 The Diabetes Sports and Exercise Association of New Zealand - Online Newsletter - October 2007
Welcome to this, our first online DESA newsletter. We thought a little history on the origins of DESA ~ Diabetes Exercise & Sports Association, would be an interest starting point.
Paula Harper, a registered nurse founded the International Diabetic Athletes Association in 1985. Paula, a type one diabetic for 13 years, was heavily involved in distance running and cycling. She soon met other endurance athletes - also with diabetes, and developed a small network of individuals keen to share their experiences and learn from others.
The network soon spread through the US, Canada, and Western Europe, supporting your regular everyday sports minded person through to Olympic level athletes.
In 2000 the name Diabetes Exercise & Sports Association ~ DESA was adopted.
The mission statement “DESA exists to enhance the quality of life for people with diabetes through exercise & physical fitness” has changed little since its inception back in 1985.
Here, in New Zealand, we are a growing organization or ‘chapter’ keen on supporting people with diabetes get the best out of their chosen sport/s.
In this newsletter we feature an Athletes profile on a rising track cycling star ~ 14 year old Stephanie Mckenzie, a DESA board member profile ~ Garry Dyet, and our DESA NZ Profile, the first of our “frequently asked questions” involving nutritional requirements for team athletes, and articles of diabetes heart and exercise, diabetes and weight training.
To read more about DESA New Zealand including our profile, mission and goals - please click here.
DESA NZ’s Board is made up of a group of volunteers who including a mixture of diabetics, non diabetics and diabetes experts, all of whom are sports enthusiasts.
Board member profiles will follow in future editions of the DESA NZ newsletter, you can also see a brief introduction to the Board Members on the website .
DESA NZ has been established under the New Zealand Diabetes Sports Exercise Trust and is registered as a charitable trust. Our Patron is Dr. David Gerrard who is one of New Zealand's leading sports authorities with a wealth of knowledge and experience in sports medicine.
DESA NZ is now well established and for this we must acknowledge the support and assistance that we have received from the Waikato Regional Diabetes Service and Roche Diagnostics, our principal sponsor.
 A Word from our Patron - Dr. David Gerrard
Providing a forum for physically active diabetics is a clear goal for DESA and I feel very privileged to be Patron to such a pro-active group. I endorse these goals and acknowledge the collaboration with Diabetes New Zealand through the existing network of regional membership.
Wearing my medical hat for a moment I am constantly aware that we all need to provide younger diabetics and their families with sensible, medically-informed updates on exercise options. Diabetes NZ & Local Diabetes Teams provide an excellent contact point and for those whose exercise interests become a little more serious, DESA will grow to provide a valuable collegial resource.
Drug Free Sport NZ (DFSNZ), in meeting its obligations to the Code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) requires all insulin-dependant diabetics to seek an exemption to use insulin where these athletes may be subjected to doping control. I would strongly suggest that athletes check the DFSNZ website and familiarise themselves with the process of Therapeutic Use Exemption.
Insulin is a prohibited substance in sport given its potential for misuse by some misguided athletes. Therefore every insulin-dependent athlete liable to be tested either in New Zealand or overseas must have a valid TUE.
Meanwhile for those of you out there engaging in organised winter sport or simply just keeping to your own exercise schedule keep up the good work.
I encourage you to take advantage of the DESA Discussion Forum where you can share experiences and seek the opinion of experts.
Best wishes,
David Gerrard
 DESA Board Member Profile
Garry Dyet - RSHD Enviromental Health, MSc Public Policy, Cert. NZ Town Planning
Garry lives in Te Awamutu and is the Deputy Chief Executive of the Waipa District Council and the convenor of DESA NZ for 2006 and 2007.
Garry has been a type 1 diabetic since 1971, he is a gym enthusiast and is actively involved with badminton, golf, fishing, hunting, cycling and tennis.
Click here to read more about Garry on our member profiles page.
 Athlete Profile
Name: Stephanie McKenzie
Age: 14
How long since/age you were diagnosed with diabetes:
"Diagnosed at 8 years of age"
Sport: Track cycling
Sporting career highlights:
"Chance to compete at the NZ Cycling Nationals twice in a row and to receive the U15 NZ record for the 500TT"
Goals for the future:
"To attend the Australian Youth Olympics, Junior World Champs, Commonwealth Games and the ultimate goal is the Olympics"
How do you manage your diabetes with exercise and competition?
"Using an insulin pump and I check my sugar readings regularly"
How many times a week do you train and for how long?
7 days a week between 30mins – 4 hours
Best/most useful piece of advice you ever received from anyone:
"No pain, no gain!"
Best advice you could pass on from your own sporting experiences:
"Diabetes does not stop you doing anything"
Favourite food:
Takeaway ~ Subway
Home ~ Dad’s homemade Shepherds Pie and Lasagne
Sweet ~ Grandma’s date scones
 This month's Frequently Asked Questions
With every newsletter we will be adding answers to your Frequently Asked Questions about sports, exercise and diabetes.
Here are this month's questions:
 This month's Articles
This section is dedicated to Diabetes Exercise and Sports articles. With every newsletter we will add articles relating to diabetes sports and exercise.
Here are this month's articles:
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