Here's more proof there's something good in and on the water around Rotorua.
Both Julia Edward and Nikki Whitehead have been selected to represent New Zealand. The talented Rotorua-based teens will be sticking oars and paddles into the drink across the ditch during next month's Australian Youth Olympic Festival.
The festival
takes place in Sydney from January 14-18. New Zealand will be represented by 180 athletes across 16 sports.
Edward is part of the up and coming rowing combination named, while Whitehead will tackle the canoe slalom competition with nine fellow Bay of Plenty paddlers.
Edward is in good form, having won the under-17 single scull (division two) section of New Zealand Rowing's prestigious Jury Cup, in Wanganui last weekend.
The Rotorua Girls' High School student's solo effort contributed to the Hawkes Bay Rowing Club, who she was representing, winning the regatta for the first time since 1977.
Earlier this year Edward was part of the New Zealand under-21 mixed selection who beat the best of Australia's states in the annual Rusty Robertson Cup regatta in Queensland.
Whitehead, who is in the Waiariki Polytechnic's Sports Academy in Rotorua, will compete in the K1 women's class with fellow Bay canoeists Bridey Woudberg and Jane Nicholas. The trio, and their teammates, are said to be inspired by the performance of Tauranga's Luuka Jones. In Beijing earlier this year, 19-year-old Jones became New Zealand's first female competitor in canoe slalom at Olympic level.
Whitehead is the current New Zealand under-18 champion and won a swag of medals at the Australian champions. She was also was part of the New Zealand team which competed in the World Junior Championships in Prague this year.
The Australian Youth Olympic Festival was initiated by the Australian Olympic Committee following the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The inaugural event was held in January 2001 and has subsequently been held biennially. It is funded by the Australian Olympic Committee, under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The festival aims to discover future champions, provide them with an environment like an Olympics and promote Olympic ideals of fair play, honesty and pride.
