Nordic Academy's Advisory Board has been established to further develop the activity of Nordic Walking in Australia.
The Board Members are experts in their respective fields, as well as experienced and passionate Nordic Walking Instructors. Their role is to provide Nordic Academy with counsel to ensure the teaching and delivery of its Nordic Walking programs continue to meet the needs of their industry's health professionals as well as the general public they serve.
Mr JIM MACK
Sports Physiotherapist - Co-owner of the South Australia Sports Medicine Centre, Adelaide SA www.sasmc.com.au
Professional Bio: Jim is a Sports Physiotherapist with expertise and interest in complex long term spinal, pelvic and lower limb problems. After a career in Sports Physio working with teams such as Adelaide Crows in the AFL, Adelaide Thunderbirds in the NNL and athletes in Track and Field and distance running, clinical interest has now turned to improving health and fitness in the general community especially those with conditions that limit mobility and exercise. Nordic Walking training and instructing has been of great benefit personally and to a wide variety of clients.
On Nordic Walking: "Nordic Walking is an enjoyable and highly beneficial fitness activity for anyone. It really comes into its own for people who want to get outside, enjoy the sunshine and our great environment, but are limited by physical ailments and lost confidence. It has been fun, effective and profitable part of my physio practice."
Ms JENENE OATES
Community Physiotherapist - Bruny Island Community Health Centre, TAS
Professional Bio: As a physiotherapist Jenene has worked across all ages and most areas of disability and disease. Her current role finds her working in two areas: a community health setting on an island off southern Tasmania, as well as a manual handling consultancy and training business. Her driving interest lies in seeking out ways to get individuals and whole communities to become as healthy as they can be (in simple ways) in order to enhance their function as well as life enjoyment. Nordic Walking has proven to be a very popular inclusion in their suite of community health services.
On Nordic Walking: "Nordic walking is a fantastic adjunct to physiotherapy for both group fitness activities and individual rehabilitation/ outpatient clients. It is a way of supporting those who need to unload painful or dysfunctional joints without using 'medical' or 'disability' based aides. It is a wellness/ fitness aide that can be used across the whole health continuum."
Mr NATHAN McKEOWN
Exercise Physiologist and Myotherapist - Director of Endless Motion, Melbourne VIC www.endlessmotion.com.au
Professional Bio: Nathan loves all things exercise, and believes that the ability for our bodies to move efficiently is a gift that we should do all we can to maintain throughout our lives. He has extensive experience with muskulo-skeletal rehabilitation, instructing Pilates and other forms of exercise. He has been using Nordic Walking as an exercise tool since 2009. Nathan was first introduced to Nordic Walking in 2007 while at university when he completed an extensive literature review on the subject.
On Nordic Walking: "As an Exercise Physiologist it is my job to find the most appropriate form of exercise for an individual. Nordic Walking is a great activity which can offer both physical support to someone with particular needs, and performance enhancement for those looking to enjoy the outdoors."
Ms KRISTEN PRATT
Occupational Therapist and Government Policy – Capital Nordic Walking, Canberra ACT www.capitalnordicwalking.com.au
Professional Bio: Kristen is an Occupational Therapist with over 30 years of experience in high-level government policy development and program implementation in social development and disability in Australia and overseas. Kristen discovered Nordic Walking in 2011 whilst living in Switzerland where she was working with the World Health Organization’s Disability and Rehabilitation team. On returning to Australia in 2014 Kristen established Capital Nordic Walking in Canberra and set her sights on being part of the Nordic Academy team to assist efforts to promote the potential of Nordic Walking to help tackle Australia’s major health challenges.
On Nordic Walking: “Nordic Walking blew me away because of how effective it is as a low-impact, whole-body workout that can be adapted to suit and meet almost every health and fitness goal. I’ve found it to be an effective rehabilitation measure that can be used to assist with injury-recovery, acute and chronic conditions including arthritis and other joint conditions, diabetes, and cardiovascular-related and neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and stroke.”
