BU’s Dr Emma Kavanagh is in Australia for the Commonwealth Games, as performance psychologist and team leader for England’s beach volleyball teams.
Dr Kavanagh, a Senior Lecturer in Sport Psychology and Coaching Sciences, will be working with England’s men’s and women’s team as they aim for a medal at the Commonwealth Games, taking place on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Emma and the team have just moved into the athletes’ village as preparations continue towards the first game.
Emma said, “We have had an excellent first week out here, team England have created an incredible environment for all sports to appropriately prepare their athletes to perform at the games. To be surrounded by so many talented athletes and staff every day is inspiring. Team England is made up of about 600 athletes and support staff so it’s a fantastic experience.”
Dr Kavanagh continued, “We are here to compete and believe in our chances of winning a medal from both the men and women. The beach volleyball programme is based on pool play with the top two teams then progressing to the quarter finals and beyond which become knock out phases. We are viewing this like two different tournaments. The first job is each of our teams’ first games in their respective pools.”
Dr Kavanagh is not the only member of the BU community out in Australia, as BU student Chloe Thomas is also on the Gold Coast, representing Wales in her sport of table tennis.
The Commonwealth Games take place between 4-15 April 2018 in Australia, so keep an eye out on the beach volleyball results to cheer Emma and the team on.
