New sports psychology researcher announced at USQ

Australia’s elite sportsmen and women should build their educational and career performance as a path to medal-winning success according to a newly appointed Sport Psychology Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland.

In an innovative partnership with the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS), Professor Peter Terry will divide his time between USQ and coordinating the psychological support for Queensland’s elite sport performers at the QAS.

Professor Terry, who is also the national Chair of the College of Sports Psychologists of the Australian Psychology Society, has worked at London’s Brunel University and with the 2000 British Olympic Team, said not only did extra-sporting activities such as university study open up career paths for later in life but also had the potential to contribute to the well-being and ultimately the sporting performance of elite athletes. 

“It’s an important development in elite sports that academies and sporting clubs encouraged and provided support for their athletes in developing post-sports careers,” he said.

He said modern elite sportspeople trained and travelled extensively which made study difficult.

“However, modern distance education and e-learning, as practised by universities such as the University of Southern Queensland provide multiple options for busy people so that they can study in their own time anywhere in the world,” Professor Terry said.

USQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Swannell congratulated Professor Terry on his success and thanked the Queensland Academy of Sport for its support.

“This is extremely generous of the QAS and will assist in the development of important sports-related research at USQ,” Professor Swannell said.

He said sporting and academic achievement went ‘hand in glove’ and that USQ, through its leadership in distance education and e-learning had over recent years attracted a range of elite sportspeople including members of the Australian women’s hockey team, Queensland and Australian cricketers, the Broncos rugby League team, swimmers, Olympic-medallist canoeists, and members of the ACT Brumbies rugby union team.

Further Information: Deborah Marshall, Marketing and Public Relations

Phone: 07 4631 2495; Email: marshald@usq.edu.au