National Lead: Biomechanics
Position Description
Position: National Lead: Biomechanics
Location: New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Sydney Olympic Park
Basis: Partnership position with NSWIS, full time contract through until 31st December 2024
Department: High Performance
Reporting relationships: Day to day management by NSWIS Head of Movement Science, with the National lead role reporting to General Manager High Performance
Internal relationship: AA high performance staff, Event lead coaches
External relationships: National institute network (NIN), key university contacts, key high performance coaches and athletes
Approved by: General Manager High Performance
Date approved: January 2021
Athletics Australia Athletics Australia is the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Australia. Together with our State and Territory-based Member Associations, we are charged with ensuring the encouragement and promotion of athletics in Australia and acting in the best interests of the sport of athletics. Athletics Australia is also charged with ensuring adequate representation of Australia in athletics at the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games and other international meetings.
Position Summary Based at the NSWIS in Sydney Olympic Park, the National Lead: Biomechanics is responsible for the coordination and development of the national framework for Athletics Biomechanics and leads the national network of quality assured Athletics Biomechanists to deliver this framework. In conjunction with the NSWIS Athletics program the role will deliver high level biomechanical services, coordination and advice to athletes and coaches within the Sydney daily training environments (DTE), and performance analysis for assigned Athletics Australia teams.
NSWIS Athletics Program The NSWIS Athletics program is a partnership between NSWIS and AA. Athletics Australia operates an athlete focused Coach lead environment. This involves working side by side with coaches and their squads to individualise support for athletes.
Providers will work collaboratively within the NSWIS program to impact athlete performance as well as part of a National network, collectively contributing to performance outcomes, the growth of the sport and the effectiveness of the discipline nationally.
National Lead Key Responsibilities • Develop and implement world-leading Athletics biomechanics support through systematic collection, analysis and application of data focused on improving athlete performance, focused particularly in the Sydney DTE while facilitating best practice nationally. • Develop and lead a national network and framework of quality assured athletics biomechanists within the SIS/SAS system to prioritise and deliver a range of services and projects that support targets established by Athletics Australia. • Work collaboratively with coaches and the performance team to optimise biomechanical development while adopting a biomechanics problem solving approach to develop systems that provide best practice objective assessment and feedback to impact athlete technique development which support the physical preparation of athletes. • Drive a culture of continuous improvement by constructively challenging the knowledge and capabilities of coaches and athletes by adopting and
promoting a collaborative approach to planning, preparation and performance that optimises internal and external expertise and closes ‘gaps’ to achieve optimal performance and continued athlete development. • Continually improve and develop the biomechanical service to ensure Australian athletes and coaches have a competitive advantage on the international stage, while continuously linking Athletics Australia’s philosophies and ways of working to consistently align NSWIS sport and system partners operational frameworks and technology platforms. • Integrate with all Performance support staff to apply a holistic approach to deliver solutions for technique development and deliver joint projects and initiatives that support Athletics Australia and NSWIS to keep pace with emerging technologies. • Lead and facilitate the national framework for recording and distributing competition biomechanical data and analysis through both the domestic and international competition structure. • Be the senior driver of research projects in athletics biomechanics nationally. • Within official Athletics Australia camp-based environments and/or other state based DTEs provide biomechanics support through systematic collection, analysis and application of data focused on improving athlete performance. • Collaborate with other Athletics Performance Services, the SIS/SAS network and the academic sector to assist with the implementation of an applied athletics research program aligned with Athletics Australia’s High Performance objectives and consistent with the applied research processes of NSWIS. • Lead the administration of a national repository of protocols, guidelines and templates etc. for approved support providers to access across the country. • Liaise with key AA and SIS/SAS staff from other disciplines (e.g. coaches, physiotherapists, physiologists, engineers etc.) for skill assessment and follow up program development in a multi-discipline approach to support delivery. • Adopt NSSQA processes to standardise appropriate measurement methodologies, screening regimes and reporting processes on a national basis. • Adopt and follow the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) SSSM Best Practice Principles under the ASC's Mandatory Sports Governance Principles. • Work within the relevant rules and codes of practice/conduct for Athletics Australia, NSWIS, World Athletics, World Para Athletics, AOC, PA, CGA and SIA as appropriate and required.