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When Ken Ravizza, Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, California State University, was asked to speak at SPARC’s Winning on the World Stage Conference in February 2009, he jumped at the chance.
That says a lot, coming from someone who is a leading authority on stress management and mental skills training for peak performance. As one of the top peak performance consultants in the world, Ken has worked with high-profile US professional sports people and organisations as well as at Olympic and international levels, both within the US and around the world.
“I love coming to New Zealand and experiencing the way they do things down there,” says Ken. “They really embrace the ‘no poppy too tall’ concept and ensure everyone has the chance to be heard. And once again, they didn’t disappoint.”
The aim of SPARC’s Winning on the World Stage conference was to provide an opportunity for New Zealand’s elite ‘sporting minds’ to gather under one roof to network, explore opportunities and debate. Key personnel and sector partners came together to achieve an integrated and more effective knowledge of the Olympic and World Cup environment in order to provide a greater opportunity for New Zealand’s sporting future.
When Ken first saw the programme he was very excited.
“I scanned the programme and couldn’t wait to get there to interact with coaches, researchers and athletes as well as the academics,” says Ken. “And there it definitely met my expectations. It was a great chance to catch up with old friends and enjoy the social side of it too. That’s always a big part of events like that as it gives people the opportunity to have informal discussions and learn from each other. It may sound trite, but the food was excellent too, and the coffee breaks were long enough to get communications going.”
As you’d imagine, Ken attends many conferences around the world, but he never turns down the opportunity to come to New Zealand.
“Many conferences I’ve been to invite speakers along and they come in, speak and leave. But that wasn’t the case at the Winning on the World Stage Conference,” Ken says. “To see the likes of Graham Henry there throughout the three days, taking part in discussions and listening intently to speakers from all levels was amazing, along with Wayne Smith sitting up the front of each session taking it all in. There’s no ‘I’ve done it all, don’t expect me to listen to what you have to say’ attitude when it comes to New Zealanders and I think it’s something they take for granted. The way they share information and don’t keep secrets from each other has so many advantages, you just wouldn’t get that anywhere else in the world.”
