The returnees are Ella Kelso (judo), Genna Robertson (kayaking) and Kitini Taihuka (weightlifting).
Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti spokesman Carl Newman was impressed with the calibre of the applicants.
“It's fantastic to see such a wide range of sports represented,” he said.
“Seven of the 10 athletes have represented New Zealand on the world stage and all 10 have achieved at a national level.”
At the national canoe sprint championships last weekend, Genna Robertson took second place in the women's under-16 K1 200 metres and 500m.
She said last year's life skills and mental skills workshops from the Rising Legends programme were tailored to her needs.
“I'm grateful that I get to come back for a second time as I'll get to refresh what I learned last year and learn even more, which will help me achieve my goal of going overseas again this year.”
Paige Richter finished runner-up in the Bowls New Zealand secondary schools girls' singles played in Auckland last year.
She is pleased to follow in the footsteps of her brother Corban Richter, a softball player.
“I'm really excited about being in the programme because my brother has been in it for the past two years, and being able to follow in his footsteps means a lot to me,” she said.
“He's learned a lot from this programme and he thinks I will learn lots from it, too.”
Canoe sprinter Emma Brownlie, competing at the same regatta as Genna Robertson, was second in the u18 women's K1 500m last weekend.
Rower Oscar Ruston took out gold by almost eight seconds in the boys' u17 single sculls at the North Island champs last month.
He was also part of Gisborne Rowing Club's men's coxed eight that pulled off a dramatic victory at Lake Karapiro.
Weightlifter Kitini Taihuka won his division at the national secondary schools' champs last year, backing up on his success from 2018.
Jack Keepa picked up a slew of gold medals at the Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay swimming championships in Gisborne last year and is a surf lifesaver for the Wainui club.
Waikanae surf lifesaver Seven Mapu was part of the New Zealand Junior Black Fins squad that competed in South Africa last year and is a sprinter on the athletics track.
Judoka Ella Kelso had a trip to Macau and Hong Kong last year and won a silver medal in her division at the Junior Asian Cup.
Caleb Ney comes from a family of triathletes and he was second to his elder brother Josiah in the 2018 Tairawhiti secondary schools' triathlon.
Summer Marama-Kingi was inducted for netball but is also handy on the basketball court.
The youngsters will be exposed to many components of high-performance sport to help facilitate their transition from pre-elite athletes to high-performance athletes.
Guest speaker at a ceremony on Thursday, canoeist Britney Ford, who was part of the 2013 intake, said the programme gave her a sense of what was expected of elite athletes.
Ford is part of the New Zealand women's kayaking squad and her long-term goal is to paddle at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Skills picked up from the Tairawhiti Rising Legends programme were especially helpful when starting out as a high-performance athlete, she said.
Newman said coaches and volunteers who helped the athletes develop needed to be acknowledged.
“Our region has produced some incredible young athletes and it's important to recognise the clubs, coaches and volunteers who have facilitated that.”
Caleb Ney, triathlon; Ella Kelso, judo; Genna Robertson, kayaking; Kitini Taihuka, weightlifting; Emma Brownlie, kayaking; Jack Keepa, swimming/surf lifesaving; Oscar Ruston, rowing; Paige Richter, bowls; Seven Mapu, surf lifesaving; Summer Marama-Kingi, netball.
