Athletes were pushed to the limit at the annual IAS Leadership Day, organised by Savvy Fitness, on Saturday 12 December 2020. The athletes participated in a range of challenges around Stuart Park, Wollongong and completed a Leadership education session. A key focus of the day was for athletes to build their leadership skills whilst overcoming physical and mental barriers.
“The IAS is about developing athletes holistically and to build future leaders in the community,” CEO John Armstrong said. “The Leadership Day recognises resilience, leadership and communication skills and allows athletes to put the athletes to put them into practice.”
Athletes were separated into four tribes, with each tribe having a range of abilities, ages and sports to allow all participants to play a part in the team and bring unique, individual skills.
To begin the day, the tribes battled it out in a max repetitions strength challenge before heading to the beach for an obstacle course. The tribes were linked by a rope and needed to navigate tyres, hay bales, nets and other obstacles around Wollongong North Beach. The tribes used teamwork, effective communication and problem solving to collect ocean water, keep as much of it in their cup and deliver it back to their tribe bucket.
Another challenge for the day was the Amazing Race, where in smaller groups they cracked the checkpoint clues to complete a range of tasks including burpees, puzzles, building sandcastles, eating lemons, counting rice bubbles and throwing eggs.
A favourite event for the day was the Tug-O-War, tribes went head to head and the athletes proving the success of the IAS Strength & Conditioning by breaking not one but two ropes!
The Leadership Day finished with a Yoga and Stretch session, including the final tribe challenge for the day – the sit and reach test.
After completing all the mental and physical challenges throughout the day, Green and Red Tribes were tied on equal points. The ultimate decider was a team plank off with the final two athletes planking for over 12 minutes. After a tough fought battle, Brody from Red Tribe won it for his team. Congratulations Red Tribe!
The leadership and resilience education session, run by Australian Basketball legend, Glen Saville and Savvy owner, Angela Saville, reflected on what the athletes were learning in the activities. Glen and Angela shared their experiences in business and sport, and the importance of leadership, communication and accountability.
A key message from the session was how attitude affects the results. Glen shared first-hand examples of how his attitude changed at different stages in his career and what some of the positive and negative impacts were. The athletes were inspired to have confidence as a leader and communicator no matter what their role is.
“The most rewarding thing from the camp was meeting new people and getting out of your comfort zone, the camp provided resilience and leadership for every athlete,” an athlete said.
Thanks to Savvy Fitness for a great day!
