Six coaches and 14 athletes from the Bay of Plenty are receiving scholarships to assist in their sporting endeavours.

The scholarships aim to support and assist Bay of Plenty sporting talent achieve on national and international sporting stages.

For coaches, they are for helping them to develop new skills that can be delivered back to the community.

Synchronised swimmer Sarsha Younger, surf life saver Karina Ashleigh Radley and trampolinist Seth King-Wall (shown bouncing upside down) are three of this year's scholarship recipients.

The scholarship recipients receive an amount from a $45,000 pool made available by BayTrust and Sport Bay of Plenty.

Both scholarships are open to sportspeople residing in the region covered by BayTrust and Sport Bay of Plenty.

The athlete scholarship applications were available to any athletes from the Bay of Plenty aged 16-23 who have achieved national representation at their sport – while the coach scholarships were for coaches currently coaching at a recognised and endorsed level by their respective regional sporting organisation or equivalent body.

Athlete scholarship winners are:

Ben Grindrod

Sarsha Younger

Hayden Moorhouse

Karina Ashleigh Radley

Dirk Peters

Luke Davison

Seth King-Wall

Matt Hewitt

James Cooper

Kurt Pickard

Joe Carter,

Ashleigh Dunston

Julian Oakley

Alex Dive

Coach scholarship winners are:

Maxie Mahue

Judy Castles and Hoani Hibbard

Melanie Bennett and Anthony Winder

Donna Lee

BayTrust Athlete Scholarship Recipients:

Ben Grindrod Tauranga/Squash

Tauranga Boys' College Year 11 student Ben Grindrod's goal of becoming a top world rank squash player starting with selection in the New Zealand Junior boys' squad for the 2012 World Junior Champs in South Korea isn't as high as it may sound.

Ben lists selection for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Team, along with performances at the New Zealand Juniors in 2010, North Island Age Group Champs and placing fifth in the Australian Junior Open Series U17 in 2010 amongst his achievements.

Sarsha Younger Tauranga/Synchronised Swimming

Tauranga synchronised swimmer Sarsha Younger has achieved a lot in the sport since taking it up five years ago. She has been a member of the New Zealand squad since 2008, representing New Zealand at the Japan Open in 2009.

Sarsha is currently training for the New Zealand Open Nationals and has been invited to trial for the New Zealand team for the USA Open in July.

Only two girls have been invited to trial and if successful Sarsha will represent New Zealand in the junior solo and duet. Sarsha will travel to the USA to represent Tauranga Synchro at the USA Open and will stay on in the USA for a further six weeks to receive coaching from one of the top US coaches, Chris Carver.

Hayden Moorhouse Tauranga/Triathlon

Since placing 21st at the World Age Group Sprint Triathlon Championships as a 16 year old in the U19 race in 2009, Hayden has only got better. His CV boasts a long list of regional and national, secondary and open podium finishes and titles, along with a fourth placing at the World Age Group Spring Distance Triathlon Championships in Budapest in 2010. A win at the New Zealand National Age Group Sprint Triathlon Champs in February was also a stand out. Hayden lists a top five placing at the World Age Group Championships in Beijing in September and a podium finish a year later as his key sporting goals for 2011 and beyond.

Karina Ashleigh Radley Tauranga/Surf Lifesaving/Canoe

Tauranga athlete Karina Radley has enjoyed a victorious season in both Surf Life Saving and Canoe Racing. At the Oceania and New Zealand Championships Karina collected gold medals in the U19 Womens K1 200m and 500m sprints; and the U19 K2 200m and 500m. She was also Runner-up in the U19 K1 400m sprint. At the Australian International Kayaking Regatta in Sydney Karina took out the U18 K2 200m and was runner up in the U18 K4 500m sprint. The Mount Maunganui Surf Life Saving Club athlete was also a member of the Lion Foundation National Surf League Competition U19 Champion Mount Maunganui team and showed incredible athleticism at the Eastern Region Surf Life Saving Champs. At this event Karina collected gold in the U19 Beach Sprint, Ski Race, Ski Relay, Double Ski Race, Board Relay, Canoe race and the Open Women's Beach Sprint Relay.

Dirk Peters Rotorua/Cross Country Mountain Biking

The future of Mountain Biking in New Zealand is bright with Dirk Peters' natural ability, diligent training ethic, competitive spirit and string of great results setting him up for ongoing future success. In the 2011 domestic season, Dirk won both UCI Category Two events during the New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup. While still an under 23 athlete, Dirk has also proven this season that he is New Zealand's fastest elite athlete in this format, and he's backed that up with an Under 23 National Championship title. Dirk has been selected for the New Zealand team numerous times and lists a top 10 finish at the Mountain Bike World Championships in September and qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games as his goals for 2011.

Luke Davison Tauranga/Athletics

The New Zealand track and field season has been nothing less than demanding for Bethlehem College Year 12 student Luke Davison. Luke has achieved great results while juggling competition and training with school commitments. He is well on track to achieving his 2011 goal of qualifying for and attending the Junior World Youths in France and representing New Zealand in the U17 Octathlon in July. At the recent New

Zealand Combined Event Championships, personal bests across six events including a new Waikato record saw Luke collect the gold medal with 5,410 points. He is the current Waikato Bay of Plenty M16 champ in shot put, javelin, 110m hurdles and the long jump.

Seth King-Wall Katikati/Trampoline

Seth King-Wall is extremely determined and committed to his sport of Trampoline. He is so committed that he travels to Auckland two or three times a week from his Katikati home to train because there are no suitable local gymnasiums. Dedication is, however, producing some wonderful results for the 16 year old who won both the New Zealand Junior and New Zealand Secondary School tiles in 2009 and 2010. Seth gained selection for the New Zealand team to travel to the Indo-Pacific Championships in Japan in 2010 but was unable to attend due to a lack of funding. This gave him a point to prove in 2011 as he trains for the Australian National Championships and the World Championships in England later this year. Seth competes in the senior open grades although he is young enough to compete in the juniors.

Matt Hewitt Mt Maunganui/Surfing

Matt Hewitt has achieved a great deal on the surfing stage since he first got involved in the sport in 2005 as a 14 year old. Natural ability mixed with hard work has seen the Mt

Maunganui athlete rise to an elite level both in New Zealand and Internationally. Matt lists his most recent career highlight as winning the ASP (Association Surfing Professional) Australian Pro Junior Championship, Moves Pro Junior title in January 2011. This was the first time a New Zealander had won the title in over 15 years. Despite injury ruling him out of three events on the Australasia Circuit in 2010 Matt still managed to finish ninth. With a goal of winning the World Junior Title in 2012, Matt lists World Qualifying Series Top 100 and a top five finish on the Australian Pro Junior Circuit this year as his ideal stepping stones. He will use his BayTrust Scholarship to assist his travel costs as he pursues his dream.

James Cooper Papamoa/Squash

Since picking up a squash racket for the first time only five years ago James Cooper has played in the New Zealand Junior Nationals placing ninth in 2008 and second in 2009, travelled with the Bay of Plenty team to the Australian Junior Series and to Malaysia for the Milo Junior International and most recently has been selected as a member of the New Zealand World Junior Boys Squad. In addition to regional and national championships squad members will attend numerous events in the lead up to the World Juniors in 2012 including the Australian Junior Series, the Penang International Junior Open and the Malaysian Milo All Stars Competition in Kuala Lumpur. James will use this BayTrust scholarship to assist with travel and training costs in the lead up to the World Championships.

Kurt Pickard Tauranga/BMX Racing

When BMX was announced as an official Olympic sport and made its debut for first time in 2008, London 2012 became the focus of Tauranga BMXer Kurt Pickard. With 100 per cent determination and commitment to his sport Kurt has made many personal and financial sacrifices on his way to the top of his sport. His 2010 achievements included first place finishes in the UCI Oceania Points series and the National Championships. While some time spent in Europe in 2009 saw Kurt collect a first, second and sixth placing on the European Championship series. Kurt has his sights set firmly on Olympic glory in 2012 and in preparation will travel to the World Championships to the Netherlands in May, Denmark in July, London in August and America in September competing in Olympic Points Race on the World Cup circuit.

Joe Carter Tauranga/Cricket

Following an impressive season with his Northern District U18 Cricket team Tauranga cricketer Joe Carter was named in the New Zealand U19 World Cup Squad to work towards selection for the U19 Cricket World Cup in June 2012. Joe will travel to the UK for the Northern Hemisphere summer to play cricket in the English Herts Premier League competition before returning to New Zealand in September to continue his development within the Northern Districts Cricket – Academy and the NZU19 World Cup Squad. Joe hopes that spending the New Zealand winter in the UK will up skill him enough to gain selection for the Northern Districts A side later this year.

Ashleigh Dunston Tauranga/Squash

Ashleigh Dunston is the current New Zealand National U17 runner up and a member of the New Zealand World Junior Girls' Squad that is training hard for the Junior World Championships later this year to be held at Harvard University in the USA. In preparation for the World Championships Ashleigh will compete in the Australian Junior Series in April and the Malaysian Series in May. She also hopes to take out the New Zealand Junior Open in April to secure her selection in the Team for the World Championships. Ashleigh's long term goal is to represent New Zealand at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Julian Oakley Tauranga/Athletics

Although Tauranga Boys' College student Julian Oakley had always competed for the college at regional Secondary School athletics and cross country events, he did not recognise his potential as a runner until last year and has since moved his focus from other sports to the track. In his first competitive track outing at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships in December Julian won silver in the 800m and finished fourth in the 1500m one hour later. He then followed this up

by winning the 2011 National 1500m title in Dunedin along with a silver in the 800m.With a personal best time of 3.52min for the historic 1500m, Julian is aiming to meet the qualifying time of 3.48mins to be eligible for the World Junior's in Barcelona next year. In the meantime Julian has a busy training schedule ahead in preparation for the New Zealand Secondary School Cross Country Champs in June, and the New Zealand and Australian Athletics champs later in the year.

Alex Dive Mount Maunganui/Surfing

With career highlights that include finishing 11th at the 2009 World Under 18 Junior Champs in Ecuador, placing 4th at King of the Groms International Final in 2009 and captaining his New Zealand Team and placing 13th at ISA World Junior Championships in 2010 Alex Dives career in surfing looks bright. The young Mt Maunganui surfer and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic student is currently ranked 24th on the Pro Junior Australian Series that includes eight events and is aiming to place in the top five in this year's series.

BayTrust Coach Scholarship Recipients:

Maxie Mahue Kemara Opotiki/Rugby

As coach of the Opotiki premier rugby team, the Opotiki U8 JAB team and the Opotiki Primary School Rippa Rugby Team, Maxie is a busy man making a hugely positive influence on the Opotiki community. Maxie has coached these sides and others for a number of years and boasts a list of creditable results and community support. Maxie had an excellent turn out at off season training for Prem/A/Colts grades preparing his players well for his coaching goals of making the semi's this year and winning in 2012. Maxie will use his scholarship to attend and complete the Advanced Coach course at the New Zealand International Rugby Academy later this year. IRANZ courses are specifically designed to assist in progressing or achieving a career coaching rugby, and more importantly, to achieve excellence in this area. The skills and knowledge Maxie gains from this course will benefit the Opotiki and wider BOP Rugby community.

Judy Castles and Hoani Hibbard Tauranga/Basketball

Basketball in the Western Bay of Plenty is set to benefit from the coach development opportunity offered to local coaches Hoani Hibbard and Judy Castles. Judy and Hoani will use their BayTrust Scholarships to attend the professional development opportunity offered to Basketball Bay of Plenty by the New Zealand Breakers. Judy and Hoani will attend the July Junior Breakers tour to assist in the running of junior teams and receive insight and learning into tour and tournament logistics and preparation, while also receiving mentoring and personal coach development from Breakers staff on the tour. They will also have the opportunity to network with multiple Australian coaches and collect resources to bring back to their local associations and further develop basketball and local talent in the Bay of Plenty.

Melanie Bennett Tauranga/Basketball

Melanie is a Basketball New Zealand Programme coach, the current assistant coach of the Tauranga City Basketball U19 Women's team, head coach of the Tauranga City Open Women's side and Director of Basketball and head coach at Tauranga Girls College.

Melanie's teams will benefit from her learning's as coach of the New Zealand U18 Women's Koru Tour team that travelled to Australia in January and her new appointment as apprentice coach for the Basketball New Zealand U18 Women's. Melanie will use her BayTrust Scholarship to assist with travel costs to the Australian State Championships in Tasmania.

Anthony Winder and Donna Lee Kelly Opotiki/Tae Kwon Do

Opotiki Tae Kwon Do club and athletes will benefit from the scholarships awarded to coaches Anthony Winder and Donna Lee Kelly. Both Anthony and Donna will use their BayTrust coach scholarships to attend Tae Kwon Do coaching seminars and up skill. With 45 plus students ranging in age from five to 50 years, the impact of the club and coaching on the Opotiki community is evident. While keeping fit and healthy, training and competing students are taught courtesy, integrity, perseverance and self control. Anthony and Donna are currently training students for the North Island Champs, the Tasman Open and the Top of the South competition.