Sporting heroes juggle studies with international successes

- July 2010

Juggling an international sporting career and tertiary studies would seem a pretty tall order for most people, but a growing group of talented Bay students are showing that it is possible to have it all.

Studying through Bay of Plenty Polytechnic’s High Performance Academy are ten athletes at the top of their game - and it’s been a busy year so far for the talented bunch.

Studying the NZ Diploma in Business is 18 year old Alex Dive who has had a phenomenal year surfing against all the big names, both in New Zealand and across the ditch.

Alex came second in the Auckland Surfing Champs in December, and followed with a win in the men’s open division at the Volcom Pipeline Pro series in February followed up by a fifth placing in the ASP World Qualifying Series Pro Junior competition in Australia. He also ranked third in the Export Gold Super 16 series (the final event of the season) at Piha in April and another third placing at the Pro Junior Australasia series held in Raglan in May.

Second year Diploma in Sport and Recreation student Sam O’Dea has recently returned from the Asian Senior beach volleyball tour in Thailand and Indonesia. Sam, and playing partner and brother Ben won one event and finished third twice over the four tournaments. Sam earned the Most Valuable Player Award in the last event of the tour and has just left for a three week training camp in Los Angeles, ahead of the World Championships in Turkey in September.

Also in her second year of the Diploma in Sport and Recreation is Touch sensation Awhina Savage. The twenty year old has made the cut for the New Zealand Under 21 Women’s Touch Team competing in New South Wales in January as well as the open Women’s World Cup in Edinburgh. The hardworking student is also busy on the domestic scene, coaching touch and playing netball at a regional level.

Nineteen year old Lisa Claassen is busy juggling her Diploma Sport and Recreation exams while also training hard with the New Zealand women’s volleyball team ahead of the Oceania Championships in New Caledonia later this month. She’s also a member of the New Zealand U21 beach volleyball squad and is aiming to play in the national pro tour next summer. If that wasn’t enough, this hard working young lady is also working training the New Zealand U19 Junior women’s volley ball team, travelling with the team to Vietnam in September.

National Certificate in Electrical Engineering student Bradley Kendall is cutting quite a figure on the national golf circuit. The talented 18 year old won the New Zealand Amateur Golf Strokeplay championship and was named runner up in the Matchplay in April, further enhancing his already phenomenal golfing statistics. Busy with both study and keeping his swing on par, this young man is fast making a name for himself in golf circles.

The gifted five are part of a pool of ten top athletes studying across many disciplines at the Polytechnic through the High Performance Sports Academy. The scholarships are open to any athletes playing a SPARC recognised sport and enrolling into any one or two year programme at the Polytechnic.  

 Related Links:

• Team BOP Polytechnic High Performance Academy Sports Scholarship
• New Zealand Diploma in Business Level 6
• Diploma in Sport & Recreation Level 6
• National Certificate in Electrical Engineering Level 3