Sport Awards: Scholarship 'takes load off'

Outstanding beach volleyballer Beniece Douch is one of eight Bay of Plenty Polytechnic High Performance Academy scholarship winners Photo / File

Blending a desire to organise massive events with a love of chasing the ball on the beautiful Mount Beach has led to a 2015 Bay of Plenty Polytechnic High Performance Academy scholarship for emerging volleyball star Beniece Douch.

Douch, a Diploma in Tourism (event management) student, is one of eight recipients of this year's scholarships who were recognised and honoured at an awards ceremony last night.

The other winners of the 2015 scholarships were Abby Goldie (track sprinter), Alex Hawthorne (kayak), Amy Robinson (athletics/hockey), Lauren Clarke (squash), Max Schroder (volleyball), Nik Ansorge (cycling), and Thomas MacRury (cricket).

The scholarships allow athletes to balance career and sporting aspirations.

"It just takes a load off," said Douch. "I don't have to worry about working too much knowing that I have financial and sporting support. I can focus on studying and improving my sporting performance."

All scholarship winners have their year's tertiary fees paid, access to the polytechnic's sport and fitness centre including performance sport testing, as well as education, sporting and lifestyle support services provided by a high-performance manager. The scholarships are open to all students studying any fulltime programme at the polytechnic who are competing at a national or international level in their sporting code. This year more than 30 applicants vied for the scholarships.

While Douch's immediate sporting focus is on beach volleyball and finding a team partner with similar passion and goals as her own, she also has a dream of one day running her own wedding planning business or working in event management.

Previous winners of the scholarships include NZ beach volleyball champion Sam O'Dea, world champion surf lifesaver Natalie Peat and New Zealand's fastest man Joseph Millar.