Bulletin

Issue: July 2004

Olympics

Olympics and study - they can mix successfully

How can an elite athlete - who is rated as a great chance for a medal at the Athens Olympic Games - be a successful student at the same time?

'With dedication plus the help and support of a flexible and understanding academic staff,' says La Trobe University student, Warwick Draper.

Mr Draper, who is completing an Electronic Engineering and Computer Science double degree at La Trobe Bundoora, will represent Australia at Athens in the men's Canoe Kayak Slalom event.

'It has been difficult at times to fit in both training and study, as well as annual trips abroad for world championships over the past seven years. But the support of staff in both the Department of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science has made it possible,' says Warwick.

Mr Draper began at La Trobe in 1998 and has studied both full and part time. Following the Athens Olympic Games he will devote a greater part of his time to study and intends to complete both degrees with full time study by the end of 2005.

'My teachers at La Trobe have come to know that I put in my absolute best when I have time. Because of this they have been helpful, and above all flexible, particularly with assignment dates and lectures. Their help enabled me to plan when I could do various subjects and assignments, which allowed me to work in concentrated spells when the time was available.

'In the same way, my coaches and others at the Victorian Institute of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport have been most helpful in helping me to juggle my study needs against my training needs.' His Olympic event is one of the most exciting - and shortest - events in the Olympic Games.

Competing on an artificial 300 metre white water course, he must paddle his kayak through 20 gates and other obstacles, the whole event taking only about 90 seconds. Competitors compete against the clock and lose points if they touch the poles or other obstacles.

While success in national and state championships is important, the most crucial domestic event for a canoeist is the Australian National Team Selection. Over the past two years, Mr Draper has been ranked number one in the National Team Selection for his event.

He has won the Victorian Championship three times and was second in the National Championship in 2003. He finished in 10th place in the World Championships in China in 2002 and 7th place in the World Cham-pionships at Penrith in 2003.

Mr Draper's Mini-Minor panel van, with his Slovak-made Optima design craft strapped to the roof, is a familiar sight in La Trobe car parks. He travels frequently from the campus to training on the Yarra at Ivanhoe or, when the river is high and the water wild, at Dight's Falls. He also travels frequently to a slalom course on the Goulburn River near Eildon Weir and the Olympic course at Penrith, Sydney.

Successful or not at the Olympics, Mr Draper intends to get a job in electronics when he graduates, something in which he can use the skills gaining in both degrees.

Then he might devote a bit more time to his other hobby, Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art which takes in combat, acrobatics and dancing.

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