ST HILDA’S COLLEGIATE
Sophia Le (17)
Sport: Taekwondo.
Highlight: Winning best female colour belt poomsae at the national championships.
Training: Normally four hours a week, but pre-comp I do 10 to 11 hours a week for a month or so. We do a combination of kicking, punching, and blocking drills, sparring, footwork, pad work, fitness and poomsae during training.
Dream: I would like to do a year abroad in South Korea to study at a taekwondo university to further improve my skills. I would also like to compete at the world taekwondo championships and/or Olympics in poomsae, sparring or both.
Zara Geddes (16)
Sports: Athletics.
Highlight: Winning the senior girls race at the New Zealand secondary schools cross-country and representing New Zealand as captain of the schools cross-country team in Australia.
Training: I train with my squad, coached by Dave Stinson, twice a week. To supplement this, I do some additional running, along with a bit of cycling, swimming and gym work.
Dream: To represent New Zealand at the senior level.
Billie Crowe (16)
Sports: Hockey and athletics.
Highlights: Winning the Audrey Timlin Cup, which allows the St Hilda’s hockey team to go to Federation Cup next year, and attending the Junior Black Sticks Camp in Cambridge. In athletics, making the national junior 800m final in both year 9 and 10.
Training: I train five to six times a week for club, school and representative teams, and towards the end of the season have tournaments as well. During the summer in the athletics season, I train six times a week with a mixture of distance runs, track sessions and speed work while also competing most weekends.
Dream: To represent New Zealand at the Olympics in hockey, athletics or both.
Breane Byck (17)
Sport: Ice hockey.
Highlight: Going to the United States with an Otago team for a hockey tournament.
Training: During the season, training is usually twice a week with the team and I train about six days off the ice.
Dream: I would like to play for a team outside of the country one day, maybe in the US if I could.
OTAGO GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL
Rosie Falcous (16)
Sport: Surf life-saving.
Highlight: Being selected into the national squad that travelled to Italy for the Youth World Cup, winning a silver and bronze medal.
Training: Sprint training twice a week, gym training twice a week, and beach training twice a week.
Dream: To become a member of the Black Fins.
KAVANAGH COLLEGE
Aya Oseki (15)
Sports: Handball, netball and basketball.
Highlight: Competing in this year’s South Island basketball tournament, in which Kavanagh placed fourth. The team culture that was generated throughout the tournament was awesome.
Training: Two netball trainings, two basketball trainings and a handball training every week.
Dream: To make the New Zealand team for both beach handball and indoor handball.
LAWRENCE AREA SCHOOL
Anna Harrex (15)
Sports: Netball and swimming.
Highlights: South Island secondary schools netball tournament, and swimming for Otago.
Training: Three netball practices a week, and swimming schedule includes three sessions a week in summer and two sessions in winter.
Dream: To swim Cook Strait. Short-term goals are improving swimming personal-bests and making the National Area Schools tournament teams in netball and ki-o-rahi.
