Louisa Wall: Fruit of Peter Snell Institute on display

As the time draws closer to the opening ceremony of the 16th Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, excitement builds about the imminent prospect of sporting battle.

The first British Empire Games in Canada in 1930 included 400 athletes from 11 countries. When the Melbourne Games kick off on Wednesday they will include 4500 athletes from 72 countries and among them will be a host of young Kiwis, striving for gold.

Helping young people get there as opposed to supporting people to remain on top seems to be a tenet of the Peter Snell Institute of Sport which was created by Colin Kay, with the support of our Athlete of the Century, Peter Snell.

In 2000 Kay hosted a small dinner party where Snell, one of New Zealand's greatest icons, agreed to give his backing and his name to an institute formed because of a need to maintain a good talent base of young sportspeople.

This need was exacerbated by the fact that considerable finance was being invested only in the very top end of sport.

So, how do you compete with that sort of mentality? You create your own institute.

After five years the Peter Snell Institute has among its talent base of young sportspeople the following, all selected for Athens 2004: Valerie Vili (athletics), Corney Swanepoel (swimming), Peter Latham (cycling), Tim Gudsell (cycling), Jeremy Yates (cycling), Michelle Hyland (cycling), Tom Ashley (board sailing) and Miriam Jenkins (paralympics).

Selected for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games (there are 19 such athletes), and names to watch as medal prospects, are. -

* Vili (shot put, third at the world athletics championships in Helsinki, Finland 2005 and second at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002, aged 17).

* Swanepoel (relay alternate; semifinalist 100m butterfly at Athens, bronze medal 100m butterfly 2004 World Cup at Melbourne. National open record holder 50 and 100 m butterfly in both short and long courses).

* Brent Newdick (decathlon, senior men's; first with a personal best of 7344 points.

* Nick Willis (1500m; recently ran a 3m 52.75s mile, second only to the great John Walker).

* Lauren Boyle (swimming, freestyle events).

* Clinton Avery (mountain biking/cycling; under-23 Oceania road champion, junior national time trial champion, junior Oceania mountain biking champion).

The Peter Snell Institute is a grass-roots inspired organisation which works with young people in their rawest form.

It interviews all perspective scholarship recipients (there are currently 160), providing Gold Scholarships at $3000, Silver at $1500 and Bronze at $500 for sports science and sports medicine, travel, equipment and coaching.

The institute believes that nothing is impossible and there are times when it can provide financial support over and above those issued scholarships.

The scholarship winners meet the trust board of the institute twice a year with parents and coaches, and the scholarships have invariably been rolled over for a further year.

Arthur Lydiard, with his great history and experience, was the patron of the institute, and his input was greatly valued.

There is more of an understanding and awareness in society that sport provides a means for individual and collective identify.

We love it when our athletes succeed and such sporting success internationally greatly enhances our country's sense of national pride.

So, this Commonwealth Games is a time when all supporters of the Peter Snell Institute can too enjoy their time in the sun.

Let's hope that the feats of our young athletes will perpetual the cycle of success that Kiwis so enjoy.