New Zealand's most successful female Olympian, Barbara Kendall, has joined sporting stars Hamish Carter, Sarah Ulmer, Bevan Docherty and Claudia Riegler as a mentor in Air New Zealand's Inspiring New Zealanders Olympic Sport programme.
The scholarship programme, will see 10 young, up and coming Olympic athletes partnered with one of the five mentors. Applications for this year's scholarships are now open.
Air New Zealand Inspiring New Zealanders Olympic Sport, which launched last year, is focused on providing mentoring and support for future Olympic athletes. Each successful applicant receives two workshops during the year including one on one mentoring sessions, ongoing contact and support from their mentor throughout the year and travel on an Air New Zealand flight to compete in an international sporting event.
Recipients of last years scholarships include U23 World Champion Triathlete, - Andrea Hewitt, cyclist and winner of Gold and Silver medals at Junior World Track Championships, - Sam Bewley, long jumper, sprinter and gold medallist at the 2005 Pacific School Games, - Jessica Penney and Alpine Ski Racer and member of the New Zealand National Ski team, - Timothy Café.
Yesterday, Timothy undertook his second workshop of his scholarship which saw him spend time with Claudia in a one-on-one session and an afternoon on the slopes of Coronet Peak. Claudia and Timothy also spent time with Mike Chu, NZRU High Performance Manager and Mental Skills Coach.
Both mentor and recipient have found the Inspiring New Zealanders scholarship programme hugely beneficial over the last year.
"The workshops have helped me immensely with my motivation, drive and focus. Through Claudia sharing her experiences and providing invaluable advice, I have really improved my mental approach to race day preparation and managing the psychological pressure associated with performing at an elite level," says Timothy Café.
Timothy's mentor Claudia has also thoroughly enjoyed being part of the programme.
"Being able to share and pass on my experience and knowledge to younger athletes has been fantastic. Tim has grown significantly between the first and second workshops and it has been great to be a part of that," says Claudia Riegler.
Inspiring New Zealanders is an initiative that Air New Zealand plan to roll out over a variety of disciplines. Applications have recently closed for the Inspiring New Zealanders Fashion Scholarship where the successful recipient will receive a 12 week internship with Karen Walker.
To apply for an Inspiring New Zealanders Olympic Sport scholarship, applicants need to visit http://www.inspiringnewzealanders.com/ and complete an application form. Once received entries will be reviewed by a panel of Air New Zealand mentors and a representative from the NZOC.
ENDS
Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs, contact 09 336 2761
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