What is the GAPS Programme?

Let’s discover how it can be carried out by taking a look at what is involved in the GAPS Programme.

View this video which aired on Channel 7 News Gold Coast, for an introduction to the GAPS Programme.

GAPS camps

The GAPS Programme camps are a unique opportunity that allows athletes and their coaches to experience high-performance coaching and performance support services that are not readily available in developing countries of the Pacific.

There are three 5-day high-performance camps located on the Gold Coast, Australia and hosted by Griffith University. To deliver these high-performance camps, the CGF and Griffith University partnered with:

• The City of Gold Coast
• Runaway Bay Sports Super Centre
• The Queensland Academy of Sport

Strategy and meaning of the GAPS acronym

A three-stage strategy is used to focus on specific outcomes for the athletes. This framework of the GAPS Programme is based on the acronym: GAPS.

Listen to Associate Professor Clare Minahan explain this acronym.

Gather – gather information about the current health, training status, and high-performance practices of the participating athletes and support staff.

Adjust – adjust, where the appropriate, current athlete and system practices.

Prepare, Practice, and Provide – this stage will help:

• Prepare athletes and coaches to transfer their knowledge learned during the GAPS Programme to their domestic programmes
• Practice techniques learned during the GAPS Programme
• Provide athletes and coaches with feedback regarding athlete progress over the 18-month period

Sustain – This is across all camps where the goal is to sustain the transfer of knowledge throughout and sustain the whole programme in its ongoing delivery.

Who is the programme open to?

The Programme is open to all Oceania Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs), and at least one athlete from each of the 12 CGAs in Oceania is guaranteed a place at the camp. The Australian and New Zealand CGAs voluntarily agreed their athletes would not participate in the GAPS Programme.

For successful implementation, it is critical to ensure that the programme is limited to highly motivated athletes with the potential to both compete at the highest level and benefit from a rigorous high-performance programme.

The GAPS Programme was therefore limited to Oceania’s top 50 athletes and their coaches. In addition, sports were also limited to the five sports that Oceania predominantly competes in. These are Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Lawn Bowls and Swimming.