Peak Performance: Felicity Devey on ‘Winning Well’ for Wales

Leading sports performance nutritionist Felicity Devey will be the guest speaker at Coleg Llandrillo’s next ‘Peak Performance’ seminar.

Felicity’s talk, Making ‘Winning Well’ More Likely for Wales, will take place at the Rhos-on-Sea campus University Centre on Monday, April 7 (6pm).

The seminar is open to students and the public, and is FREE to attend. Book your place here.

Felicity has worked as a performance nutritionist with Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth, World and European medallists from across sport, including gymnasts, professional rugby union players, race walkers and sprinters.

She was selected to support ParalympicsGB at the Tokyo 2020 Games, using her expertise to help athletes deliver on the biggest stage.

As Institute People and Services lead for Sport Wales, Felicity is responsible for overseeing how sports science and sports medicine can enable Welsh athletes to thrive.

In her seminar, she will talk about her experiences and how Sport Wales has revolutionised its sports science and medicine services, and about the skills needed for future practitioners in these fields.

Felicity said: “It’s aimed at anyone considering a career in sport science or sport medicine, who works with aspiring practitioners, or is involved in coaching sport in a performance or pathway setting.

“Our approach to sports science and sports medicine has changed - it’s about understanding what it takes to change a human’s behaviour, and how to make interventions more impactful and prevent the recurring system issues like low energy availability or bone stress.

“For example, If you want an athlete to eat carbs, don’t just tell them to eat carbs. We’re looking at all the factors that contribute to that athlete’s decision - who influences them, what their role models are saying, what they’re seeing on social media and how their sporting environment can build their capability to make decisions. For example, are carbohydrate-rich snacks available at half-time or as part of their recovery practices?

“It’s not just at the elite end. It’s looking at how you develop really good practices in young people - so that by the time they’re coming through to the elite or senior level, they’re moving really well so they’re less likely to get injured, they eat and sleep well so they’re less likely to get ill. These are skills for life as well as for success in a sporting career.

“With junior athletes, we shouldn’t over-complicate it. We want them to get those brilliant basics and fundamentals right to enable them to succeed in the long term.

“If you over-professionalise at 11, making sport over-serious, they will often get fed up by 16 and won’t make it to be a senior. So how do you continue to make it fun for them so they stay in the sport, experiencing both success and development?”

Making ‘Winning Well’ More Likely for Wales is the fourth seminar in the ‘Peak Performance’ series, hosted by Coleg Llandrillo’s Sport and Public Services department.

Previous guest speakers were world record-breaking triathlete Sean Conway, FAW performance coach and Coleg Llandrillo lecturer Sam Downey, and referees’ head of coaching and development Neil Cottrill.

Upcoming seminars will feature FAW player development coach Craig Knight, and Team GB under-23 wheelchair basketball player Alex Marshall-Wilson, a former Coleg Llandrillo student.

Find out more and book your place here