Charli Sinclair
Whether it is in the classroom or on the field, Charli Sinclair sets the bar high for herself.
The 18-year-old is dedicated to her own high standard of success across all areas, from her sport to her schoolwork.
Her approach is built on the philosophy of doing "a high quality of work", which means "being thoroughly prepared".
She manages this by being proactive, believing that investing time well in advance of both events and deadlines is the most effective way to stay well prepared and a step ahead.
She is away competing at sports tournaments a lot, so she needs to be well organised so she doesn’t fall behind with schoolwork.
"It doesn’t feel like it at times, but there’s actually a lot going on."
Charli says she was inspired to play touch rugby by her coach Dayna Turnbull, who played for the Touch Blacks.
She says Miss Turnbull created a great environment at school, to help her get better at the game.
"She’s always been there.
"If you want to get better, she will help you."
Charli loves sport because it gives her an outlet for her competitive spirit and it helps her stay fit.
It is also a great social outlet and she has made friends from all over the country as a result of competitions.
Next year, Charli plans to study commerce at the University of Otago while continuing to play sport — particularly touch rugby at national level.
Eventually, she wants to run her own business and is keen to incorporate sport into it somehow.
She has already begun her journey in business, after establishing an online dress rental store on social media, where she loans dresses to friends.
She likes the idea of being a businesswoman, because it would give her the freedom to explore her own ideas.
Achievements
Sports prefect (2025), 1st senior athletics (2024, 2025), 2nd cross-country (2024, 2025), Otago U20 basketball (2023-25), New Zealand open women’s Touch Blacks (2025), New Zealand U18 touch team (2025), 2nd Asia Pacific Cup touch rugby tournament (2025), Otago U18 women’s touch team co-captain (2025), Otago open women’s touch team (2025), Otago U18 basketball captain (2024), Otago U18 basketball MVP (2024), Otago U18 touch team (2024), 2nd New Zealand Secondary School Touch Rugby Championships (2023-24), New Zealand U16 touch team (2022-23), Otago U16 touch team (2022-23), Otago U17 basketball (2022, 2023), school junior A and senior A basketball (2022), sports blue (2022), New Zealand rowing championship (2022, 2023).
Role model
My role model is Dayna Turnbull. She has done so much for me and is such an inspiration.
Hopes for the future
I hope to be able to travel the world as well as continuing to play sport.
Melanie Button
Melanie Button could not pick just one sport — so she found a way to compete in three.
She began competing in triathlons in year 5.
"I’ve always just loved how you can do three sports in one.
"My mum always told me that I was going to have to specialise in one sport one day, so I decided to do triathlons so I could do three sports."
The 18-year-old trains six days a week to keep up with the demands of all three, and she trains in each discipline three times a week to make herself a triple threat in competition meets.
Melanie says keeping up with school while training is a bit of a "juggling act" at times.
"Fitting schoolwork around all of that can be very challenging, so I have to be really good at managing my time."
She tries to complete tasks as early as possible so she doesn’t fall behind.
It helps that she is a very self-motivated person.
"I feel like my triathlons encourage me to be strong at academia, because I’ve always strived to be the best that I can be at triathlons and I think that’s led me to be studious with my schoolwork."
Going into a race, she focuses on doing her best and trusts her preparation.
On the days where she is not so successful, she take her losses as lessons.
Her dream is to combine her passion for sport with physics, by looking at athlete performance from a physics standpoint.
Achievements
Sports prefect (2025), senior cross-country champion (2024, 2025), New Zealand Secondary Schools Triathlon Championship individual triathlon 5th (2024, 2025) and mixed relay 3rd (2025), New Zealand World Triathlon Championship selection team (2025), sport Blues (2023-24), multisport Blue (2024), senior cross-country champion (2024), top year 12 prize (2024), academic Blues (2023-24), NZQA scholarship in geography (2024), excellence in English, geography, mathematics, physical education and physics (2024), year 12 sciences and mathematics prizes (2024), diligence across the curriculum prize (2023-24), excellence in English, geography, mathematics, digital technology and science (2023), school 1500m senior champion (2023), Duke of Edinburgh bronze award (2022).
Role Model
New Zealand triathlete Nicole van der Kaay.
Hopes for the future
To become a professional triathlete and inspire girls to participate in sport at school and beyond.
