Thursday 15 September 2016

Olympic Visitor to Room 10

Throughout this term we have been busy learning all about the Olympic Games. We have had a blast learning all about the Ancient Olympics, the motto, the values, the Olympic Events and Athletes.

This week we had a special event in our Olympic learning journey - we got to have a real New Zealand Olympian in our classroom! It was extremely exciting to talk with someone who has represented New Zealand at not 1 but 2 Olympic Games.

Robbie Manson is a Rower - who has represented New Zealand at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the Double Sculls Event.

He spoke with us about the training required, the importance of setting goals, working hard, enjoying what you do, respecting others, what is required and what it is like to be a top level athlete.

We were all shocked to hear about the intense training that is needed - 3 training sessions a day, 6 days a week! It is a full time job to be a top level rower and train to represent New Zealand at the Olympics.

It was also interesting to hear how athletes are selected to represent New Zealand at the Olympics. With rowing there are a lot of steps to achieve to be selected to go to the Olympics - first the boat needs to be qualified and then the people need to be selected. This means that you might win a race at the World Championships and earn the boat a spot in the Olympics, but this doesn't mean you have a spot in that boat. You still need to trial for that spot to earn yourself a spot in the boat!

The two most important messages we can all take away from Robbie's visit are:

1 - There is a sport out there for everyone. Keep trying sports until you find one that you enjoy.

2 - To be a successful athlete it takes hard work, motivation and determination. You need to enjoy what you do and be motivated to go out there and better yourself every time.


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