Sports Dietitians
Sports Dietitians inspire, educate and empower active populations to achieve their performance goals.
What do sports dietitians do?
Sport dietitians specialise in sports nutrition, helping the active population maximise their exercise and performance goals. Sport dietitians can work in a range of settings including sporting organisations and institutions, private practice, media and research. The principals of sport nutrition can be applied to a wide range of athletes, from the recreational to elite, allowing sport dietitians to work with athletes of different calibres.
Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) is the professional organisation of Sport dietitians, providing the accreditation course that fully qualified dietitians have to complete to practice as a sports dietitian. For more information on accredited sports nutrition courses visit Accreditation as a Sports Dietitian.
Where are the jobs?
Sport dietitians can work in a range of settings, providing nutrition information and advice to athletes and the active population. Some examples are included below;
- Elite sporting clubs
- Sporting institutions
- Private practice (health clubs, allied health centres)
- Universities (research and/or lecturing)
- Media
- Food companies
Job titles to search
Sport dietitian
Sport nutritionist
Performance dietitian
Lifestyle Adviser
Health Coach (personal, group, community, organisational)
Project officer
Sales Representative for health food/sports food and drinks
Skills required for the job
Like all dietitians, a sports dietitian, is required to be an excellent communicator, have good people and counselling skills. A sports dietitian often works in a multi-disciplinary team, requiring excellent team work and communication skills. You should have an understanding of the pressures faced by athletes, in particular those in an elite environment, providing practical and realistic advice. Depending in the work place, other important skills include business and marketing skills as well as project management (e.g. organisation, time management, problem solving). You need to be aware of current trends, monitor the media and scientific journals, and network with other dietitians to keep up with the latest developments and the emerging research.
How to develop your skills
To give yourself the best opportunity to be job ready at the end of your degree, we recommend that you:
Volunteer at a local sports club or with senior sports dietitians as this will give you an opportunity to be exposed to issues important to athletes and the sports nutrition industry.
Find a mentor
Volunteer with Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) as the focused Professional Organisation
Join Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) as a student member
Attend Professional organisation events or seminars and set yourself a goal to meet two new people every time you attend
When you meet new people tell them (confidently and succinctly) what you want to do when you graduate. You never know but they may have a contact that they can introduce you to now or sometime in the future.
Keep updated with the current trends and emerging evidence in the area
What units or courses to study at Deakin
Master of Dietetics (required)
Recommended:
Student enrolled in the Bachelor of Nutrition Science:
HSN307: Sports Nutrition: From theory to practice
Students enrolled in the Master of Human Nutrition:
HSN709: Sports Nutrition (postgrad)
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Exercise Science:
HSE330: Nutrition for Exercise Scientists
Accreditation as a Dietitian (APD)
You can become an Accredited Practising Dietitian with the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) once you have graduated and complete the provisional APD year.