Marcus Agnew
Hosting the best young athletic talent in the country - what a great way to kick off the official start of summer.
Building on the great success of our international athletics competitors in recent years, some fantastic talented athletes are continuing the rise of the sport here this weekend. It is a great privilege for Hawke's Bay to have the National Secondary Schools championship here, being held at the Regional Sports Park.
A great chance to get along and support some of our home bred talent, against all comers from around New Zealand.
Aside from having its own great pathway, athletics is one of those underpinning activities that can foster success in other sports andintroduce and promote a healthy lifestyle to kids.
Locally, we have three young Pathway to Podium athletes competing.
Napier Girls High's Briana Stephenson should be congratulated for just being out there, after suffering a terrible knee injury in the middle of last year. She has shown great character and completed a mountain of work on site at the Sports Park, both with her coach and dad William, and in the Athlete Development facility rehabbing her knee and getting her strength back.
Briana will be looking to enjoy the moment, and grateful just to be back doing what she loves, competing in the sprints and long jump where she has had particular success in the past before her injury.
Havelock North High's Georgia Hulls will be locking horns again in the 100m, with the defending champion Lucy Sheat, her great rival from Marlborough, in what should be a highlight race on Sunday. Although it is only early in the season, both will have their eye on qualifying times for the U20 World Champs in Finland later this year, along with a number of other talented young girls coming through in that event.
Georgia has also had an outstanding last year or so dipping her toes into the 400m, and will possibly have an even greater chance of the ultimate success in that race.
Young Karamu High shot put star Nick Palmer will also have qualification for U20 worlds in the back of his mind. The Hawke's Bay Secondary Schools athlete of the year, coached by Christchurch-based Dale Stephenson who also mentors Tom Walsh, will have a good chance at the national title while still only in year 12.
Local identity Tony Snell (any relation to Peter?) has a good competitive group of middle distance runners to keep an eye on too.
The Wairoa flyer Brock Rangi will have a great learning experience out of quiet Wairoa, stepping up to the big stage will be a chance to have a crack against the best, with nothing to lose as one of the youngest in the field, and plenty of years ahead.
The juniors will also be competing in their own section, with more middle distance runners coming through under Sheila Smidt's Napier Girls factory, including Brianna Lee.
Aside from all the individuals competing, it is of course about representing your school teams, so the relays will be particularly exciting to watch, with our local school colours going against the best. There are some strong local teams that will be pushing hard, with good local depth in the boy's relay teams.
And then there are all the other athletic young stars too from around the country. Olivia McTaggart in the pole vault will be one to watch, as she continues her emergence as a serious threat to Eliza McCartney's supremacy in New Zealand.
Behind the scenes though, all these athletes have a lot of thanks for Sharee Jones and her team from Hastings Athletics, and Hawke's Bay Gisborne Athletics, for carrying on the great work locally of the likes of Alan Potts, and to keep athletics going strong.
All in all, a brilliant event, and with decent weather it will be a great chance for our local kids to be inspired by some of the hardest working and talented young athletes in our country - so more too will join the ride, and take up the great ancient sport of athletics.
Marcus Agnew is the health and sport development manager at Hawke's Bay Community Fitness Centre Trust and is also a lecturer in sports science at EIT.
All opinions are his and not those of Hawke's Bay Today.