SCTA/Protector Aluminium Junior Scholarship (2018-2019)

I feel absolutely honoured to have been the female recipient of the Sunshine Coast Triathlon Academy/Protector Aluminium Junior Scholarship Program for the 2018-2019 season.

First up, my family and I would like to thank all of the sponsors of SCTA including Vorgee, Unique Health Products, Clif Bars Australia, Cannibal Australia, Mizuno Running Australia, Tara Leanne Nutrition, Rydges Hotels and Resorts, The Event Crew, Intune Sports Massage, Ironman Oceania, Allez Sport Mooloolaba, Davey and Associates Optometrist, Stratton Finance Mooloolaba, Felt Bicycles Australia, Titan Performance Group, Zone3 and of course Grant Symes from Protector Aluminium for all the hard work, effort and support provided.

The experiences I have been able to gain from being this year’s recipient has been amazing, from visiting Unique Health Products and touring the local business and warehouse, to attending the Luke Harrop Foundation Launch on the Gold Coast. These experiences have allowed me to gain confidence talking to the people that support our sport and that are highly involved members within triathlon.

There is no doubt that I have loved every moment of this year’s season with receiving the most supportive, lightweight and aesthetic shoes from Mizuno, an outstanding made tri suit and SCTA uniform in the beautiful new blue colours from Cannibal, perfect fitting goggles and swimming bag fit with all swimming training necessities from Vorgee, bars and chews to fuel me in training and races from Clif and Unique Health Products, my first ever tri wetsuit from Zone3 and Titan Performance Group which is extremely warm and fits snug on my body, as well as extremely pretty coloured.

 I would love to specially thank Intune Sports Massage for keeping my body align throughout the season and Tara Leanne Nutrition for providing me with the right knowledge for fuelling my body and also helping me control my asthma with has been affecting me for ages through finding the triggers from certain food groups. This had a huge effect on my performance and I couldn’t be more grateful for the help I received from Tara in order for this to happen. Another huge thank you goes to The Event Crew for providing me with race entries this season. This support allowed me to attend more races then I have ever been able to do in a season and gain a huge amount of race experience.

With the help of these sponsors I have really strived this season. Although there is always highs and lows in sport, I have been able to see the improvement in myself as the season went by. I have always loved triathlon but by being the recipient it has deepened my love. This season I most definitely debriefed more on my races by writing race reports and reflecting on what I did well and what I could improve on. I think this really helped me improve as if a race didn’t go to plan I knew what I needed to do for the next one to change that result. By doing this I know I definitely became more proud of my results as I focused more on the improvement in myself compared to comparing my abilities to other athletes.

By being the recipient I have gained so much confidence in myself in triathlon and it has reminded me of why I love the sport as much as I do. This is because it can be hard to stay motivated when you aren’t seeing any improvement and it can feel like no matter how many early mornings or how many training sessions you do, it still feels like you are getting nowhere, however the scholarship felt like that extra motivation to remind me why I do what I do.

I simply do triathlon because I love it, I love the feeling it gives me when I complete one, I love being able to challenge my body and see myself get stronger with every training session and race, not because of the results I get. I love triathlon because of the people that are involved in the sport and the people that support me, specifically the SCTA family and my coach, Toby Coote. I have been a part of the SCTA team since 2014, and I feel proud to be a part of such a hard working team.

The squad is simply a family and I thank each and every one of its members for making it this way with all of your support. I love training with Toby as he makes every ability feel welcome and never puts pressure on me to perform. Toby has always made me feel proud of myself after every race regardless of what I come and he has helped me improve and gain knowledge about triathlon. The biggest thank you without doubt goes to Toby, for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be the scholarship holder this season, it has been an honour and an experience that has definitely helped me in every way possible.

I strongly encourage fellow SCTA juniors to apply for next seasons scholarship as it will be an amazing experience and you will gain so much more insight into the triathlon world.
Thanks for a truly amazing season legends!

I now hand over to the 2019/2020 Sunshine Coast Triathlon Academy/Protector Aluminium Female Junior Scholarship Holder. Good luck, you will do amazing things!

Season 2018-19 Results includes -

• 2nd Place 15-17 Years - 5km Run Sunshine Coast Marathon
• 4th Place 16-17 Years - Queensland Aquathlon Champs
• 4th Place 16-19 Years - QTS #5 Robina
• 5th Place 16-17 Years - Triathlon Queensland State Series
• 6th Place 16-19 Years - Australian Sprint Champs Luke Harrop Memorial
• 7th Place 16-19 Years - QTS # 3 Kawana
• 9th Place Senior Female - Queensland All Schools Triathlon Champs
• 11th Place Senior Female - Queensland Schools Triathlon Champs
• 13th Place 16-19 Years - QTS # 6 Caloundra
• 13th Place U/17 Girls - Queensland All Schools X Country
• 25th ITU Junior Female - AJYTS race 1: Super Sprint Race Weekend Runaway Bay + 6th Place ‘B’ Final