#ISAsitevisit to Singapore Sports Institute

Site Visit to Singapore Sports Institute

After yet another ISA-organised site visit for our students to keep their pulse on the latest industry developments, our USSA Sports Science diploma students, Eugene Chew and Mandavni Cheema, share their insights from the visit to the Singapore Sports Institute, Singapore’s premier training centre providing development and support services to our elite athletes through sports science and sports medicine:

By Eugene Chew Last Friday, my class had a brilliant opportunity to visit the Singapore Sports Institute. It was an eye-opening experience and it blew our mind. We were honored to stand in front of Mr Kunalan, a well-known national athlete, and the fastest man during his time. He showed us around as we entered the Singapore Sports Institute.

The sports scientists were very patient in answering our questions and were very knowledgeable in their field of studies. It gave us a further understanding of what biomechanics is all about. Thus, we have gained a sustainable amount of knowledge to help us improve in our studies and to further develop ourselves.

We managed to experience the hypoxic room & the altitude chamber. We even saw a VO2 max analysis right before our eyes. It was very valuable for us as we finally managed to experience it rather than seeing it from our notes and hearing it from our lecturer. It is not something we see in our daily lives either.

We also managed to try out some biomechanics equipments such as the biodex, radar gun, force plates and the eye tracker. It is really amazing how an equipment can do so much . The sports scientists explained to us in detail the use of each equipment and what it measures or does.

We were stunned upon seeing how far Singapore sports has grown and how important biomechanics is for sports. We sincerely hope that sports in Singapore will keep growing and prosper. The trip to Singapore Sports Institute was indeed a valuable lesson for us and we are very grateful for the opportunity. By Mandavni Cheema

Last Friday we had an opportunity to visit the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) which is located within the Sports Hub with our lecturer Nicholas Koh. The SSI is made up of several distinct areas: the athletes’ services, the gymnasium, the human performance lab, the sports nutrition and biomechanics lab.

As soon as we entered, we met Mr C Kunalan who was extremely friendly and helpful and gave some information on SSI which provides the best support to Singapore team and athletes, so they can perform at their maximum potential to fulfil their sporting aspirations together with other goals.

A tour of the compound included a visit to the human performance lab where they introduced us to various machines. They explained the function of the lab and the most importantly to monitor adaptations of how athletes respond to training stimulus and to use this data to develop a training plan.

The one thing I really liked was personalised high altitude house. It was supposed to improve athletic performance. It looks like an ordinary house - living room, four bedrooms and kitchen area. They also introduced us to the environmental chamber where hot and cold climates as well as the altitude can be regulated to simulate performance conditions for athletes.

The final tour and the most interesting was the biomechanics laboratory which has the two functions of athletes servicing and research to improve performance and prevent injuries as well as prepare the athletes with correct strengthening exercises. Just beside the human performance lab is the sport nutrition to prepare healthy protein shakes and gym to keep them in peak condition for training and competition.

Overall it was amazing experience that had grounded me to a new interest in sport science and we are thankful to the International Sports Academy who gave us this opportunity to show how biomechanics plays a crucial role in both injury prevention as well as performance enhancement.