to call themselves Sport Lived’s best golfer in 2008.  The weather didn’t disappoint as the guys drove, pitched and putted (with occasional hack) around the course in a thoroughly enjoyable day.  But as they say there can only be one winner, so congratulations must go to Matthew who managed to tap in a short putt on the 18th to sneak home for the win. 

Unselfishly, Matthew decided to share the spoils of his victory with his fellow competitors and friends by buying everyone a drink as the Sport Lived group made their way to the centre of Melbourne to enjoy a Christmas Party and night on the town.  See below some shots of the boys in action in a day that can only be described as the way golf was meant to be played.