PDHPE
Triathlon Report
On Wednesday and Thursday of week 5 a number of athletes attended the All Schools triathlon in Penrith. The event was held over two days. Individual races were on Wednesday and the team’s events was conducted on the Thursday.
Cooper Marle competed in the junior division (12-14Yrs). This race comprised of a 400m swim, 10km bike ride and 3km run. He completed the three disciplines in a time of just under 39 minutes to finish in 21st position overall out of 149 competitors and 4th overall out of the 30 combined Catholic Colleges category (CCC) competitors. He was only 3 seconds off finishing on the podium in this category. His race was interrupted for over an hour due to a serious injury in the female event. The organisers did an amazing job caring for the athlete in question. This included accessing the CareFlight helicopter to assist in her treatment. The race resumed with a final 5km bike and 3km run. Because of the mass start after the interruption, it was impossible to determine finishing positions until after the event concluded and times were adjusted.
The intermediate division (15-16Yrs) included 4 athletes from SJPC. This event was comprised of a 600m swim, 15km bike ride and 4km run. Lachlan Marle completed the distance in a little under 55 minutes placing 26th overall out of 118 male competitors and 10th in CCC out of 40. Tom Ylinen finished in 47th position and 14th in CCC. Molly Irving finished in 71st position in the female category and 14th in the CCC division. Josh Gordon withdraw after the ride due to a leg injury. He is keen to represent again next year when he will be eligible for the same age group.
On Thursday the teams event was held. This is the largest single day school event in Australia with over 2000 competitors participating. The intermediate relay of swimmer Cooper Marle, rider Thomas Ylinen and runner Lachlan Marle finished in 23rd position overall out of 282 teams and 7th in CCC out of 47 teams. Many schools do not bring triathletes, just their best swimmer, cyclist and runner, so this was an outstanding result from these boys.
Fitness Test
Students in years 7 -10 have been participating in the multi-stage fitness test or ‘beep test’ as it is more commonly known. The idea behind completing this task is to promote and assess aerobic or cardiovascular endurance. We have started an ‘honour board’ in the PE staffroom that recognises the boy and girl with the highest score in each year level.
We understand that not all students will do well in this test, but encourage everyone to attempt to improve their result throughout the year and set themselves a realistic goal.
Parents please discuss your child’s result and how you can assist with this improvement. Compare your child’s results with honour board results and the norms in the table below. Remember the recommended amount of exercise is 30 minutes per day at least 4-5 times per week. Why not make this a family goal?
| Year Level | Name | Progressive result |
| 7 |
Riley Woods Jade Newton |
Level 12.5 Level 9.6 |
| 8 |
Beau Guthrie Charlize Morrison |
Level 12.3 Level 10.1 |
| 9 |
Finn Klinkers Zara Temesi |
Level 13.7 Level 11.3 |
| 10 |
Jayden Duff Layla McDonald |
Level 14.3 Level 10.2 |
Male beep test norms
Female beep test norms
PA4E1 Testing Next Wednesday
Many year 8 students were involved in a study to measure physical activity in 2019. The ‘Physical Activity 4 Every 1’ (PA4E1) program will be conducting further testing next Wednesday on the same year 9 students.
Why is the research being done?
Physical inactivity greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity, and is thought to be responsible for around 1.9 million deaths in Australia each year. As low levels of physical activity in adulthood are associated with low levels during the adolescent years, the promotion of physical activity during the adolescent years is suggested to be one way to reduce these rates of illness. This study will test whether the PA4E1 program is effective in increasing adolescent physical activity levels.
What is required of your child/children for the measurements in this study?
Students will be asked to do the following in Term 1 or 2 of Year 9 (2020), and Year 10 (2021);
*Wear an accelerometer for seven consecutive days (including five school days and two weekend days) from the time they wake up in the morning, until when they go to bed in the evening. An accelerometer is a small portable device that attaches to their wrist, which measures the amount of physical activity a person does. Using accelerometers is considered a good way to do research where physical activity is of interest. As with all of the information collected in this program, the information collected from the accelerometers is confidential and the student’s name will not be recorded with them.
*Provide their mobile phone number. Students will be sent a text message each morning to remind them to wear their accelerometer. They will also be sent a text message to remind them to bring the accelerometer back to school after one week. The number will not be used for any other purpose.
*Complete a computer or paper survey in class which will ask about their attitudes about physical activity, and their physical activity and other health behaviours. The survey will take approximately 30 minutes of class time for your child to complete.
*Allow study researchers to measure their height and weight. Trained data collectors of the same gender as your child, with child protection clearance, will conduct these measurements. Measurements will be conducted in a private place, the results will only be visible to the trained data collector and students will be fully clothed.
Kurt Marle
Leader of Learning - PDHPE