In the Media

King's crew shows new regime works

Travis Meyn | Sunshine coast daily 25th September 2010

Michael King’s Mooloolaba ironman squad trains at the mouth of the Maroochy River.

coach Michael King has challenged his charges to step up and perform in the upcoming Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Series.  

King’s squad performed admirably at last weekend’s trials, qualifying seven of his crew for the series.  

Apart from Alicia Marriott winning the title, it was a lean run of results for the Mooloolaba club in the 2009-10 series.

There was pressure on seasoned competitors Matt Poole, Gemma Newbiggin and Allira Richardson to qualify at the trials and King said that would inevitably stand them in good stead.  

“I think it’s a good thing for them,” he said. “If you want to make it at the highest level, at some stage you have to have that pressure and expectation on you.  

“You’ve got to be able to stand up and deliver.  

“We’ve got bigger fish to fry now with (Shannon) Eckstein and Zane (Holmes) and all those guys.  

“It’s their opportunity now to get back in that series and try and qualify for next year so they don’t have to trial again.”  

Mooloolaba overhauled its training regime this year to coincide with changes to the Nutri-Grain series.

The series has incorporated longer races with more transitions on soft sand.  

Mooloolaba athletes have been participating in boxing sessions and CrossFit, a form of cross-training.  

“They’ve trained really hard and prepared really well,” King said.  

“We changed a fair few things around training this year to accommodate the trial and the new series, and everything we’ve done just worked to absolute perfection.  

“They looked strong the whole time, both Saturday and Sunday, and I was really proud with the way they prepared and got themselves ready to race.  

“Even on race day they had their minds on the job – you could tell.  

“We’ve been pretty lucky. We’ve got Benefit Gym at Mountain Creek that have come on board to help us do boxing and a CrossFit type of training session.  

“Even the work we’ve done here with the changeovers and more running on the beach. We’ve changed a whole heap of training around from what we’ve previously done.  

“They’ve taken it on board and been challenged by it and you can see the improvements went through the roof.” 

The series begins at Currumbin on November 21.

Marriott ponders a Gold start

Jon Tuxworth | Sunshine coast daily13th August 2010

Alicia Marriott, left, heads for the water in round four of the Nutri-Grain Ironman Series at Alexandra Headland.

Two of the past four Coolangatta Gold trophies may adorn her mantelpiece, but Mooloolaba ironwoman Alicia Marriott admits she is no certainty to defend her title this year.  

Marriott, who claimed one of the sport’s most prestigious titles last year and in 2007, revealed yesterday that she would wait until the Kellogg’s Nutri Grain Series schedule was released before deciding whether to commit to the November 7 showpiece.  

Organisers are expected to announce a revamped Kellogg’s Series format by the end of the month.  

It is tipped to include longer, more arduous races and new venues, with Victoria’s testing Portsea break rumoured to be a new addition to the calendar.  

“I’m not sure yet about the Gold. I’m waiting to see what’s happening with the (Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain) series,” Marriott said.  

“It should be announced in a couple of weeks and it would be nice to defend my Gold title, but it’s always a tough event and you have to try and find a balance.  

“I will probably make the Kellogg’s my main focus this year.”  

Marriott, who claimed her breakthrough Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Series title last summer, has opted to bypass October’s World Lifesaving Championships in Egypt to concentrate on defending her crown.  

And she is just as interested as everyone else involved to learn which direction organisers will choose to take the 2010-11 campaign.  

“I haven’t really heard too much about this year’s series just yet,” Marriott said.  

“I think it will be good to have some new locations and different types of swell to make it exciting and keep the viewers interested.”  

For now, the West Australian expat has added a stringent regime at Mountain Creek’s Benefit Gym to her schedule to help get her race fit for the warmer months. She has been giving the punching bags a workout under the watchful eye of former Australian kickboxing champion Josh Bromley.  

“It mixes up my training a bit and is something different to what I’ve done in the past,” Marriott said.  

“I think Josh has been really good at identifying some muscle imbalances and weaknesses I have.  

“Strengthening my body as a whole should make me more powerful in the bigger surf.”  

Marriott fully expects the task of defending her title will be much tougher than last year, with her main rivals sure to race strategically against her.  

“Getting to the top is one thing, but staying there is 10 times harder,” she said.  

“I am under no illusions that it’s going to be a lot tougher retaining the title.”

School physical about getting fit

Bianca Clare | Sunshine coast daily 23rd January 2010

Kassie McMahon gives Year 11 Mountain Creek High School student Nathan Fulton some fitness tips.  

pilates and weightlifting are not normally part of the school curriculum.  

However, at Mountain Creek State High School they will soon sit alongside the likes of English, maths and science to ensure benchmarks set by the state government for the enhancement of health and fitness of students are exceeded.  

All secondary schools are required to provide at least two hours of physical activity at moderate intensity in curriculum time for secondary students each week.  

When students return to classes next week, they will have access to the state-of-the-art Benefit Health and Fitness Centre.  

Sports psychologist Kassie McMahon and her partner, Australian kick boxing champion Joshua Bromley have been granted the lease to manage the facility.  

“The multi-purpose gymnasium, situated at the front entrance to the high school, will have the capacity to provide many of the students with their first experience of healthy lifestyle concepts,” Ms McMahon said.  

“It’s air-conditioned and equipped with the latest and best-quality weightlifting and exercise machinery, as well as a large fitness room for classes.  

“The facility boasts a consulting room that will soon be regularly occupied by health care professionals such as massage therapists and experts in diet and nutrition.  

“We believe that developing healthy, sustainable lifestyle habits while at a formative age will be one of the most important lessons children will learn at school.”  

Ms McMahon said the biggest challenge in getting students active was getting them away from technology.  

“That’s why we have come up with a mix of activities that are fun and improve cardiovascular fitness as well as muscular endurance and strength.”  

Memberships will also be offered to the public.  

However, there are separate change rooms for school students.