About the camp:

MISSION STATEMENT:

Diabetes Fits sports camp aims to promote safe physical activity for individuals with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes through education and hands-on learning.

BACKGROUND:

The difficulty of managing blood sugar levels causes much frustration and annoyance for people with insulin-dependent diabetes, as well as their surrounding friends and family. Furthermore, we all know that daily physical activity is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But exercise itself often seems to make matters worse when you have diabetes!

Does this sound familiar? If so, you already know the reason why this camp was started!

Calculating how much insulin to take for a meal is a complex matter which depends on a seemingly countless number of factors:

• Your carbohydrate to insulin ratio
• How many carbohydrates are contained
• What type of carbohydrates they are (low vs high glycemic)
• What they are served with and how they are prepared
• Correction bolus, if required
• Your health (i.e., illness)
• stress levels
• age
• even your gender!

And exercise, even a simple 30 minute walk, can make these decisions even more complicated! Sometimes, you may find your blood sugar to go down, for example, during a casual bicycle ride, but then skyrocket during a bicycle race.

AIM:

The Diabetes Fits logo represents the three most important components of optimal diabetes management: a proper diet, a controlled insulin regimen and regular EXERCISE! Indeed, these factors are so important that Dr. Elliot Joslin developed the 'Victory Medal' (1950s) to recognize those who effectively managed their health using this 'treatment triad'.

Diabetes Fits sports camp's PRIMARY aim is to teach individuals with diabetes how to minimize blood sugar fluctuations which are caused by exercise. The program includes educational seminars (see Camp Agenda), motivational talks by athletes with type 1 diabetes, and group discussions to teach techniques that were developed through years of research. However, Diabetes Fits must and will ALWAYS emphasize that we do not have all the answers - we simply offer a way to communicate important skills which promote safer and healthier participation in physical activity and sports.

The camp is geared for ALL LEVELS OF FITNESS: for example, those who are interested in starting an exercise regimen for the first time, to the weekend warrior, and even those who want to take their marathon or triathlon training to a new level! Parents are strongly urged to attend alongside their son or daughter with diabetes - the information gained will be invaluable to establishing a strong foundation for your child's future health and quality of life.

We also aim to improve fitness and sports technique with swimming, biking, running and general fitness (i.e., circuit training) sessions taught by top level coaches and instructors (see staff bios) FOR ALL LEVELS OF FITNESS. The camp will be held at the University of Western Australia's School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health (SSEH), Crawley campus. The swim session will be conducted at the UWA Aquatic Centre, while the scenic path along the Swan river will provide a beautiful setting for the running and biking sessions. For those who are not up to these three sports, general fitness sessions will be provided in the school's fully equipped strength and conditioning facility. Educational seminars will focus on proper nutrition and training while sport's psychology sessions will provide ways to keep motivation high no matter the condition (see agenda for more details).

In summary, Diabetes Fits aims to improve overall health benefits and most importantly, the ENJOYMENT of any kind of exercise by optimizing management of blood sugar and improving the physical skills necessary in sports and physical fitness regimes.