$4.25m for PM’s sport scholarships recipients

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman has congratulated the recipients of this year’s Prime Minister’s Sport Scholarships.

“The Prime Minister’s Scholarships provide financial assistance to outstanding athletes, coaches, officials and support team members as they juggle the demands of sports and study,” says Dr Coleman.

“The programme recognises the potential sacrifices and achievements of athletes, coaches, officials and support personnel. We want to ensure that they can achieve success in both their sporting and their academic pursuits.

“Each year the Government invests around $4.25 million in the programme which is managed through High Performance Sport New Zealand.

“There are 451 recipients this year. 312 scholarships have been awarded to athletes, including 25 at Gold Level. A further 23 have been awarded to coaches, 36 to officials, and 80 to support staff.  

“It is important that we have world-class coaches, officials and support staff to develop and train world-class athletes.

“This programme provides development and retention opportunities for sporting talent at the high performance level and enhances the sustainability of New Zealand’s world leading sports system.”

The 2017 scholarship recipients include:

• Rower James Hunter for a Bachelor of Business Studies at Massey University.
• Triathlete Andrea Hewitt for language courses at Massey University.
• Para-Swimmer Rebecca Dubber for a Bachelor of Communication Studies at AUT.
• Snowboard athlete Duncan Campbell for commercial pilot’s license training through Wanaka Helicopters.

Further information about the Prime Minister’s Scholarships programme can be found here.