Top junior athletes competing in Nelson

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Young athletes from Nelson and Richmond will be lacing up their track shoes and putting their training to the test when they compete in the 38th Colgate Games at Saxton Field Athletics Track, starting on Friday.

The 2016 Colgate Games, New Zealand’s National Junior Athletics Championship for children aged seven to 14, has received more than 2000 entrants with 39 from Athletics Nelson and 67 from Athletics Richmond.

Only 59 from the from the entire top of the South Island competed in last year’s games in Dunedin, and Colgate New Zealand general manager John Garside says he is thrilled to see such a high level of participation supporting the local event.

“The Colgate Games has been bringing sporting children and their proud parents together for many years. It’s wonderful to be able to work with the NZCAA and give thousands of aspiring young athletes the opportunity to showcase their talents.

“The two events, this year in Palmerston North and Nelson, are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the hard work amongst our aspiring athletes.”

Athletics Nelson’s Nicola Newson says this is the most athletes the club has entered in the Colgate Games for a while.

“It’s great that the games have come to Nelson, the standards are higher, the competition is fiercer and it’s great for our kids to compete against different clubs from across New Zealand,” says Nicola.

“A lot of the younger athletes are competing for the first time so it’ll just be a great opportunity and the chance to beat their personal bests, but for the older ones the competitive element comes in and they start aiming for records and medals.”

Athletics Nelson’s top guns include 13-year-old runner Jordan Stirling-Rowling and 14-year-old thrower Joe Ford. Both boys have medalled several times at the Colgate Games elsewhere in the country and are expected to do extremely well this weekend.

Jordan says he’s really excited, “It’s gonna be great, I’m doing the 100m, 200m, 400m and the long jump.”

Jordan’s favourite event is the 400m which he is looking to run in under a minute.

“There’s a few pretty quick guys so it’s stiff competition, but I’m just going to do my best and run really fast.”

The 2016 Colgate Games ambassador and New Zealand champion 1500m runner Julian Matthews of Nelson says he is excited to check out the sporting talent on offer at this year’s Games.

“I remember when I competed at the Colgate Games, it was the most nervous I had ever been, but having the opportunity to compete against a great calibre of athletes, really prepared me for my professional sporting career today.

As well as medal glory, Nick Willis Scholarships are on offer to athletes who have outstanding performances throughout the Colgate Games. The scholarship gives recipients funds to put towards sports gear, coaching, travel and other resources to help them achieve their athletics goals.

The games will be held from January 15-17.

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