It is meant to be the day of specialisation in high performance sport but Jenny Storey has defied the norm by reaching international level in two sports.
She developed her rowing when she was a pupil at Rangi Ruru in Christchurch and competed at the world junior championships.
In 2009, she won a silver medal in the women's eight, and last year she won a gold medal in coxless four.
Storey won gold medals in the under-21 four and eight at this year's national championships at Lake Ruataniwha and a silver medal in the pair.
She has recently made a successful transfer from rowing to hockey and has been selected in the New Zealand under-21 hockey squad.
Storey won 12 New Zealand secondary schools titles in the Maadi Cup during her time at Rangi Ruru.
The science student was one of 34 recipients of Prime Minister's Scholarships at the final annual meeting of the New Zealand Academy of Sport (South Island) at the Otago Museum last night.
The academy is now part of an organisation known as High Performance Sport New Zealand, a subsidiary of Sparc. It was formed through a merger of Sparc's high performance unit and the New Zealand Academy of Sport, and started operating under its new name on August 8.
Commerce student Michael Bracewell, who made his first-class debut last summer, is one of four recipients who play cricket.
Bracewell's father, Mark, has also received a Prime Minister's Scholarship, to travel to the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club to study its academy.
The other cricket recipients are New Zealand women's vice-captain Suzie Bates, Otago spin bowler Nick Beard and promising paceman Blair Soper.
New Zealand under-20 800m champion Glen Ballam is one of three athletes to receive scholarships. He represented New Zealand at the world junior championships last year and is aiming for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Olympics.
The other athletes are middle-distance runner Hannah Newbould and 400m specialist Matt Robinson.
Seven cyclists have received scholarships, with the most noted being Eddie Dawkins, who won a silver medal in the team sprint and a bronze in the 1km time trial at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year.
A gold scholarship was awarded to former Olympic mountain biker Kashi Leuchs to enable him to study for a bachelor of applied management.
Raylene Bates has received a coaching scholarship to allow her to attend international competitions in the United Kingdom and Germany to develop best practice methods for paralympic throwers.
Selwyn Maister, the acting chief executive of the New Zealand Academy of Sport (South Island) for the past 18 months, said the new name of the South Island entity is Excellence in Sport South Island. It will move into its new premises at the Forsyth Barr Stadium after the World Rugby Cup.
