Three coaches win $50,000 bursaries

Shooter Nadine Stanton with coach Gavin Paton, who receives a $50,000 High Performance Coach scholarship. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Tall Blacks assistant coach Nenad Vucinic is one of three coaches to win a $50,000 Prime Minister's High Performance Coach scholarship.

Shooting coach Gavin Paton and triathlon coach John Hellemans were others to win the $50,000 scholarships, Sport and Recreation Minister Trevor Mallard said in a statement yesterday.

Ninety-seven other coaches were given scholarships ranging from $1400 to $10,000.

Vucinic, who assisted Tab Baldwin as coach of the Tall Blacks at the Olympic Games this year, is also coach of the Nelson Giants in the New Zealand National Basketball League.

Paton is the coach of Nadine Stanton, who qualified for the medal round of the women's double trap at the Athens Olympics. Hellemans has won multiple world triathlon veteran titles and coaches New Zealand elite athlete Kris Gemmell.

Others to win scholarships include Brendon Cameron (coach and partner of Olympic and world champion cyclist Sarah Ulmer), former Black Caps cricket coach Glenn Turner and former New Zealand hockey captain Helen Clarke, all of whom get $10,000.

Among the minority sports for which coaches won scholarships are Australian Rules football (four of whom get $26,800 between them), karate, water polo and rollersports.

"Coaches play a critical, and too often criticised, role in the success of our athletes and sports teams. Investing in coaches is a smart way to enhance our top athletes of tomorrow," Mallard said.

The scholarships are aimed at helping New Zealand coaches gain the knowledge and experience needed to inspire their proteges.

- NZPA