Gold Coast has become the mecca of training camp locations for the country’s top sporting teams

A number of local physio students have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with Australia’s elite athletes as the Gold Coast further establishes itself as a training ground for our national sporting sides.

A number of local sports science students have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with Australia’s elite athletes as the Gold Coast further establishes itself as the preferred training ground for our national sporting sides.

Griffith sports physiology and performance research group currently have PhD and masters students undertaking research and servicing roles at the Brisbane Roar (W-league), Queensland women’s rugby union and Australian women’s national rugby league (NRL) side the Jillaroos.

After meeting the Jillaroos elite female performance manager Simon Buxton at a seminar in late 2017, Karlee Quinn was invited to attend a number of their high performance training camps.

The Queensland Academy of Sport PhD candidate worked with team at the Jillaroos selection camp to deliver a full-scale testing program which allowed them to build individual player profiles covering strength, power, speed and aerobic fitness.

Karlee Quinn with Jillaroos players at their selection camp. Image supplied.

“My time working with the NRL has been an exceptional experience and a steep learning curve,” she said.

“To conceive an idea, organise the logistics around player performance testing, analyse and finally report the results back to the coaching staff in a digestible and relatable manner requires a lot of thought.

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“It’s this process I find particularly rewarding as I can see the impact my extra set of hands is having on the staff and players.”

The 25-year-old was also given the opportunity to deliver her research on the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptive use to educate players on their impact on female athletic performance.

“It’s amazing how little female athletes know about their hormones, yet they have a profound influence on training, health and performance,” she said.

“The players were writing notes and asking questions so it seemed like they were engaged and had a desire to learn more.”

One of Quinn’s most memorable experiences was when she travelled with the team to Papua New Guinea for the Prime Minister’s XIII match in 2018.

Karlee Quinn at a Papua New Guinea school as part of her tour with the Prime Minister’s XIII match in 2018. Picture supplied.

The players visited a local school to deliver messages around violence against women and had a lasting impact on the community.

“The children listened to the positive messages and couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces when they presented their homemade gifts to the players,” she said.

“I even got asked for an autograph and I tried to explain I wasn’t a player but I don’t think it mattered to the children as they just wanted a memento to take home!”

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Quinn believes that the Gold Coast has quickly emerged as a desirable city for sporting teams to stage their training camps.

“The Gold Coast weather and beaches often attracts visiting sporting teams and not to mention the positive impact the Commonwealth Games had on new sporting infrastructure and facilities,” she said.

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The Griffith sports physiology and performance research group lead by Associate Proffessor Clare Minahan has also collaborated with a number of elite women’s sporting sides to provide sports science support on the Gold Coast.

When not working with the Jillaroos, Quinn can be found out on the footy oval playing for the Boadbeach Cats women’s AFL side.

“I’d like to think I can tackle as fiercely as the NRL women but that’s a work-in progress,” she joked.