Eastland port is proud to announce the talented athletes that will receive their $1000 water sport sponsorship which aims at supporting their goals and aspirations as athletes in the future.
This sponsorship is put in place to support high performance athletes with travel expenses, training costs or equipment expenses.
Eastland Port Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Gaddum, said, "We were truly impressed by the number of applications we received this year, but these five individuals stood out as exceptional athletes who are not only excelling in their sports, but also serve as positive role models on and off the water."
The recipients are as follows:
Sophie Petro – Surf Life Saving
Sophie was selected for the Black Finns team to represent New Zealand at the surf lifesaving worlds in 2024. She says the funds will assist her in swim training and buying a new ski paddle to ensure she is training with the correct equipment to improve her level of fitness.
Jaxon Pardoe – Surfing
Jaxon has been surfing at a competitive level locally for the past three years and nationally for the past two. He has received outstanding results both nationally and locally. Funding will be used to help contribute to a new high-performance board in the season to come.
Keri Mankelow-Ngatoro - Waka Ama
Keri is currently ranked number two in the Waka Ama U23 women's division. She has competed in Waka Ama at a very high-performance level, where she received outstanding results including two gold medals for her age group. Funding will be used for 2025 National Sprint Championships and other competitions.
Seven Mapu – Surf Life Saving
Seven made the junior Black Finns team in his first year competing in Surf lifesaving, where he won both of his beach sprints at nationals and then placing second in both events when he represented New Zealand in South Africa. His sponsorship will be helping with travel costs to the Gold Coast at the upcoming Australian Surf Life Saving Nationals at the start of 2025.
Jacqueline Kennedy – Kayaking / Surf Life Saving
Jacqueline has been doing surf lifesaving since a young age, which led her to being picked for the NZ Junior High Performance squad. Her love for the sport introduced her to kayaking, she quickly excelled and got picked twice for the NZ team competing in the Asia Pacific Cup and the International Canoe Federation. She will use the funding to go towards travel expenses helping to get her to the Asia Pacific cup in Japan.
Mr Gaddum said, "We were really impressed with these athletes and how much they have achieved at such a high level.
"We are super proud to back these athletes who are not only representing Tairāwhiti but also our country"
"We are looking forward to seeing them excel in their sport and achieve their goals whether its at a national or international level"
