There was a flurry of activity up and down the You Yangs as 51 of our Year 10, 11 and 12 students enjoyed the mountain bike trails. From data collection, to risk assessment, and enjoying the great outdoors, there were a range of different reasons the Physical Education department ferried four bus loads of excursions out to our local range.
from monitoring heart activity for future assessments, to assessing the risk of their mountain biking adventures.
The Year 12s relished the prime opportunity to collect data for their next assessment about acute responses to exercise, explained PE Teacher, Mr Jim Graham. “They do loops of a trail for 40 minutes, monitoring their heart rate rising as they hit an incline. The heart rate elevating indicates more oxygen needs to be supplied to the muscles and the removal of C02, and in the recovery phase, the extra oxygen is used to repay the anaerobic systems that were used to make their way up the hill.”
Some students have also done an assignment on risk, and this is the practical application of that. “As we’re riding around on trails,” continued Mr Graham. “We’ll stop at the end and assess the hazards we saw and then discuss the likelihood of consequences and the level of risk? If it was only a beginner area, we can accept that risk, but we might not head over to the steeper Stockyard site, because the risk levels elevate to a point beyond the level of protective and cycling equipment they have available.”
At the end of the day they evaluate injuries sustained to see if they need to re-evaluate their risk assessment. Thankfully, they assessed it well and everyone managed to leave the You Yangs safely.