The Skeggs Foundation has released its latest list of grant recipients.
The foundation, which provides financial support to Otago's elite and aspiring elite athletes, awarded 297 grants across 46 different codes in this funding round, worth a total of $200,000. Applications can be made in September and March, with five trustees of the foundation deciding which were successful.
Hockey player John Thorn and mountain biker Alanna Columb received the two international competition grants, giving them $5000 to help get to a significant international event.
The grant was awarded to one male and one female athlete each round, with an athlete only being able to be awarded it once.
For Thorn, that major event will be the Junior World Cup in India, which he will attend with the New Zealand under-21 team. He is a young defender on the cusp of making the jump to the next level.
''The whole point of the international competition grant is that it is a breakthrough point for these people,'' Sport Otago operations manager Duane Donovan said.
''We've had Hugo Inglis and Kane Russell and those guys who have moved up to the Black Sticks. Now we've got the next generation coming through; they've done Southern and they've done under-21s and now they're coming through to the Junior Black Sticks.''
Meanwhile, Columb had already been to her event, the mountain biking world championships in the Czech Republic. There she was injured in the lead up, but still held her own and gained valuable experience in competing on the world stage. That, alongside winning national and Oceania titles, was key to her winning the grant.
Several sports return to the list after absences, including judo, table tennis, badminton, squash, yachting and volleyball. Newer sports such as Australian rules football and dodgeball also catch the eye.
''One of the things that Skeggs has tried to pride itself on is being current and being up with what the athletes are doing and not getting mired in what we've always done,'' Donovan said.
Despite that, it was largely traditional sports that were most represented.
Athletes were evaluated based on their achievements within their own sports and whether they fitted the purpose of the grant, which was to help fund Otago athletes representing the province and country.
Over the past 23 years, the majority of top athletes to come through the region had been supported by the Skeggs Foundation at some stage. Donovan estimated more than $5 million had been contributed to various athletes on their journey to the top
''It's meant to be a hand up, so that's one reason why you see a lot more younger people.
''Once athletes become professional the trustees normally say 'congratulations, well done, you've had your slice now it's time for someone new to come on'.''
-By Jeff Cheshire
