Bay of Plenty's high-performing sports students recognised with Toi Ohomai scholarships

From left, Mike Dudson, Shane Kraus, Morgan Ball, Sacha Dustin, Olivia Richardson, Tristan Haycock, Isobel Pettit and Amy Robinson. Photo / Supplied

Five of the Bay of Plenty's most promising young sportspeople have been recognised for their skills, being awarded the High Performance Sports Scholarships from Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology.

This year's scholarship recipients represent sporting codes including surfing, synchronised swimming, mountain biking, multisport and netball and will receive scholarships which cover one year of study fees.

The recipients are Tristen Haycock (endurance mountain biking), Morgan Ball (duathlon), Shane Kraus (surfing), Isobel Pettit (synchronised swimming) and Olivia Richardson (netball). All five students have had regional, national or international success in their sporting careers.

Toi Ohomai high-performance sports manager and academic staff member Mike Dudson said it was fantastic to see such a wide range of sports represented among this year's scholarship winners.

"This group of exceptional athletes are working hard to carve out a sporting career, and it's a privilege to be able to support them with both their sport and education goals," Dudson said.

Also recognised alongside the high-performance sport scholarship winners was Toi Ohomai student Sacha Dustin, who is in his second year of studying a bachelor of sport and recreation. Dustin was presented with the Howie Hinton scholarship which contributed $1500 towards his fees.

The Howie Hinton scholarship is funded by the Hinton family in memory of Howie who was a dedicated and inspirational teacher at Toi Ohomai. The scholarship supports an outstanding student, who embodies Howie's values.

Since first establishing the High Performance Sports Scholarships in 2009, Toi Ohomai has awarded 71 scholarships to 51 athletes in 21 different sports.

These High Performance Scholarships are open to all students studying any full-time programme at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology that are competing at a national or international level in their sporting code.