Otago athletes dominate the New Zealand team to compete at the International Paralympic Committee world championships in Qatar next month.
Led by javelin thrower Holly Robinson, six of the eight named by Athletics New Zealand represent Taieri.
Robinson and fellow javelin thrower Rory McSweeney will compete in the championships for the second time, after first representing New Zealand in Lyon two years ago.
Robinson won silver in the javelin in Lyon, and has added long jump to her arsenal this time round. McSweeney is now throwing over 50m and is ranked fifth in his merged F44 classification.
Other Taieri athletes are Jessica Hamill (shot put), Anna Grimaldi (100m, 200m, 400m, long jump), Caitlin Dore (shot put, discus, javelin) and Will O'Neill (100m, 200m).
Hamill, who won silver in the shot put at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, competed at the championships in Christchurch four years ago, before taking a break from the sport.
Athletics New Zealand high performance para-athlete manager Raylene Bates attributes the team size to the development programme, which identifies athletes at secondary school level and puts support structures around them.
Bates will manage the team in Doha, while Jonathan Black has been named coach.
The group assembles for a 10-day training camp in Dunedin on Saturday, which will include heat simulation preparation and two competitions, before heading to Darwin for another training camp.
The championships are on October 21-31.
New Zealand team
For world championships
Holy Robinson, Anna Grimaldi, Caitlin Dore, Jessica Hamill, Rory McSweeney, Will O'Neill (all Taieri), Liam Malone (Wellington), William Stedman (Christchurch).
