With the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games fast approaching, Bond University is hosting the Bond Sport Clinic for Emerging Elite Athletes with swimming star Melanie Wright (nee Schlanger), aimed at providing guidance and advice for tomorrow’s sporting superstars.
Wright - a World Champion, dual Olympian, five-time Olympic medallist and Bond student - will share her knowledge and experience with a select group of some of the Gold Coast’s top Year 11 and 12 student athletes on Thursday, August 4 at the University’s stunning new multi-million dollar Sports Centre.
The exclusive, invitation-only clinic is aimed at providing advice and insight into how emerging elite athletes can balance their professional and private lives, manage the media and social media and successfully juggle sport and study.
Wright will be focusing on the importance of higher education as a pathway to building a future career and preparing for life after sport.
The students will also engage in a panel discussion with a number of high profile Olympians who have all gone on to achieve successful careers post-sport, including 2012 London Olympic swimmer Chris Wright, London 2012 volleyball player Andrew Grant and London 2012 synchronised swimmer Jenny-Lynn Anderson.
Wright said it was great to be able to bring some Aussie Olympians together to share their experiences with the young students.
"We have so many excellent athletes in Australia; tapping into their experience and wisdom makes sense," she said.
“There is a lot of pressure on elite athletes to perform, so I want to provide the next generation with insight on how to deal with this pressure and also how to be prepared to transition to a career after sport.
"With universities now offering programs to assist and support promising athletes to balance sport and higher education, like the Bond Elite Sports Program, it is important for high school student athletes to be aware of and take advantage of these opportunities."
Wright, who graduated with an MBA from Bond University this year and has just started her medical degree, is looking to incorporate her love of sport into her future career.
"Once I finish my degree in medicine at Bond University, I would like to exercise my passion for sport and education to work in the sports medicine industry," she said.
"The support I have received throughout my degree at Bond has been incredible and has provided a critical foundation that enabled me to excel both in the classroom and in the pool."
Garry Nucifora, Executive Director of Sport at Bond University, said preparing emerging elite athletes for their future career was an important investment, with sport and education perfectly complementing each other.
"Research shows a very strong synergistic relationship between excelling at sport and excelling at study," he said.
"Melanie is a great role model and the Bond Sport Clinic presents an unprecedented opportunity to equip tomorrow’s Olympians and elite athletes with the skills to handle the pressures of life as a professional athlete and to prepare for life after sport.
“Bond University is the ideal launch pad for this initiative, with so many young up-and-coming athletes living and studying here on the Gold Coast.
“This workshop provides an exclusive, money-can't-buy experience for these students that is unique to Bond."
Bond has invited the top young athletes from a select group of key partner schools on the Gold Coast to attend the event.
The Bond Sport Clinic for Emerging Elite Athletes will kick off at 9.15am in the Bond University
Sports Centre on Thursday, August 4.