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

Andy Page – Rugby League in Sydney

“The people I met during my time both with the club and with Sport Lived are friendships I will have for many years to come and made it one of the best years of my life.” 

Andy Page (Back Row, 3rd from Left) with his team mates celebrating their Grand Final victory

Andy Page spent six months living in Sydney playing rugby league and the quote above is testament to how much his Sport Lived experience in Australia changed his life.  Andy was on a 23 week playing programme which ran between March and August where he lived in apartments with other Sport Lived participants in the heart of Sydney’s bustling city centre.  Andy’s club reached the end of Season Grand Final which was played at Aussie Stadium.  Commenting on the event Andy said “On our club’s grand final day, the atmosphere was so intense; to compete and win in a major stadium in front of large crowd was an amazing feeling and definitely the highlight of my rugby career so far.”

Andy Page (middle) on a fancy dress night out with Sport Lived participants in Sydney

Chances like this don’t happen every day; Sport Lived designs trips to ensure that you can get the type of training and level of play that is worth the effort you are willing to put in. Andy understood that the life he was given in Sydney was something he personally needed to make the most of, “In my opinion my game has advanced significantly while playing in Sydney. Combined with a considerable increase in my technical skills, a major focus of Rugby training in Australia, it was the physical fitness and conditioning while playing for the club that was the most noticeable improvement.”

Andy knows why he went on a SportLived programme: “Take the chance and go for it; you only get so long in your life to do something like this and it will be 6 months you will never forget!”