2019 PINES IOC scholarship: student experiences

With the generous support of Sportsoracle, PINES is able to offer two IOC Diploma in Sport Nutrition Scholarships. These scholarships are awarded annually, based on applications by candidates from all corners of the world. Hoh Hui Shan from Malaysia and Isabel Martinez from the Philippines were the successful applicants for 2019. We asked both, to share their experience in a short report.

Hoh Hui Shan – Malaysia

I have worked with the national elite water sports athletes for four years as a dietitian and I am happy that some of the athletes I worked with, qualified for the upcoming Olympics Tokyo 2020. Now I am branching out to work as a swim coach and dietitian with triathletes, distance runners and developing young swimmers; coaching them in terms of their swimming training and nutrition. Throughout the year, I have also delivered sports nutrition talks for local sports science/sports specific courses, provided nutrition consultations, conducted swim training camps, coached swimmers, open water swimmers and triathletes. After providing nutrition consultations, I am happy to know that the athletes are applying the nutrition knowledge imparted to them and that they are reaping the benefits of good nutrition practices which assist them to reach their respective sports performance goals.

When I started working with the local sports community, I found that many of them are sports enthusiasts who want to improve their performance, but they do not have adequate sports nutrition knowledge. The pool of dietitians to impart accurate information on sports nutrition to the community in Malaysia is also very limited. I will definitely try my best to contribute more to the Malaysian sports community.

The IOC Diploma in Sports Nutrition Course has helped me gained in-depth knowledge on sports nutrition. It kept me updated in the latest-research findings and learning ways to search the literature and then transfer my readings from scientific evidence and put them into everyday practice. It is really interesting and wonderful to learn online as the lectures are conducted by worldwide top lecturers who share their information from different parts of the globe. Furthermore, completing the course online gives me a lot of flexibility to use my time in a more effective and efficient way. I am really grateful for the opportunity and scholarship given by PINES. I am looking forward to my second year of the IOC course!

Isabel G. Martinez – Philippines

As one of the 2019 SportsOracle and PINES scholarship recipients, I am pleased to share that the IOC Sports Nutrition Diploma has been an enjoyable and high-yield experience so far. Having recently graduated from my Master of Science program in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois, the program has proven to be the ideal culmination of my studies as it complements my background in both nutrition and exercise physiology.

What I found most valuable in the program is its flexibility. It really helped me explore side projects with athletes while pursuing full-time employment. I found the set-up very convenient as I am able to complete each of the modules and the assignments at my own pace depending on my current workload. I still found the assessments challenging despite having similar graduate school assignments. Thus, I would recommend this course to post-graduates who would like to be trained in-depth in the field of sports nutrition.

Volunteer work with Yancy F. Kaibigan – member of the Philippine National Team for Windsurfing as they prepare for their races this year including the 2019 RS:X World Championships and the 2019 SEA Games

Many nutrition and kinesiology graduate programs would offer classes in sports nutrition; however, based on personal experience, these classes do not provide the information that’s as specific as the ones discussed in the IOC program. In addition to this, I highly appreciate that each topic is discussed by leading experts in each field and that they are able to share the most recent work from their respective research groups. I also commend the efforts of the program administrators in taking time to engage with students in the discussion boards. In addition, with PINES being composed of highly-experienced professionals in the field, you get to connect and network with individuals around the world.

I would like to thank PINES and IOC for this opportunity and I look forward to the second year of the program. I have yet to see how the diploma will benefit the future of my career as a sports dietitian, but I am hopeful that students like me, coming from developing countries with unorganized sporting bodies, will be able to create opportunities to practice at home, if not abroad. Ideally, an optional internship within the program would be valuable; exploring the possible opportunities that the program administrators may be aware of would be a worthwhile effort.

All in all, as a student under the IOC Sports Nutrition program, how much you take away from the program is equivalent to how much effort you put into it. I am very grateful to have had the chance to take the program and have access to multiple resources and experts in the field of sports nutrition. I look forward to opportunities to work in high-performance sports organizations either at home or abroad, where I can put into practice all the experiences and skills I have learned in the past years.