A team of 27 New Zealand athletes aged 14 18 have arrived in Samoa for the Commonwealth Youth Games, a festival of sport, culture and community.
Representing New Zealand in swimming, track and field, boxing, lawn bowls, squash, weightlifting and archery, the pre-elite athletes join 1000 others in Apia for the youth competition.
The fifth edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games take place on the back of the transformative Commonwealth Games General Assembly which underscored the federations commitment to transformation, impact and community. The Commonwealth Youth Games provide a foundation for sports development, youth engagement and the strengthening of ties within the Commonwealth nations.
Like the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, athletes at the Commonwealth Youth Games will stay in village-style accommodation and have their first experience at an international multi-sport event.
Pre-elite games are a significant step along the high performance pathway that will prepare them for significant international competition as they progress throughout their career.
Off the field of play athletes will take part in a series of cultural activities and exchanges in the Samoan capital.
The games take place 5 11 September.
The Commonwealth Youth Games are a sustainable opportunity for smaller nations to host international multi-sport games using existing infrastructure and venues while promoting an inclusive and positive youth agenda.
Samoa has a population of 187,000 of which, like throughout the Commonwealth itself, more than 50% are under the age of 25.
Swimming, Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Lawn Bowls, Rugby Sevens, Squash, Tennis and Weightlifting feature on the Samoa Commonwealth Youth Games sport programme.
TEAM
WEIGHTLIFTING
Albi Anderson - 16, Christchurch
Kanah Andrews-Nahu - 14, Auckland
Kaeley Elkington - 17, Hamilton
Paige Lawgun - 16, Whangarei
Vernon Taylor - 17, Auckland
SWIMMING
Wilrich Coetzee - 18, Red Beach
Gabrielle Fa'amausili - 15, Auckland
Bobbi Gichard - 15, Napier
Mario Koenigsperger - 18
Yeonsu Lee - 16, Auckland
Eliot Lundon Moore - 17
Bayley Main - 18, Auckland
Annabelle Paterson - 17, Auckland
ATHLETICS
Ben Collerton - 17, Christchurch
Amanda Fitisemanu - 16
Felix McDonald - 17, Mosgiel
Lucy Sheat - 16, Blenheim
Nick Smith - 15, Lower Hutt
LAWN BOWLS
Seamus Curtin - 15, Porirua
Ashleigh Jeffcoat - 16, Hamilton
SQUASH
Ellie Epke - 17, Auckland
Luke Jones - 18, Pahiatua
Abbie Palmer - 17, Waipu
ARCHERY
Chayse Martin-Roberts - 16
BOXING
Keegan O'Kane-Jones - 18
Ryan Scaife - 18, Upper Hutt
Hosea Ngatiwhainoa Watson - 16, Waikuku