Free Day in Sydney and first day in Canberra 

Sunday was our free day in Sydney. We got a late start to the day but that didn't stop most of us. We all went to Pancakes on the Rocks for breakfast. The pancakes they had were amazing they were a thicker pancake and very filling.  After breakfast we split into groups and did different things. 

One group took a ferry to Manly Beach where they went to the Food, Wine and Sustainability festival, shopped, walked around and watched the surfers. While at the festival they checked out the different tents with delicious food.

 (Manly Beach)

(Sunset at Manly Beach)

 (Manly Beach)

Another group walked across the Sydney Harbor Bridge on the walking path and saw the amazing city of Sydney from a different perspective. After they walked across the bridge they took a ferry to Manly Beach because they wanted to see the festival and check out the cute little town. When they finished at Manly beach they headed back and walked to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge walking path and saw the sunset.   

 (view from middle of Sydney Harbor Bridge)

(Me with the Opera House in the background)

The other group spent the day relaxing and doing laundry at the hostel. We wrapped up our last night in Sydney by being treated to dinner at Bar 100 by Linda and Lisa. After dinner, Lisa took us to a view of Sydney that none of us had seen before. We were on top of the train station looking out over Sydney.

This morning, some people decided to get up early and watch the sunrise on top of the hostel. Leah and I went to the bridge to watch the sunrise and saw a double rainbow. The sunrise and double rainbow were beautiful and it was a great way to end our stay in Sydney. We left the hostel this morning at 8:00 on a big bus that took us to Canberra.

 (Sunrise from Sydney Harbor Bridge)

 (Sunrise from Sydney Harbor Bridge)

(Double Rainbow on opposite side of Sydney Harbor Bridge)

We arrived in Canberra at the Australian Institute of Sport around 12:00pm, got our room assignments, put our stuff away and then headed to lunch in the cafeteria. For the next three days while we are in Canberra we have free unlimited food for every meal from their cafeteria. After lunch we all went to a lecture on Biomechanics. The lecture talked a lot about the work they do with athletes and how they track their performance through the use of several cameras and force plates that are set up throughout the different labs. The three main sports they talked about was Track and Field, Swimming, and Rowing they went in depth about the process and showed some cool videos as well. They also said they work with Cricket, Volleyball and Basketball players. After the lecture they walked us around the biomechanics lab and showed us the cameras, and force plates they talked about during the lecture. There was time left after the lecture and walking around the facility so Ryan volunteered to do one of the tests they perform on the Track and Field athletes to show us what it was like.

 (Camera's used for different tests in the labs)

(107m track for testing athletes)

 (Force plates in the ground of the track)

(Group in front of AIS sign)

After our lecture we were given a tour of the facilities at the Australian Institute of Sport. We saw the AIS Sports arena that used to be the main building where volleyball, basketball and netball would practice but that became to much work for the workers so they built different buildings for specific sports. We also got to go in the gymnastics building, the volleyball building, the pool, and the workout room for the athletes and staff at the Australian Institute of Sport. We finished the tour by ending in this sports zone room that had several simulators and interactive activities. Some of the highlights of this room was the Skeleton simulator where you lay on your stomach and sled down a course, shooting a basketball from a wheelchair, cycling, rowing, and rock climbing.

 (Weight room for the AIS athletes)

Hope you enjoyed my post! 

Morgan Burke 

Sport Management