WAG HIGH PERFORMANCE CAMP

Between 1st to 8th September 2018, the Singapore Gymnastics (SG) High Performance WAG gymnasts and coaches from the National Squads and National Training Centre (NTC) underwent a week of intensive training camp held at the WAG National Training Centre. Apart from gymnasts and coaches from the NTC, we had some junior National Squad gymnasts and coaches from The Yard and CT Gymnastics clubs joining us at the camp.

During the camp, gymnasts and coaches had the opportunity to work with our technical consultant, Mark Calton, in specially identified programs such as strength and conditioning, basic fast track and trampoline, as well as an injury prevention program.

Having worked in various National Training Centres across different continents in his years as a High Performance coach, Mark was able to “mix and match” some of the most effective drills and progressions to introduce to our coaches and gymnasts.

Understanding that the demands of a high performance program requires an all-rounded approach to remain competitive, SG is constantly in close collaboration with Singapore National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) and SportSG Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) to work towards providing the athletes and coaches the support they need for performance.

Using the camp as a perfect platform and opportunity, a variety of education programs were introduced to the gymnasts. This included a nutrition session with our sports nutritionist where the gymnasts were educated on the importance of a balanced diet through a hands-on cooking session.

A workshop on sleep and nap education was conducted by the sport physiologist to teach our gymnasts how they may effectively squeeze in a quick snooze in the middle of their hectic day to help with performance in school and at training. The gymnasts concluded their week with the NYSI and SSI team with some team bonding games and a goal-setting session with the psychology team.

In partnership with Singapore Athletics Association (SAA), our girls and coaches experienced an introductory session to sprinting with SAA National Technical Director, Volker Hermann. Hailing from Germany, Volker introduced the basic principles of sprinting, as well as some useful drills which the gymnastics coaches can incorporate into their training program.

Thanks to Jessica and Sara from The Yoga Mandala, our gymnasts got to try out some acrobatic tricks in a space away from their usual training gymnasium. They sure had fun working in pairs and having to rely on each other to complete an acrobatic skill successfully – something quite different from their usual gymnastics training session!

With a successful first run of our NTC and Squad camp, we are excited to share that we will be organising more of such NTC and Squad camps, providing an opportunity for the nation’s most outstanding WAG gymnasts and coaches to come together, with a common goal of representing and bringing glory to Singapore at the international stage. Over the next few months, we will see Mark continue his consultancy role with SG WAG High Performance Program, implementing some sustainable changes in hopes of raising the bar for the WAG High Performance Program in Singapore.

“The training camp has been an eye-opening experience, and I was able to learn a lot more about myself and even my teammates. I feel that this camp has helped me become a better athlete, and I was able to challenge myself and overcome some of my fears under Coach Mark’s guidance and encouragement.” – Emma Yap, 13

“Training was more intense than usual, and more focused in areas we seldom work on such as trampoline and fast track drills. We also worked with different teammates from our usual training groups, which I found to be interesting as we got to know other a little better in the process. I also liked that the training rotations were up on the notice board as it gave me a clear indication of what time to move on to the next event.” – Maxine Pang, 11