Stakes are high for annual Kokoda fitness tests

The largest ever group of participants in the Kokoda Challenge Youth Program will be put through their paces in fitness tests this Sunday, May 2 at North Burleigh Beach as part of their first training session – with the chance to be spotted as one of Australia’s next top athletes.

The fitness tests will be conducted by academics and students from Southern Cross University’s School of Health and Human Sciences and representatives from the North Coast Academy of Sport (NCAS), who will also be on the lookout for potential participants in the Australian Sports Commission’s National Talent Identification and Development (NTID) program, aimed at finding and fast-tracking new athletes.

The University is the Education Partner for the Kokoda Challenge Youth Program, which consists of intensive physical training, teamwork exercises and community service activities designed to help young people aged 16-18 years develop the self confidence, teamwork and leadership skills they need to realise their full potential.

Participants in the 14-month Youth Program train for and undertake the Kokoda Challenge, a 96km bushwalking team event held on the third weekend of July every year. Following the Kokoda Challenge, the highlight of the program is a visit to Papua New Guinea to work with local villagers and walk the real Kokoda Track

The fitness tests, which are traditionally held by Southern Cross University at the first training session each year, mark the beginning of the program for more than 50 new ‘Kokoda Kids,’ who hail from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Tweed Heads.

Heading up the testing team is Professor Shi Zhou of Southern Cross University’s School of Health and Human Sciences, who is coordinating the NTID National Talent Assessment Centre SCU’s Lismore campus.

“It’s an opportunity for our students to get practical experience in the fitness testing experience, but it’s also a good chance for us provide education to the young people involved on how training can help improve overall fitness,” said Professor Zhou.

“Training for the Kokoda Challenge is, of course, very demanding, so we aim to provide the participants with a baseline measurement of their fitness levels that they can use to measure their progress against at a later date.

“The tests we will be running on the participants will include a multistage shuttle run to measure aerobic power, sit ups and push ups for muscular strength and endurance, a sit and reach test for flexibility and a vertical jump, which is designed to test muscular power.

“After the initial test this Sunday we will assess the results to establish if any of young people have potential to be a sports talent and may be interested in becoming involved in our NTID testing days in May and June.”

Media alert: Media are invited to attend at 10.15am at the northern end of North Burleigh Beach as the Kokoda Kids take part in fitness tests and a tug-of-war run by staff from Southern Cross University’s School of Health and Human Sciences.

More information on the Kokoda Challenge Youth Program is available at http://kokodachallenge.com/school-teams


Photo: Southern Cross University staff Steve McFarlane and Linda Svenson (far left and far right) help Kokoda kids get into training at last years' fitness assessments (high resolution image available on request).