Our first Feature Athlete is Yvonne Wang, based in the Aoraki prefect and is in 11th grade. She is a competitor of the 10 metre Women’s Pistol and has experience of representing New Zealand with the sport. I conducted an interview with her via Slack and she thankfully spent time answering the questions.

Interviewer (I): “When did you first start the sport?”

Yvonne Wang (Y): “I first started shooting when I was 8 years old, and I am currently at 11th grade.”

I: “Do you participate, or have you participated in shooting competitions in your career?”

Y: “Yes, I’ve participated in competitions based in New Zealand, such as the North and South Island Championships. I have also competed in the New Zealand National Championships.”

I: “Tell us an accomplishment that particularly makes you proud, or what you were most happy and excited about.”

Y: “I think that experience would be when I was selected to be part of the New Zealand team in year 9 to represent New Zealand at the Oceania Championships in Australia.”

I:  “Finally, please leave a word of motivation for any future shooting athletes that could read this article.”

Y: “Shooting can be boring sometimes during training, but when you see your improvement after competitions, all seems like it’s worth it!”

End of interview.

As Yvonne mentioned, shooting may be thought as boring, and additionally it may not be as popular as sports such as football and basketball. However, it is certainly a sport that requires immense concentration and practice. Shooting is also an Olympic sport and one day Yvonne could be on the TV/smartphone screen representing her home country in the Games. We wish Yvonne Wang all the best with her practice and competitions, and we hope to hear some great news in the future.

Our second Feature Athlete is Sabrina Yuumi Silva Uwada, based in the Aoraki prefect and is currently finishing the AS Course. She is a football player and is currently based in Aichi, Japan. She spent her valuable time for this interview that took place on Slack.

Interviewer (I): “When did you start playing football?”

Sabrina Yuumi Silva Uwada (S): “I first started to play football when I was around 8.”

I: “What makes you motivated in football, what interests you in the sport?”

S: “Football for me is a very emotional connection, it makes me happy, makes me mad, sad & all the emotions. One of the things that keeps me motivated is the national Brazilian Women’s team. It is my goal and dream to represent my country and I am working hard each day.”

I: “What do you consider the biggest achievement you have accomplished so far with the sport?”

S: “I started a football team (mainly for girl, is more like a school or place they can train and play) in my hometown.”

I:  “How do you manage your time, having to complete schoolwork and train?”

S: “Planning my schedule ahead! Separate times, and focus on school work. But planning the whole week with trainings, team trainings and classes and extra study work helped me a lot!”

I:  “Finally, please leave a word of motivation for any future shooting athletes that could read this article.”

S:  “Don’t let anyone define what sport you can participate or be good at. Enjoy the wins, the goals, analyze your losses to make you play better.”

As Sabrina mentioned in her last response, you are yourself; you can define whatever you are good at, and choose to take part in. The 2 athletes featured are successful because they found their strengths in each of their competing sports, worked hard, and kept motivating themselves to bring them to a great career. We hope that Sabrina fulfills her dream of representing the As Canarinhas  and wish her the best of luck with everything.

The Sports team of the CGA Press will continue to cover experiences of athletes that you could be in the same classroom everyday. Look out for new articles released every Friday.