An initial New Zealand Team comprising wing foilers, beach water polo athletes, rowers and a swimmer has been named for the ANOC World Beach Games 2023 to be held in Bali this August.
The team is:
- Aimee Bright, Sailing, Wing Foil
- Paul Snow-Hansen, Sailing, Wing Foil
- Finn Howard, Beach Sprint Rowing, mixed double (with Samantha)
- Samantha Voss, Beach Sprint Rowing, women’s solo and mixed double (with Finn)
- Ian Seymour, Beach Sprint Rowing, men’s solo
- Ruby Heath, Open Water Swimming
- Sean Bryant, Beach Water Polo, men’s captain
- Amosa Gould, Beach Water Polo, men
- Campbell Hulbert, Beach Water Polo, men
- Patrick O’Neill, Beach Water Polo, men
- Sam O’Neill, Beach Water Polo, men
- Nicholas Paterson, Beach Water Polo, men
- Will Murphy, Beach Water Polo, men
- Kate Henderson, Beach Water Polo, women’s captain
- Lucia Doak, Beach Water Polo, women
- Gabrielle Doyle, Beach Water Polo, women
- Jessica Ingram, Beach Water Polo, women
- Isabelle Jackson, Beach Water Polo, women
- Abbey Keyte, Beach Water Polo, women
- Agatha Weston, Beach Water Polo, women
Non travelling reserves for beach water polo are Jamie Ogilvie-Lee, Holly Dunn and Alisha Winstanley.
This is the first of two selection announcements to be made for the Games with surfing and karate athletes expected to be added next month.
Among the team is 17-year-old Aimee Bright, daughter of New Zealand Olympic great Barbara Kendall.
“I’m really looking forward to Beach Games, it’s an incredible opportunity to compete in wing foil which I love and to compete against some of the best athletes in the world,” said Bright.
“Mum encourages me to do what I love and give it everything I’ve got and have fun.”
Barbara Kendall will be travelling with the team in an athlete support role and says she’s looking forward to seeing her daughter in action.
“I’m really proud of the way she gives everything 100% and does it with such a great attitude,” said Kendall.
“Aimee is a water girl, she comes alive in the ocean and is fearless flying above the water on that foil. She’s all smiles but also very competitive underneath.”
Bright will be joined on the water by three-time sailing Olympian Paul Snow-Hansen, who took up wing foiling during the Covid lockdowns.
“It was pretty much a new sport at that stage, and it was something you could do alone. A lot of the sailors were doing it on Lake Pupuke, I had been doing quite a bit of kitefoiling over the years and, in that sense, it was a natural progression for me,” said Snow-Hansen.
The 33-year-old reaches speeds of up to 60kph while foiling and says his sailing skills have put him in good stead.
“There's a lot of energy in the sport and I’m enjoying different aspects, like surfing waves and the sense of freedom that brings. My sailing background does help, many of the skills cross over, but a lot of the time you're just hooning around and learning because it's still a very new sport.”
Women’s beach water polo captain Kate Henderson says it’s an amazing opportunity to be part of the first ever New Zealand beach water polo team traveling to Beach Games.
“As part of the NZ Women’s Water Polo squad, we have been working hard to show the world what we can do. We have shown time and time again that we are up for the challenge, and we can’t wait to show what we’re capable of at Beach Games.”
Open water swimmer Ruby Heath will be competing in the grueling 5km swim in Jimbaran. She says she's been training hard and can't wait to take on some of the top open water swimmers in the world.
"To get the opportunity to wear the fern and represent my country is something I strive for everyday and I'm looking forward to racing hard on the international stage."
NZOC CEO Nicki Nicol extended her congratulations to all the athletes.
“We’re thrilled to have named such a strong New Zealand Team for the ANOC World Beach Games,” said Nicol.
“Good luck to all the athletes who’ve been named today, we wish you all the best with your competition and will be cheering you on.”
The beach games will run from August 5th – 12th with more than 1,500 athletes from around the world competing across 14 disciplines.
This is the second ANOC World Beach Games with the first held in Qatar in 2019.
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