Two current and two past St Paul’s students have made the High Performance Sport New Zealand Pathway to Podium (P2P) programme.
A development initiative created by Sport New Zealand, it is aimed at athletes who are deemed one to three years away from entering the high performance system.
The programme is run regionally and in the Waikato Hub, which is run by Sport Waikato, there are 36 athletes across 12 sports. This includes St Paul’s athletes Jackson Bovill (Equestrian), Reuben Andrews (Hockey), Kate Littlejohn (Netball) and Grace Watson (Netball).
The goal is for some of the programme participants to win medals at Olympic/Paralympic Games or at world championships, usually around eight to ten years after starting their P2P journey.
The programme helps athletes, through regional hubs, to provide access to facilities and training as close as possible to their homes, families and peer support, until they are ready to enter the formal high performance system. It provides support and guidance in areas such as performance planning, training regimes, mental skills training, strength and conditioning and nutrition.
The Waikato Hub P2P 2017 launch was held recently at the Avantidrome, and pictured here is Kate Littlejohn with Nikki Hamblin and Matthew Cooper.
