Volunteering at the Mother’s Day Classic (2018)

Sport & Spinal Physio really love volunteering our services at the Mother’s Day Classic run every year. It is a wonderful event with a great community of volunteers and participants. We regularly have therapists volunteer their time on Mother’s Day to help out in our massage tent for a few hours. This year, David, who normally works in admin, joined Simon, Jamie, Freddy and Craig in the tent, on what was a pretty cold day in Canberra. David is a 3rd year Physiotherapy student at UC and he was keen to volunteer his time and knowledge.  Here’s David’s match report:

On the 13th of May, I had the privilege to volunteer at the Mother’s Day Classic providing a brief massage service for those who ran or walked around Lake Burley Griffin in support of breast cancer.

It was refreshing to see so many familiar faces participating on the day, but on top of that the large turnout of people who attended despite the miserable weather.  Furthermore, it was an enriching experience to be able to listen to people’s personal stories and their battle against breast cancer or the stories of friends/ families who have known or know of someone who is suffering.

As a training Physiotherapist, the Mother’s Day Classic provided me with a great learning opportunity to observe new techniques from Physiotherapist colleagues who have years of clinical experience. Moreover, this opportunity allowed me to practice both my manual handling skills and also challenged me to adapt my communication skills to people of all ages and backgrounds. This experience as a whole was an unforgettable one as it really convinced me that being a Physiotherapist is want I want to pursue and have a future career in.