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Cutting-edge innovation in Paralympic sport performance will enter a new era after an agreement between Paralympics Australia and key Queensland-based sporting and research bodies was signed in Brisbane on Friday.
The Queensland Network for Paralympic Performance Enhancement and Applied Sports Research signals the next generation of collaboration between Paralympics Australia (PA), the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) and teams from The University of Queensland, University of Sunshine Coast, Queensland University of Technology as well as the state’s peak Para-sports organisation the Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association. The Network will be coordinated by Paralympics Australia and the Queensland Academy of Sport.
Representing Paralympics Australia at the announcement on Friday was Chief Executive Lynne Anderson and Paralympic Innovation Lead Dr Ross Pinder.
“There have been multiple collaborations in place for some time between the different organisations but this agreement brings those links together and takes advantage of the expertise available to form a world-leading Para-sport research network,” Dr Pinder said.
“The Network will allow us to continue to evolve how we work with sports, how we collaborate with coaches and athletes and how we seek out the best researchers and practitioners in the world. Three of the best universities to work with in Para-sport are in South-East Queensland. The agreement will allow us to access more expertise, embed more students in our sports and better answer the questions that our athletes and coaches want to ask.
“More broadly, the focus on athletes with a disability – including people with a physical, intellectual or vision impairment – can have wider societal impacts. Considering the role of universal design in research can solve problems that may not only improve the performances of our athletes, but spark impacts beyond Para-sport, for instance, improving accessibility to public transport. Everyone’s going to benefit from that.”
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The parties signed a letter of intent on Friday in a major step forward to establishing a formal agreement to be ratified in due course.
“The work performed by Ross and his team has established Paralympics Australia as a global pacesetter in Para-sport innovation and, considering the outstanding related research being undertaken at UQ, USC and QUT, it’s clearly a natural fit for us to unite and make even better use of our resources,” Anderson said.
“Innovation is a fiercely contested and crucial aspect of Para-sport and I share Ross’s excitement at the possibilities this collaboration provides in taking Australian Para-athletes to new levels of performance.
“I’m also eager to see how research conducted by the Network will be applied more widely, providing better everyday outcomes for the 20 percent of Australians who live with a disability.”
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Chelsea Warr, Queensland Academy of Sport Chief Executive said: “Olympic and Paralympic parity is one of our guiding principles at the QAS and the Network will be a real game changer in helping us work towards this.
“The Queensland Academy of Sport’s vision is ‘inspiring extraordinary sporting success’. These extraordinary sporting performances create an unequivocal sense of national identity, unity and pride that can be projected to the world.
“Innovative and enterprising partnerships like this will help the Queensland Academy of Sport to optimise Para-athlete progression and to support their coaches and expert practitioners. I’m excited by the opportunities for our current and next generation of Para-athletes that this will bring and the expertise we will help develop.”
Amanda Mather, Chief Executive at the Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association, said: “As the state’s peak Para-sports organisation we see this is an opportunity to work with the country’s leading research institutes to the benefit of not just our current aspiring Paralympians, but all people with a disability to get fit, active and achieve their goals.
“It is important as a community that we all work together to provide opportunities and pathways for people with a disability”
Our Paralympic Innovation Lead Dr @rossapinder said: "the Network will allow us to continue to evolve how we work with sports, how we collaborate with coaches and athletes and how we seek out the best researchers and practitioners in the world." pic.twitter.com/Cp7wbn9fCq
— AUS Paralympic Team (@AUSParalympics) May 28, 2021
Professor Remco Polman from the Queensland University of Technology said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to join forces and enhance the performance of our Para-athletes.
“At QUT we will build on our work on coaching through research embedded within Para-sport but also through training the coaches to use the best strategies to enhance their athletes’ performance.”
Associate Professor Sean Tweedy from The University of Queensland said: ”Our ParaSTART program has run for four years and focuses on performance enhancement in athletes with severe disabilities – a high performance program for athletes with high support needs (HSN). Among all the aspiring Paralympians in Australia, those with severe disabilities face the greatest physical, medical, attitudinal and financial barriers to safe sports entry.
“Consequently numbers are extremely low – less than 1.5 percent of classified Para-swimmers have high support needs and 0.5 percent of classified Para-athletes. For those who overcome those barriers, performance enhancement is complex – little is known about how best to optimise the physiological, biomechanical and motor control elements of performance.
“Our team here at UQ is really excited about collaborating with our Network partners to not only significantly enhance Australia’s prospects of medals in the HSN classes, but generating the knowledge required to build on that success in the future.”
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Professor Brendan Burkett from the University of the Sunshine Coast said: ”Australia has a proven track record in Paralympic sports and the knowledge generated from working with Paralympians can help guide the decision making on how to best support all people with a disability.
“The success of this knowledge generation and important dissemination is dependent on the strengths of the partners involved. The unique and strong relationships between industry partners, such as Paralympics Australia, Queensland Academy of Sport and Sporting Wheelies and Universities, coupled with some passionate researchers and practitioners, are the key ingredients for a successful network.”
By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 28 May 2021
