While the four women – Olive Pearce, Pippa Nicol, Rae Kwan and Claudia Kelly – hail from different parts of the country, they have converged on Dunedin to study medicine, law and biochemistry and have been onboarded into the Dunedin Regional Hub as pre high performance athletes, with the view to supporting their transitions and progression in sport and life, alongside their studies.
Dunedin Performance Pathway regional hub lead, Belinda Colling, says it is exciting to see the group from such aspirational sports that typically don’t receive a lot of specific attention, onboarded and engaged in progressing their sporting goals, working alongside each other and other pre-hp athletes based locally.
“The four have full on study programmes and a training load and their commitment to both is shown in their results – in study and in competitive surf lifesaving,” says Belinda.
HPSNZ Dunedin Strength and Conditioning coach, Sam Wilson, has been working with the four women since December 2023.
“When we first started working with Olive, Pippa, Rae and Claudia, and originally physiotherapy student Molly Shivnan, the uni year had finished and they had returned to their home bases. So our initial work was done remotely through WhatsApp check ins,” says Sam.
“I must confess I didn’t know too much about surf lifesaving as a sport nor about the extensive competitive scene, internationally and in Australia. In the early days I spent a lot of time educating myself on their sport so by the time the four returned for the new academic year, I felt I was able to help kick start their programme.”
While there is a lot of common strength and conditioning work, each of the women have slightly differing needs. “Olive and Rae had been in the programme for two to three years so they had a good base. They were really strong so we focussed on the medium power range to generate more explosiveness. This is key for the sport as speed off the mark and maintaining power over long periods are critical elements for success,” says Sam.
Sam’s initial work with Claudia was supporting a return to sport following an ankle injury and the focus with Pippa, the newest to the programme, has been about building strength and gaining confidence to lift heavier weights.
As the four head back to their homes for the holidays, Sam has reverted back to remote strength and conditioning support.
“We did testing before they headed away and provided them with programmes to support their work-on areas. I check in with them every seven to 10 days but they can talk with me at anytime.”
As the four get back into competition mode in their home base, Surf Lifesaving NZ’s High Performance manager, Tanya Hamilton says the HPSNZ Performance Pathway regional hub is an important part of the sport’s strategy to move from being event-based to building a system.
“This is a great example of how we are working towards our clear goal around high performance surf lifesaving to develop pathways for athletes, coaches and support teams,” says Tanya.
Once priority high performance and pre high performance athletes have been identified, Tanya has worked with HPSNZ regional hubs around the country to support them.
“An important starting point was the development of Individual Performance Plans (IPP) which was a good process through Raise My Game,” says Tanya. “It helps athletes clearly identify goals, develop an action plan and identifies what support is needed to help meet their goals.”
Strength and conditioning was identified as one of the biggest needs for the athletes which is being delivered through the regional hub. Athletes are also able to access HPSNZ’s Performance Life coaching, Performance Nutrition and Mental Skills support.
“Olive, Rae, Claudia and Pippa have been described as a very lively group in the Dunedin hub. Most importantly they, and we, are seeing massive impacts on their performance from the work they are doing, especially in terms of physical resilience, strength and power.”
Three of the four have been selected into the Black Fins, the open national team, and two were on the podium multiple times at the sport’s pinnacle event.
With the women back at their home clubs for the summer, Tanya says local coaches will be tapping into their learnings and experience.
“Surf Lifesaving NZ says a massive thanks to HPSNZ who have helped the athletes progress so far, but also through providing access to support in their home area which will ensure continuity of performance progress.
“An important vision for our sport is to create champions and role models who inspire and have a real sense of purpose. We see this with the likes of Olive, Rae, Claudia and Kelly who are natural leaders back at our clubs, whether when patrolling or competing.”
