Misaki Joe (Bayfield High School)
Sport: Figure skating.
Misaki, a year 13 pupil, has been figure skating since she was 9 years old. She trains twice a day, six times a week, clocking up 12 hours on the ice and at least three off it.
Misaki’s hard work paid off in October last year when she won the junior women’s grade at the New Zealand figure skating championships, from which Misaki was selected for the International A New Zealand representative team.
This selection came with a trip to Jakarta, something that Misaki looks back on as one of her top moments in the sport. That, and being able to train with some high-level coaches in Japan. She thrives on the challenge of the sport and loves training and competing against top-class skaters.
Misaki is looking forward to the Oceania international figure skating competition in Auckland in May and hopes that her results from this event will lead to her selection for a competition in Thailand later in the year.
Jake Henderson (Dunstan High School)
Sport: Equestrian.
Jake recently made it into the New Zealand under-18 mounted games team to compete in the world team championships in Melbourne at the end of 2023.
Mounted games is a high-intensity equestrian sport made to test the pony’s and the rider’s skills, fitness and ability to compete at high speeds, under great pressure. Jake had recently been in Rangiora trialling against the top 20 under-18s in New Zealand. The team is made up of five riders plus one travelling reserve and one non-travelling reserve. Jake and his horse made it into the top five so in October will travel to Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre in Melbourne to compete for the world under-18 title.
Jennifer Sutherland (Otago Girls’ High School)
Sport: Petanque.
Jennifer won the trophy for the South Island women’s shooting in petanque. She then tied for fifth in the national women’s event, and has been asked to attend trials for the national women’s team.
Lyvia Nilsen (Otago Girls’)
Sport: Diving.
Lyvia has been selected in the New Zealand diving team for the junior elite level. This is a great achievement for Lyvia and we wish her well in future competitions.
Millie Scoles (Otago Girls’)
Sport: Equestrian.
Millie has been selected as a member of the Global Armature equestrian team to tour France. What an exciting time for Millie as she prepares for this fantastic opportunity to travel abroad and represent in her chosen sport.
Quinn Coutts (John McGlashan College)
Sport: Show jumping.
Quinn was selected as part of a four-member team to represent New Zealand at the Inter Pacific Exchange. The international show jumping event was hosted in New Zealand by NZPCA during January. New Zealand hosted team riders (aged 17-25) from Canada, Australia, the United States and Hong Kong. They spent three weeks travelling through the South Island and competing on borrowed horses.
Jackson Boyd (Otago Boys’ High School)
Sport: Surf life-saving
Jackson placed third in the under-17 male beach sprints at the national sand championships in Christchurch recently. He was competing as a representative of the St Kilda Surf Club.
Following that, Jackson qualified for the under-19 and open men’s sprints on day two. He placed fifth and sixth in the finals, a spectacular result considering the winner of the event was also a world champion.
His team also tracked well in relay finals, but was disqualified due to a baton drop.
Drew White (Trinity Catholic College)
Sport: Laser tag.
Drew plays a sport that most people don’t even know can be played competitively and would class as a fun one-off activity instead.
However, Drew has found his passion and trains at least six hours most weeks in order to compete at laser tag tournaments, and he recently attended a two-day event in Auckland. He looks forward to Wednesday nights for main practices, and never thought it could be so much fun training at a high level in a sport.
— Information provided by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association.
