Strait Forward – Torres talent put to the test
The search for talented young athletes on the road to Brisbane 2032 has reached all the way to Tagai State College’s Secondary Campus on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait where around 40 students have been put through their paces by Queensland Academy of Sport performance staff.
The remote YouFor2032 testing session comes on the back of a state-wide rollout of testing clinics in 2022 that has seen more than 2,250 young Queenslanders aged 13 to 23 participate in the program to date, including sessions at Cherbourg, St George, Bundaberg, Yarrabah and Charters Towers.
The young athletes are assessed for their physical and physiological capabilities including speed, power agility, strength, endurance and high-performance mindset on equipment such as a vertical jump device and sprinting gates.
Australia’s largest athlete identification program aims to test 20,000 people over the next two years before selecting 400 for specialist support – aged 13-23 for Olympic sports and 13-30 for Paralympic sports.
The goal is to widen the net to ensure nobody is missed over the next decade and get as many Queenslanders as possible on the podium at the Brisbane 2032 Games.
The program is being run in partnership with sporting organisations, schools, universities and school sports districts, targeting 15 Olympic and eight Paralympic sports.
More than 1500 students attend Tagai State College, spread across 17 sites throughout the Torres Strait Islands, and the QAS will return to the Torres Strait for further YouFor2032 testing sessions in mid-2023.