2016 Future Champs and Pathway to Podium athletes announced

Future Champions/Pathway to Podium - Taranaki. Photo Credit - Beth Findlay-Heath

Sport Taranaki’s Future Champions programme has been officially launched with 11 new Taranaki athletes selected in this year’s intake.
 
The programme coincided with the launch of Sport New Zealand and High Performance Sport New Zealand’s programme ‘Pathway to Podium’ held at Sport Taranaki.
 
The Future Champions programme is run locally and acknowledges and supports the development of talented young athletes in a range of different sports aged between 15-18 years within Taranaki.
 
The programme aims to assist talented athletes in fulfilling their potential and gaining higher honours.
 
Programme facilitator Guy Honnor said it was one of the hardest years to cut 31 applicants down to 11 but is looking forward to working with the athletes.
 
“From the 31 applicants probably 25 of those were New Zealand age group reps or champions in their chosen sport. We looked at their results over the past 12 months and met the athlete individually that helped us ween it down a little bit. The four on the selection panel had some choices to make.
 
“There are obviously some unlucky ones that had to miss out” he said.
 
“We have a really talented group of young athletes and this programme will help them develop into the next stage of their chosen sport”.
 
Honnor said within the 11 new athletes eight sporting codes are covered including volleyball, basketball, boxing, tennis and surfing.
 
“We like to spread it around as much as we can” he said. 
 
All of the athletes have competed at a national or international level.
 
The new intake will join the seven previous athletes who are into their second or third year of the programme. 
 
The year programme will consist of a comprehensive workshop calendar that includes individual sessions with selected providers including mentoring and personal developing sessions, performance planning, strength and conditioning, mental skills, media management, biomechanics and much more.
 
The athletes’ parents and coaches are encouraged to attend these sessions too.
 
Meanwhile the Pathway to Podium programme is a nationwide talent development programme targeting young athletes and their coaches one to three years from ‘carding’.
 
Surf lifesaver and athletics champion Olivia Eaton is the only one selected in the Pathway to Podium programme with more athletes expected to be announced in due course.
 
Selected Athletes:
(Name, age, school, sport)

Future Champions
Angus White 17 – NPBHS, Athletics
Felix Webby 16 – FDMC, Golf Croquet
Zac Reid 16 – FDMC, Swimming
Arnold Fage 16 – Hawera HS, Athletics
Emma Crewe 16 – SHGC, Football
Cassandra Wilson 17 – SHGC, Kayaking/SLS
Fletcher Broderick 17 – NPBHS, Golf
Libby Houghton 15 – Spotswood, Volleyball
Louise Waite 16 – NPBHS, Tennis
Maya Dickson 15 – NPGHS, Volleyball
Te Kapotai Tohu, 16 – Spotswood, Boxing
Joellen How 17 – NPGHS, Basketball
Matthew O’Connell 16 – FDMC, Basketball
Hannah O’Connor 15 – SHGC, Athletics
Holly Pearson 17 – SHGC, Hockey
Josh Gilbert 14 – Stratford HS, Swimming
Daniel Farr 17 – Correspondence, Surfing
Thane O’Leary 18 – NPBHS, Basketball

​Pathway to Podium
Olivia Eaton 18 – SLS/Athletics

---