What have Deakin’s elite athlete students been up to in lockdown?
While life in lockdown might be a dream for all the homebodies, bookworms and Netflix connoisseurs out there, how are all our sporty students handling the enforced downtime? With competitions, travel and training sessions temporarily on hold due to social distancing requirements, Deakin’s Elite Athlete Program students have had to find new ways to keep moving during lockdown.
We checked in to see how our elite athletes have been keeping busy!
- Snowboarder Belle Brockhoff (Bachelor of Commerce) was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award at the recent Snow Australia Awards after what has been an amazing comeback season. A special shoutout also goes to freestyle mogul skier Jakara Anthony (Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science), who was a finalist for the prestigious Athlete of the Year Award alongside Belle – congratulations Belle and Jakara for being nominated for this exclusive honour!
- Belle Brockhoff has also been keeping herself busy as an Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Lifeline Community Custodian alongside her fellow Deakin elite athlete students, boxer Kristy Harris (Bachelor of Business – Sport Management) and rowing para-athlete Alexandra Viney (Master of Business – Sport Management). We are proud of our elite athletes for speaking openly about their difficulties as part of their Lifeline Community Custodian roles, in an effort to give back to their communities and help other young people who may be struggling with their mental health.
- Sprinter Liam Procaccino (Bachelor of Property and Real Estate/Bachelor of Commerce) has been busy getting social! Liam generously walked us through his routine, study tips and how he keeps motivated earlier this month in his takeover of the DeakinLife Instagram account, in addition to netballer Jo Weston (Master of Communication) and surfer Isabella Nichols (Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering – Honours) who both recently took over the Deakin University Instagram account to showcase their studies in lockdown.
- Australian Diamonds and Melbourne Vixens star netballer Liz Watson (Bachelor of Education – Primary) will be testing your wits as a guest presenter in Deakin’s upcoming faculty-versus-faculty Trivia Night alongside Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin – we can’t wait to see who wins!
Are you an elite athlete student?
Deakin is proud to support elite and emerging athletes as they balance the demands of high-level sport with their studies via the Elite Athlete Program (EAP). The EAP offers support and benefits to student athletes in various ways, ranging from academic assistance and course flexibility to financial support and gym access.
With the transition to online study this year due to the COVID-19 situation, we understand you may have changed and complex circumstances that may potentially impact your studies.
- Have you picked up more units due to less sporting commitments this year?
- Do you perhaps require some help to catch up due to late enrolment in a unit?
- Are you not part of the EAP but would like to know more about how the program could assist you?
Remember we are here to help! Visit the Elite Athlete Program webpage for more information about how the program could benefit you. If you’ve got any questions, please contact the Elite Sports Coordinator, Jack Duke, at [email protected].
Image: (from left) Deakin students and elite athletes Jo Weston (netball), Liam Procaccino (athletics) and Isabella Nichols (surfing).