Distance Learning - Previous Students
Malcolm and Tracy Elley
The Elley family take their sport seriously, with Malcolm and Tracy and their three school-age children all competing in triathlon events.
They wanted to learn more about the finer points of their sport, but they feared they wouldn’t find a suitable course because they were expatriate New Zealanders working in Singapore.
Then Tracy found the University of Otago’s distance-taught Diploma in Sports Studies, and now she and Malcolm are four years through the course.
“The papers work out really well for us,” says Tracy. “Most of them are through audioconference calls, which means we can participate overseas, and we can study in our own time – although we still have deadlines to keep us on our toes."
“It’s made a huge difference to my understanding of all kinds of sport topics far beyond the technical side of training and nutrition.”
Malcolm agrees. “For instance, in sports coaching, there are so many other factors to success beyond technique, such as communication and motivation – things we hadn’t thought about before.
“The papers on sports injuries and sports nutrition are very relevant to the sports we are doing, so the Diploma is really useful.”
They’re also impressed with the quality of the course.
“A number of people here are doing remote courses,” notes Tracy, “but the quality doesn’t seem as high as Otago’s. Many of our lecturers have PhDs or are studying for them. They’re very knowledgeable and the teaching is of a really high standard.
“The administration also makes it easy for studying overseas, and for attending the residential schools that are part of the course.”
Malcolm admits that working and studying require some commitment and organisation, depending on the number of papers they choose to do, but with all the family gleaning the benefits of new knowledge, they’re competing better than ever.
Alesha Annette Daly
Alesha Annette Daly started studying psychology and social work at University, but decided they were not right for her, so she decided to switch to something she really wanted to do.
“I’d always enjoyed sport at school,” she says, “so why not turn it into a career?”
She was also missing her home environment, so she bowed out of campus life and enrolled in two distance-taught courses run by the University of Otago – a Diploma in Sports Studies and a Certificate in Health Promotion.
Alesha spent five years studying full-time from home and gaining experience and an income with a part-time job.
Working with the elderly in rest homes and in the community, Alesha found the Sports Studies course particularly relevant.
“The course made it much easier to understand exercise prescription for the elderly and how to gain the greatest benefits for our clients in the safest way.
“There wasn’t a paper I didn’t enjoy, and the lecturers and administrators were really supportive and always willing to talk to you.
“You might think that as a distance student you’d be stuck on your own but I think you probably have more support than if you are on campus. This is because the classes are small and you have so much one on one time with the lecturers.”
Now with Otago qualifications, Alesha has a full-time position with ACC, screening injury cases, working with gyms and physiotherapists, and training to handle claims involving rehabilitating clients to their pre-injury state.
“The courses I did through Otago have been so valuable. I can definitely recommend learning at a distance.”
Dave Timbs
Flight Lieutenant Dave Timbs is proof of the value of lifelong learning.
He started in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a driver, but is now managing the instruction of new officers - the organisation's future leaders.
Apart from hard work, Dave puts his career success down to study, both within the RNZAF and through the University of Otago's distance learning programme.
When Dave joined up, his interest in sport and exercise led him to apply to become a physical training instructor - a highly contested position within the forces.
His own instructor, who already held Otago's distance-taught Diploma in Sports Studies, suggested the course might give Dave an edge.
"It was certainly a very good stepping stone," says Dave, who also took a five-year internal course.
"The university diploma was a real eye-opener for me, and for someone who had coasted through school I was grateful for the help I received from the staff at Otago. The course material was top notch and administrative support was especially very good."
One of the most impressive features of the Diploma was the flexibility of the course.
"It can be difficult to balance a full-time career, family, sport and study, but this made it easy because I could choose when was a good time for me and when was not.
"During my study I was deployed overseas a few times and I could drop or pick up my studies as I needed to."
Dave reckons the Otago qualification helped put him ahead of his peers in the internal Advanced Physical Fitness Instructor Course.
"I'd already studied most of it and at a higher level. It complemented and added to my education in the force."
Until his recent promotion he was head of physical training for the Air Force, and recommended the course to all his staff.
"Many aspects of the course I still apply to my job on a daily basis," he says.
Joshua Hensman
Travelling the world didn't stop Josh Hensman from studying in New Zealand. After his honours degree he spent time in the US and the UK before stopping in Thailand for a couple of years. As an intern teacher working towards a diploma in Bangkok, he realised he wanted to be able to teach physical education. He searched for a suitable course he could take while overseas.
"There was lots of stuff around but only the University of Otago had a course as sports-related as I wanted, and with such a good reputation," says Josh. "Friends who'd studied at the School of Physical Education said it was really good."
Josh enrolled in the distance-taught Diploma in Sports Studies, which he tackled with course workbooks, CDs, and audioconferences. When he moved to Canada he continued to study at Otago. ‘The system worked really well right from the start," says Josh. "It kept improving over the five years I studied, with more material being available online. "Even though I was in another country I could join in lectures and conversations with other students."
Josh has always been into sport, but found the academic side opened up a whole new interest. "Practical subjects like anatomy and coaching have been a great help with work – I actually use what I've learned in a lot of what I do."
Currently he's working at a recreational facility, mentoring immigrant youths, but plans to move more into fitness in the future. He's confident his Otago qualification will stand him in good stead, wherever he ends up in the world.
Vicki Maguire
Starting a family spurred Vicki Maguire into making a career change.
With interests in netball, triathlons, cycling and kickboxing, she considered entering the sport and fitness industry.
"I wanted something to help me with my training, and something I could go back to work to do when my kids started school," she says.
She couldn't study full-time while looking after her kids, so she signed on for a Diploma in Sports Studies with the University of Otago.
"The School of Physical Education has a really good name, and distance learning made it easy for me to study from home. It was really flexible."
Vicki hadn't studied since she left school, so she chose to take just one paper for her first semester.
"It was a shock going back to writing an essay," she says. "I spent ages on it and got a lot of help to finish it, but after that first paper the rest were fine.
"The lecturers were easy to contact by email and the audioconferences were good for interacting with other students."
Vicki took two papers a semester after that, and even before she finished the course she signed on as a fitness consultant at her gym, where she found one of the senior trainers was a Sports Studies graduate.
She moved on to taking group fitness classes, and with her new knowledge advanced to instructing and administration. Soon she plans to get into personal training.
"The course helped especially with the input of ideas and explaining why and how we do things," she says.
"You definitely get your money's worth. I've already recommended it to friends who have seen what I have done."
Andrew Haren
Sports fan Andrew Haren dropped out of his first year at the University of Otago, a casualty of the scarfie lifestyle.
He started working his way up the career ladder at ACC, but still hankered after a tertiary education.
"I wasn't happy that I'd given up a degree course but I didn't want to compromise my work and salary at ACC," he says.
"I'd started studying at the prestigious School of Physical Education so I scoured the web for a similar programme I could follow while I was working."
He found the distance-taught Diploma in Sports Studies – also run by Otago's School of Physical Education.
"I thought the course might be going down a level but I found the lecturers were top experts in their fields, working with Olympic athletes, and they also ran the bachelor courses," he says.
"I was really impressed and challenged by the content of the programme and pleasantly surprised that I could study and work full time because of the flexible nature of the course.
"I could study at my own pace, which made for some heavy weekends, but I had some light ones too."
Over two years Andrew attended audioconferences and then worked from CDs and podcasts.
Now he's put his new Sports Studies qualification towards a Health Science degree, has just bought a house, squeezed in a few weeks of big OE, and has been promoted at ACC.
"The course is ideal for anyone wanting to get into or back to studying. It's an alternative to a four-year degree and it hasn't compromised my career. I've had the best of both worlds."
Andrew's ambitions include postgraduate work at Otago and capitalising on his business experience and academic qualifications to gain a senior post in a national sports organisation.
Birgitte Neal
Birgitte Neal was a qualified fitness instructor and personal trainer, but she felt she needed to know more about her subject.
She wanted more in-depth qualifications, but studying would have to fit around working full-time and being a mother of two teenagers.
Then she discovered the University of Otago's distance-taught Sports Studies programme, which she could study part-time from home.
"I'd heard good things about the course at Otago from people who had done it and been impressed," she says. "The fact I could do it without leaving Auckland was important."
Birgitte continued to work as a trainer, taking a few papers each year. Part way through the course she decided she was ready to make a giant leap forward – and launched her own business.
"I'd always wanted to be my own boss. The course gave me not just knowledge but also more confidence in what I was doing, so I started my own home studio," says Birgitte.
Now her In Balance Pilates and Personal Training business is in its fifth successful year – and Birgitte has completed her University of Otago qualification, the Diploma in Sports Studies.
"I really enjoyed the course, studying anatomy and physiology — and even sports psychology, which I wasn't too sure about at first — but it taught me a lot more in showing me just how much I didn't know. I still refer back to some of my papers — which I didn't think I'd do at the time.
"I learned the importance of lifelong learning. There's a wealth of information out there and you have to keep your knowledge current. That's particularly important for me, working largely in isolation, and Otago taught me how to keep learning. Now I'm keen to do further study."
Eddy Kuipers
Eddy Kuipers has turned his passion for health and fitness into a career.
A former Ruapehu ski patroller, Eddy had just finished a Diploma in Business Studies when he found part-time work at a fitness club in Masterton.
When his employer told him she was a graduate of the University of Otago's Sports Studies course, Eddy jumped at the chance to learn more.
"You could do industry training type courses, which I think are relatively weak, or you could do polytech type courses, which are in the mid-range and give you skills for the work place, but this one was Otago University and it was going to be academic based," says Eddy.
"The Diploma in Sports Studies means you can still work in a fitness club but it gives you qualifications for other areas of sport — giving you a much broader spectrum of knowledge."
As the course is distance-taught, Eddy could continue to work while he studied, and he and his wife, who works in Wellington, would not have to move from their newly-bought homestead.
"I loved the course," says Eddy. "It covered everything I was interested in. I really liked being in touch with the tutors and other students every couple of weeks over audioconferences."
Even before Eddy graduated he was promoted to managing the club he'd been working in.
"Once you have done the study and have got the Diploma in Sports Studies, people no longer question you. It helps your credibility and has certainly helped with my confidence to move forwards."
Years of ski patrol work left Eddy with a lasting love of the great outdoors, and he can see how the university qualification could help him get back out there in the future.
"Sports Studies gives you a lot of scope and creates an amazing foundation to spring off to do all kinds of things. One of these days I might move on to work in outdoor education or recreation — but this time it would be owning my own business."
Hayden Richards
When Hayden Richards left school he saw a career in sport ahead of him. Now, at just 24, he has been running his own personal training consultancy, Body Specific in Christchurch, for the last four years. One of the reasons for Hayden's success is his quest to keep improving his knowledge. He'd gained his first fitness training qualifications through the industry, but felt he needed more. "I wanted something that held more merit, and expanded on what I'd learned," says Hayden. "I wanted to know more about what I was teaching, and taking higher qualifications is a great way to measure yourself." That could have been hard while keeping his business going to pay the mortgage.
"I couldn't go back to being a student, but I found a distance-taught Diploma in Sports Studies run by the School of Physical Education at Otago University. It provides the fundamentals but also gives an insight into those areas where a lot more depth is involved.
"It's a fantastic course. You have to get out there and do a lot of research yourself – working to your own capabilities. "It's sparking off a lot more interests in other areas of the fitness industry as well, and it's allowing me to bump up my qualifications while maintaining my business and lifestyle."
Hayden, who is Ngati Parou, is in his second year of distance study, and should qualify next year. He hasn't had to leave home to study, which gives him more time for biking and climbing – and practising what he preaches. "I've been using myself as a guinea pig for training, and after stints in multisport and bodybuilding I'm used to taking my body to extremes." The combination of practice and theory seems to be paying off. Hayden looks forward to opening his own studio in the future.
Matthew Slade
He's been named University of Otago Sportsperson of the Year 2004 and he's won gold at Athens Paralympics 2004, but right now, all Matthew Slade can think about is swotting for his final University exam paper in a couple of weeks.
Matt is studying Exercise Testing and Prescription, his final paper to complete the Diploma in Sports Studies, offered through the distance learning programme at the School of Physical Education.
His spectacular gold medal success at Athens this year in the Paralympics 200-metre track event built on Matt's earlier outstanding success at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000 where he won bronze and silver medals for track events.
Matt says "I'm not really a sporty person. I always played sport at school because I had to, but I wasn't really that good." In 1997 he decided to give swimming and athletics a go. The swimming wasn't so good, so Matt focussed on athletics. His perseverance saw him compete in Sydney in 2000, the World Champs in 2002 and 2003, and then he set about preparing for the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.
Did his studies help him to prepare for Athens? Matt says the studies in Sports Science were very helpful, giving insights into training and recovery programmes. This improved his understanding of exactly what happens to the body during those processes. His studies also alerted him to the importance of the psychology of winning and the mental preparation necessary for big events.
Matt first found out about University of Otago's Diploma in Sports Studies when he was working out at his local gym in Christchurch. The owner encouraged him to start on the Certificate in Sports Studies. Matt started off doing just one paper a semester by distance learning and then he decided he might as well continue and complete the Diploma.
Managing cerebral palsy has particular challenges for Matt's study. He can read for a short period of time and writing effective study notes takes valuable time. The distance learning format of the Diploma means he can work at his own pace, reading and studying in short blocks. Participating in the audio conferences when he could and then working with tapes afterwards as an extra study support meant that he could listen until he had prepared the notes he needed.
Recently all of his time has been taken up with studying and training. After his studies are finished, Matt is hoping to take up a career in sport, perhaps sports administration or management. With the Diploma, and a solid season of coaching, Matt can also be awarded a coaching qualification, making his career prospects even brighter. In the meantime, there is that exam to get through, and an athletics club to find in his new hometown of Invercargill.
All Matt's hard work and determination to achieve his sporting goals this year and his steadfastness to complete the Diploma at Otago University are finally coming to fruition.
