2018 Sports Scholarship Recipients

Keegan Pitcher won the inaugural Harry O’Rourke Memorial Award in 2017 and has been awarded a scholarshipfor 2018 for an outstanding athlete with disabilities.

A relative newcomer to athletics. he entered his first international competition, at the World Paralympic Championships in the United Kingdom in 2017, bringing home a world ranking, a New Zealand record, bronze medals in the 400-metre T36 race (in record time) and in the 800m T36 race.  He earned a world ranking with 7th in the 200m T36 race.  

Keegan has cerebral palsy and competes in the T36 category for athletes with a disability affecting all four limbs. 

This year Nathan has competed at the Auckland champs and the New Zealand nationals, placing 1st in almost all of the events he entered. 

At the end of last year, he debuted at the Gold Coast Grand Prix (part of the world circuit). He was able to make it to the semi finals and placed 12th beating some of the other divers that later attended the 2018 commonwealth games. 

Nathan is  getting ready to leave for the Ukraine for the FINA Diving World Jr Champs and will be one of five divers from New Zealand that will be competing against 43 other countries.  

At this competition he aims to get to finals and thus automatically qualify for the Youth Olympics. 

In the near future he is aiming to qualify for and attend the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Leo started playing squash at 6. At the age of 13  he was ranked number 1 in his age group for U13’s.

In 2017 he won the New Zealand U15 age group title along with the Oceania and Australian U15 titles. He placed third in the Canadian, fifth in the US Junior and seventeenth in the British junior age groups in the U15’s.

In 2018 he represented Auckland at the Senior National teams event, and also won the North Island junior age groups  for U17’s. He achieved selection for New Zealand at the World Junior Championships in India.

He is working towards representing New Zealand as number one at future World Junior Championships.

Surf-lifesaver Lucy Makaea already has an impressive record medaling in every race she entered at the 2016 National Surf-lifesaving Pool Championships before going on to win seven medals on the beach at the Nationals in Christchurch. 

It was an all-round performance that earned her a place in the New Zealand youth squad.  From this platform she looked to win selection for the 2018 Northern Regional team. 

Lucy has achieved her goal of making the New Zealand junior black fins Youth Worlds team and heads to Adelaide hoping to bring back two medals.

The event is held every two years and attracts athletes from over 40 countries. The team will compete in 43 pool and beach lifesaving events over 5 days.

Taekwondo is a sport Mackenzie has been involved in for the last 8 years and over the last 4 she has consistently medaled in all regional and national competitions. Recently in Australia she fought her way to a gold medal in her division.

Mackenzie’s ultimate goal is to compete in and be the first New Zealander to medal at the Olympics for Taekwondo. Her long term goals include competing in the 2020, 2024, 2028 Olympic Games and compete and win at multiple Taekwondo World Championships.

Inspired by fellow scholarship winner Aaron Booth, Liam White is a multi-event athlete focussing on the Heptathlon but looking to step up to the decathlon. 

In 2017 he won the U15 Heptathlon national championship in Australia and the Auckland Junior Pentathlon title  He captained the Auckland team to the 12/13th grade National Inter-provincial champs. The team took gold and Liam won the long jump, was second in the 80m hurdles and 3rd in the shot. At other tournaments he has consistently placed first in the 80 metres hurdles, long jump, shot and javelin. At others, he’s taken silver or bronze.

He is Waitakere Athletics Club 13th grade champion and best all round male athlete with four club records.

Ikko is a 17 year old swimmer at Mt Eden Swimming Club, who has represented New Zealand at the 2016 and 2017 Australian State Teams Age Short Course Championships.

He is a former New Zealand age group record holder for the 15 years butterfly and still holds three Auckland age group records.  Last season he won 1 Gold, 5 Silvers and 5 Bronze national age group medals in 6 different events.

Ikko’s main goals for this year include swimming under 4 minutes at the 2018 New Zealand Short Course Championships and swimming a race over 750 FINA points before he turns 18.

Sam has been playing cricket since he was 5 years old. A passionate cricketer who has excelled over the years, playing for teams that have won ACA competitions in both 20/20 and one day formats of the game.He has also been selected to trial for the Auckland U19’s who will compete in the national tournament down in Lincoln as well as being selected for the last three seasons for the Western Districts Sporting Academy as well for the coming season.  For 2 consecutive years he has won the Junior Bowler top wicket taker.

Sam’s best bowling statistics:

8 wickets for 7 runs off 4 overs

20/20 game 19/3/2017 for ACG Sunderland.

League player Jack Rouden is considered by his school and his rugby league coaches, as the “complete package” with skill, attitude, commitment and work ethic on and off the field. 

He received ‘Most Outstanding Sports Achievement’ in 2015, ‘Sportsman of the Year’ in 2016 and Sports Masters Trophy award in 2017 for Henderson High Schools

Jack aspires to make a rep team in 2018 and would like to play in the NRL in the future.