|PIC1|'Basil Sellers Moruya' and 'Basil Sellers Tweed' are the two respite facilities that Well-Being Australia provides for coaches and athletes of the Australian Institute of Sport.
The Moruya facility was opened in 1992, whereas the Tweed facility only became available from 2006 after Mark and Delma Tronson relocated from the NSW south coast to the north coast. Both cater for team groups, small groups and families.
M V Tronson, a Baptist minister of 32 years, pioneered the Sports and Leisure Ministry in 1982, and served as the Australian cricket team chaplain to the end of 2000, before moving sideways to Life After Cricket. He has accumulated a breadth of ministry experiences that has affirmed his resolve to promote 'respite' as a valuable and integral part of any athlete's training program.
"One picks up a surprising amount of data and research materials over 27 years in sports ministry," M V Tronson noted. "This has been augmented by numerous overseas study and speaking tours and conferences."
The one common denominator in all the lives of athletes and coaches that he has witnessed has been the importance of 'respite'.
"Respite can come in many forms; including mandatory team timeouts, a small number of athletes getting away together or family breaks," M V Tronson said. "We determined to provide facilities that could cater for these three areas."
Basil Sellers Moruya is currently undergoing a refurbishment after a donation of $50,000 from Mr Basil Sellers last year.
"At Basil Sellers Tweed, in contrast, we utilise the Surfing Australia's High Performance Centre's Domain Resort at Casuarina on the Tweed coast." Mark Tronson explained.
The Tweed respite ministry is within easy reach of the AIS training facilities for Diving, Softball, Squash, Flatwater Canoe, Men's Cricket and Women's Cricket.
The first four months of the year is when the new intake of scholarship holders join those various sport programs; so this is the time when M V Tronson is busy promoting the message of the importance of respite, so that the young athletes and their coaches start to integrate it as a regular part of their training, right from the very beginning.
"Perspective comes with the years," M V Tronson reflected. "By contrast, when you are young you feel bullet-proof, and respite is not even on the horizon, let alone the agenda, until something goes amiss."
Mark Tronson feels that successfully promoting 'respite awareness' among these young athletes is a very productive outcome.