29 August 2013
Tough pre-season ahead for student athletes
Around 200 University of Dundee athletes from 16 sports will this weekend begin a six-day training camp designed to get them in peak physical condition ahead of the new season.
The Warm-Up Week runs from Saturday, 31st August until Thursday, 5th September and will see the students take part in sport-specific training sessions alongside a range of conditioning sessions and workshops on topics such as nutrition and lifestyle management. It precedes the annual Sports Fayre next Friday, when representatives of the Sports Union will encourage new and returning students to sign up for the 43 sports clubs on offer at the University.
Warm-up weekends have been held in each of the past two years and have proved so successful that it has been expanded to increase the time they spend with top coaches and on team-building sessions to ensure that the students are ready to maximise their individual and collective strengths on the sports field.
Paul McPate, Assistant Director of the University's Institute of Sport and Exercise (ISE), said "The pre-season training camps have proved to very successful and the sports teams have reported that they have given our athletes an advantage when the competitive season began.
"The teams have all committed to the camp in a move to improve the university's competitive placing in student and national competition. Last year, 22 out of the 35 teams competing in student league competition finished in a higher position than they had for the previous year. The objective is to continue this progress in student competition.
"This week will be physically and mentally challenging but it gives students the chance to mix and work with members of other teams, building a greater feeling of community amongst the many sports teams at the University.
"We have teams and activities to suit any taste and our clubs will be delighted to welcome new members this year. There are great physical and social advantages to being an active student athlete and we would encourage any student who fancies joining to speak to the respective club, regardless of their previous experience."
Eighteen teams will be taking part in this year's Warm-Up Week - archery, badminton, basketball, fencing, men's football, handball, men's hockey, women's hockey, men's rugby, women's rugby, karate, netball, squash, swimming, trampoline, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball and water polo.
Dundee University Sport is the partnership between ISE and Dundee University Sports Union. They have joined forces to maximise the strengths of each partner in enhancing the provision of sport for students and staff.
The Sports Union represents some 43 member and associate clubs, ranging from archery to volleyball. Several University teams have enjoyed success at a national level in recent years, and many sportsmen and women from the University have gone on to represent their country and achieve individual glory in their chosen field.
More information is available at www.dundee.ac.uk/ise/dundeeuniversitysport/
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
