Last weekend I watched "Whip It", a movie about roller derby starring Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page. I'd also seen a few roller derby clubs on twitter. So I decided to get and touch and find out what it's all about!

My first step was making contact with a club on Twitter @bcr_rollerderby (turns out the lady I was tweeting with goes by the name of "Zombietron"). So Zombietron passed on my query to the Brisbane City Rollers Secretary "Hit N Run". This was feeling just like the movie!

The Minister for Sport Kate Ellis has launched a new online resource in February to help sporting groups engage more sportspeople from culturally diverse backgrounds. Minister Ellis joined the Australian Sports Commission and leading national sports to promote All Cultures, a program that aims to connect people from new migrant groups with their local sporting clubs.

‘As the composition of our community continues to evolve then so must Australian sport,’ Ms Ellis said.

‘New migrants are two-thirds less likely to participate in sport than other Australians and that’s a real shame. They are missing out and sport as a whole is missing out.’

Sixteen year old school girl, Jessica Watson, launched her yacht on 17 October 2009. Her goal being to sail around the world non-stop and unassisted. After over 5 months at sea, she is now on her homeward stretch having left the Cape Agulhas, South Africa and is now headed for Cape Leeuwin, Western Australia.

OxfamUQ is running the second annual Sporting Chance Sports Equipment Drive to raise equipment for Queensland academies participating in the Federal Government’s ‘Sporting Chance’ program. The Sporting Chance program seeks to use sport as a means of improving Indigenous health outcomes, while at the same time giving school students more opportunities to get active!

If you have gear to donate, bring it to Campbell Place, University of Queensland St Lucia campus, on Close the Gap Day, Thursday March 25th, from 10am-2pm. If you can’t make it on the day, you can donate at the UQ Sport & Fitness Centre Reception until Sunday March 28th.

All new and used sports equipment and footwear welcome. A raffle will be held for a signed Brisbane Broncos jersey and QLD/Broncos (NRL) merchandise. Oxfam merchandise is also on sale.

www.oxfamuq.org

Active Women Australia chats to 37 year old open water swimmer Nicole Chester. This crazy woman trains in the chilly waters off the Victorian coast!

Women on the Australian swim team are as follows:

2010 Commonwealth Games

Female (23): Bronte Barratt (Q), Alicia Coutts (Q), Sophie Edington (Q), Blair Evans (WA), Felicity Galvez (NSW), Katie Goldman (Q), Marieke Guehrer (V), Melissa Gorman (Q), Samantha Hamill (Q), Belinda Hocking (NSW), Leisel Jones (V), Sarah Katsoulis (V), Yolane Kukla (Q), Samantha Marshall (NSW), Alice Mills (Q), Meagen Nay (Q), Kylie Palmer (Q), Leiston Pickett (Q), Stephanie Rice (Q), Jessicah Schipper (Q), Emily Seebohm (Q), Ellie Cole (V), Annabelle Williams (Q).

2010 Pan Pacific Championships

Female (27): Angie Bainbridge (NSW), Bronte Barratt (Q), Cate Campbell (Q), Alicia Coutts (Q), Danielle De Francesco (Q), Sophie Edington (Q), Blair Evans (WA), Felicity Galvez (NSW), Katie Goldman (Q), Melissa Gorman (Q), Marieke Guehrer (V), Samantha Hamill (Q), Belinda Hocking (Q), Leisel Jones (V), Sarah Katsoulis (V), Yolane Kukla (Q), Grace Loh (V), Samantha Marshall (NSW), Alice Mills (Q), Meagen Nay (Q), Kylie Palmer (Q), Leiston Pickett (Q), Stephanie Rice (Q), Jessicah Schipper (Q), Emily Seebohm (Q), Kelly Stubbins (V), Tessa Wallace (Q).

Extra special congratulation to the ladies whose names appear in pink because this is their first Commonwealth swim team!

 

Despite decades of psychological research to the contrary, the myth that natural ability makes an athlete superior persists. In fact, if you listen to the commentary of nearly any sporting event you will hear the “expert” describe the “natural talent” a given player exhibited throughout his or her life, which has culminated in present day successes.

Everyone believes in talent. Especially the experts. And the reasons are somewhat intuitive. A person has more fast-twitch muscle fibres, so she MUST have been born to be a sprinter. Another athlete is simply so tall she was always going to be a gifted basketball player. Or perhaps an athlete always showed promise, literally from the day she first crawled or walked. Physical endowment is visible. Shape and size, agility, and strength are all visible. That is what makes the “natural” argument so obvious.

Yet several decades of research has more or less debunked the claim that there is any such thing as “natural” ability. That is not to say that genetic endowment is irrelevant. Genetics provide a “natural capacity”, but the ability to perform at high levels is something that is developed, acquired.

Winners of the Novice Race

On Sunday, 14 March while a lot of us were taking advantage of the drizzly weather by staying in bed, around 80 committed women ignored the rain to participate in the Project PQ Women's Racing Series 2010. 

The four race series has been organised by a women's cycling team - Balmoral Masters Women (BMW) with the assistance of Cycling Queensland and sponsors. 

Sunday was the first day in the series. The women's ages and levels of experience varied greatly, but everyone was catered for. Over 30 novice riders were involved in the 60 minute skills session and 15minute+2 laps simulated criterium race. And guess who won?? Our lovely cover lady Margie Bale!! 

We caught up with the Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, and had a chat about how she manages to fit in exercise on top of running a state!

The awards night dinner was held in February at the Waterview Convention Centre, Bicentennial Park (Sydney Olympic Park). Guests were entertained by Scott Finnie, Belilnda Adams and a Brazilian Dance Group.

Female winners on the night included:

 * Norma Stead (Kiama) : Distinguished Long Service Award for services to Tennis.
* Yvonne Talbot (Beverly Hills) : NSW Volunteer Award for services to Wheelchair Sports NSW
* Clary Munns (Seven Hills) :  NSW Masters Athlete of the Year for Swimming. 
* Kara Leo (Cranebrook) : NSW Young Athlete with a Disability Award for Swimming. 
* Megan Dunn (Dubbo) :  NSW Young Athlete of the Year for Cycling.
* Dani Samuels (Merrylands)  : NSW Athlete of the Year for Track and Field.

Congratulations ladies!