Future Champions recipients named

040615ROChampions MITRE 10 MEGA representatives with some of the newest recipients of the Mitre 10 MEGA Wanganui Future Champions Trust fund. PICTURE / RACHEL O'CONNOR

It was a double celebration at Cooks Gardens last week as former Olympian Philippa Baker-Hogan announced the names of the latest Future Champions Trust recipients, and of the Trust's new naming rights sponsor, Mitre 10 MEGA Wanganui.
As chair of the Trust, Baker-Hogan was delighted to declare the names of seven young Wanganui athletes that have been awarded grants from the newly-named Mitre 10 MEGA Wanganui Future Champions Trust.
The Mitre 10 MEGA Wanganui Future Champions Trust (FCT) provides financial support for high-achieving Wanganui individuals, to assist the advancement of their international sporting careers. The Trust was launched in November 2013 and to date has granted a total of $16,500 to 11 individuals across seven codes.
Mitre 10 MEGA Wanganui was approached last year to take on the naming rights, furthering the Trust's capacity to support young local athletes in their quest towards the world stage and beyond. Mitre 10 MEGA Wanganui owner Hayden Gibson has made a two-year commitment to the Trust. "It is a great fit for our business to support the Future Champions Trust, being 100 per cent Wanganui owned and operated is all about supporting the Wanganui community and to be able to assist in achieving young sports people's dreams and aspirations that will then inspire others to achieve excellence is a privilege. Wanganui is full of great people and great athletes, Sarah and I with our team are proud to be able to assist in getting these local people onto a world stage."
The recent number of applications yielded eight possible recipients. Seven awardees were identified, receiving a range of figures to bolster their international competition prospects.
Recently named in Canoe Racing NZ's Pathway to the Podium programme for a second year running, Aiden Nossiter and Toby Brooke have been awarded a second lot of funding from the Trust, advancing their much-publicised bid to get to the 2015 Junior and U23 World Sprint Championships in Lisbon, Portugal. The competition will take place in July, following a three-week training camp in Budapest, Hungary.
Jessica van Bentum, also a previous beneficiary of the trust, has proven herself worthy again with some pleasing results in her sport of Inline Speed Skating. Van Bentum is in Germany training and racing with the Arma Wheels team, under coach Kalon Dobbin, a multi-world champion himself. She will head to the World Roller Speed Skating Champs in Kaohsiung, Taiwan later this year (November).
Fellow Inline Speed Skater Rebecca Smith also benefits in the latest round. She too has been selected to skate for New Zealand at the World Champs in Taiwan. Smith is currently representing New Zealand at the European Inline Speed Skating Cup - eight races in six locations, over three months.
Finn Brown of the Wanganui City Judo Club has recently returned from the Oceania Championships in Noumea, New Caledonia. Brown gained vital international competition experience, and hopes to be part of the New Zealand Judo contingent that will travel to Japan in 2016, to train with Japanese Judo clubs there. With older brother and kayaker Max Brown also heading to Portugal (with Brooke and Nossiter) the FCT funding brings some much-needed relief for the Brown household. Mother Jenny Brown comments, "As the parents of two young men who have received funding from Future Champions Trust, we know that it is only from this kind of generosity that it makes it possible for our sons to have been able to travel and compete at this world level. The gains made at international competition level are hugely beneficial, not just to Max and Finn individually, but to the younger ones coming through in their chosen sports, because they too can aim high having seen what can be achieved. Max and Finn are extremely proud to say they come from a small town that keenly supports their sporting achievements and are honoured that Future Champions Trust has been able to assist them."
Elena Forlong and Shannon Schimanski are the first swimmers to receive FCT funding, and for a number of years are the most recent Wanganui swimmers to achieve NZ team status. They both represented New Zealand at the recent 2015 Australian Age Group Swimming Championships in April. Coach Andy McLay knows they've earned their place, "Elena and Shannon are role models for the rest of the Wanganui Swim squad, training 7-9 sessions a week, of 1.5-2 hours duration each for over 10 months of the year. Being in a NZ team and racing against Australia's best youth was great experience, and set a platform for their personal development."
The newly-named recipients were presented at a small function last Thursday at Cooks Gardens. The athletes and their representatives were invited to attend the function, where the Trust and its supporters acknowledged their achievements to date, and wished them well for their future endeavours.
Baker-Hogan is pleased that the number of recipients has grown: "This Trust is not only a valuable funding mechanism that aspiring international athletes need, but being a Trust recipient is something athletes feel is credible, and it is becoming quite special to join this small but special group of Wanganui athletes."
The Mitre 10 MEGA Future Champions Trust is an opportunity for local people and businesses to invest in the region's talented sporting youth, and to support the development of athletes that could potentially achieve at international level. All levels of support are appreciated and interested businesses are encouraged to contact the Trust through its website: www.futurechampionstrust.org or phone Philippa on 027 272 7953, or email enquiries@futurechampionstrust.org.
The next round of funding is open now and will close on September 30. Athletes interested in applying to the Trust should visit the website to assess the criteria for the fund, and to access an application form. Alternatively they can visit Sport Whanganui at Maria Place extension to pick up the relevant forms.