Physiotherapy alumni support Wales in European Championships

BSc Physiotherapy alumni, Oliver Wilding and Jonny Harper recently attended the 2016 European Touch Championship alongside academics from the School of Healthcare Sciences; Physiotherapy Lecturer, Tim Sharp and Professor Nicola Phillips. The biennial international event welcomed thousands of competitors from 14 different countries for the sporting tournament in Jersey which was held on 7^th July to 10^th July 2016.

Oliver Wilding, BSc Physiotherapy alumni, has supported Team Wales in the Touch Rugby Championships two times already; in his second year of studying Physiotherapy at Cardiff University he travelled to Swansea to support the European Championships in 2014. In addition, with the support of a Cardiff University Global Opportunities Grant, Oliver was selected to travel to Australia to assist players competing in the World Championships in 2015.

Oliver said ‘This year was different to previous years of working alongside the team as I was a year qualified. I feel that by taking part in the Inspire programme throughout university has helped me to start developing my understanding and clinical reasoning in sport at an early stage in my career.’

‘Conversely, without the Inspire programme, I feel I would have lacked understanding of physiotherapy in sport and would therefore would have lacked confidence when treating my patients in this setting.’

‘Whilst in Jersey, I had the opportunity to work alongside more experienced clinicians and observe different techniques used to treat a variety of conditions. I feel the most important thing I have developed over the last year, between Australia and Jersey, is the ability to work as part of a team. I think in order to continue to improve on my team working skills, I need to develop my understanding of when to take a break!’

Jonny Harper, BSc Physiotherapy alumni added ‘The week was really good fun and it was nice to be part of a team which worked so well together and had so many different approaches and skill-sets to learn from. I learnt a huge amount clinically and it has given me more confidence working in an acute and occasional fast paced environment.’

‘It is a real reminder for me about how much I actually love physio work and how happy I am that I made the choice of coming to Cardiff too!’

Speaking about the Championships, Professor Nicola Phillips, said ‘Within the BSc Physiotherapy programme we are so privileged to be able to offer opportunities like these to our students and alumni. It’s a chance for them to gain exposure and develop their knowledge and skills as a professional by working with a variety of athletes in a competitive environment.’