Social

Thursday: Welcome Party

On Thursday evening 6 - 8pm (after the Bill Warren Workshop), there will be a Welcome Party with complimentary drinks and snacks at the Pool and Veranda Bar, Watermark Hotel. All welcome!

 

Saturday: Banquet & Polyrhythm Workshop/Performance

The Conference Banquet on Saturday night is at Mermaids Cafe & Bar - a beautiful oceanside establishment in Burleigh Heads literally 5m from the waves (see them on LIVE cam). Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian (meat/fish) dishes will be available on the night.

We are also rather excited about some entertainment envisaged for Saturday night before and after the Conference Banquet: a polyrhythmic workshop and performance with the amazing Jaider De Oliviera, a Brazilian musician and one-man percussion and samba orchestra! Jaider uses electronic recording techniques to create, on stage, multiple rhythms using about 20 different instruments (percussion, guitars, birimbau, etc.).

The pre-Banquet workshop will provide attendees with hands-on experience in bimanual movements, motor skill, and potentially unintentional coordination disorders!! His musical performance after our meals also promises to be memorable.

 

 

Sunday Lunch: Awards & Guest Speaker

After the Denis Glencross Student Poster Award is presented, we will have a special Guest Speaker. Have you ever wondered what motor control is like at extremely high velocities...like 300 kph?!
Mr. Frank Gardner
, Australian motor racing legend, will tell us what this means in terms of perception and action:

"Real motor control at 300 kph!"

Frank was instrumental 10 years ago in developing the Performance Driving Centre (PDC).

With his many years of experience in motor sport and development, he has made this experience available in the form of 2-day intensive safe driving technique seminars and practice on a racing track at Norwell, Queensland. We in the School of Physiotherapy & Exercise Science have strong research links with PDC and have a project to study the biomechanics and dynamics of safe driving technique. Frank and driving instructors from PDC plan to attend Bill Warren's workshop which should make the occasion especially interesting for those interested in the visual control of locomotion.

 

Around Surfers Paradise

Given the remarkable environment of the Gold Coast region, there will be opportunity for attendees to visit local attractions (e.g., surf beaches, rainforest treks, Movie World, Sea World, Wet'n'Wild, etc) and thus practice their motor skills.

For further information on Surfers Paradise, the Rainforest, the Sea, and the Sights, try:

http://www.reflections.com.au/GoldCoast/index.html

http://www.broflo.com.au/gct.html

If you like the waves, beach, and surfing, take a look at what to expect with LIVE video from CoastalWatch, a surf-cam company designed by the School of Physiotherapy & Exercise Science's very own web-wizard/entrepreneur, Chris Lane (see him at the conference - he's the one in the surfer shorts!):
http://www.coastalwatch.com

Also check out the LIVE video feed of the waves at the new artificial reef being constructed at Narrowneck (Main Beach, Surfers Paradise).