Snowboarder wins Bruce Grant award

An Arrowtown snowboarder has won the 2010 Winter Festival Special Achiever Award, given by the Bruce Grant Youth Trust to help athletes further their careers.

Hamish Bagley (14) is the second recipient of the grant, which means he will receive up to $10,000 raised during the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival, starting on June 25.

The "Thriller in the Chiller" boxing event has been designated to support the trust with a charity auction as part of the evening's entertainment. Trust members and supporters will also collect coins at several public events during the festival.

Hamish, a year 10 pupil at the Wakatipu High School, is a talented snowboarder. He recently was second in the USA Snowboard Association Nationals' under-14 competition at Copper Mountain in Colorado and is the New Zealand under-14 half-pipe champion.

"Hamish is a phenomenal athlete. He is very young, but already displays the drive and commitment that ensures he will reach the top of his discipline," Bruce Grant Youth Trust chairman Andrew Brinsley said.

Hamish said he was rapt with the recognition,saying the funds would go towards his training with the New Zealand Winter Performance Programme Project 2014.

"This will really help as I work towards the Junior World Championships to be held at Cardrona and Snow Park in August, and to get to the northern hemisphere for training after the season here. My long-term goals are to get to the Olympics someday, maybe 2018," he said.

The Bruce Grant Youth Trust was set up in 1995 to preserve the legacy of Bruce Grant, a Queenstown Olympic skier and adventurer who died after reaching the summit of K2 in the Himalayas in 1995.

The trust's purpose is to raise funds to assist or promote the youth of the Wakatipu Basin to undertake sports, arts or cultural activities, in which they excel or show a particular interest.

Last year's recipient was skier Tim Cafe, who went on to represent New Zealand at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.