The Wykeham Collegiate Sport Science students visit Prime HPI

"We were thrilled to be able bring down our grade ten, eleven and twelve pupils to spend a day at Prime Human Performance Institute," said Debby Bird, co-ordinator of the Sport Science programme at The Wykeham Collegiate.

 

The group was given a briefing on the full range of facilities on offer and available to the general public before spending time with Dr Craig Roberts, the current Springbok team doctor.

 

After their tour, the group was given the opportunity to experience the group cycling facility using the Wattbikes in the Simulated High Altitude Chamber, effectively allowing the girls to stage a "race" against each other.

 

"This amazing chamber is the only one of its kind in Africa," said Bird. "The altitude that the girls cycled in was 2500m. Each bike was pre-programmed with the girls' height and weight and meant that they were competing on a level playing field. The monitors then plotted each girl and her progress and they were all able to view how they were performing in the race."

 

Matric pupil Nicole Brittain was then out through her paces on a VO2max machine.

 

"We discuss VO2max often in Sports Science so I was thrilled that they got to not only see the real thing but also see it in action," said Bird.

 

The pupils also got a chance to experience the anti-gravity treadmill that allows injured athletes to train supported by air. "It feels like you are running on a cloud," said Bird.

 

The visit also included several 'Functional Movement' tests performed on a pupil so that the others could see where her muscle strength & weaknesses are.

 

"This facility is truly world class and will be visited by TWC Sports Science girls on an annual basis," said Bird.