HBCFCT’s Te Tūranga Athlete Development programme boasts three athletes swimming at this week’s event at Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre - powered by PAKn’SAVE Hastings.  Guy Harrison and Caleb Carlisle have both been identified by Swimming New Zealand as future high performance athletes.  Their places in the Te Tūranga Athlete Development programme has been supported through the High Performance Sport New Zealand pathways programme.

Guy Harrison (Sundevils) who has swam in the 50m, 100m, 200m (final) Freestyle Men’s Multi-Class and 50m (final) and 100m (final) Backstroke Men’s Multi-Class.

Guy puts in a dedicated effort in the Performance Gym under the guidance of HBCFCT Rehabilitation Strength & Conditioning Coach, Roy Haffner.

“The goal of Guy's gym work since January has been to essentially ‘sharpen his sword’. Guys strength in the water is his wingspan, and his strength translating to power in the water. Over the past 12 weeks Guy has worked through some gruelling strength work, followed by 3-4 weeks of power work. Moving things fast and with intent with the hopes of it translating into his ability to pull himself forward in the pool. Our priorities are to keep Guy injury free and in the pool as much as possible, as well as making sure he feels good come race day” says Roy.

Guy states that strength and conditioning has been crucial in developing the strength required to generate the necessary power during races. "My aim for the NZ championships is to continually improve my times and secure a medal in one of the events," Guy adds.

Caleb Carlisle (Aqua Hawks) who has competed in the 50m and 100m Butterfly Men’s finals, 100m Breaststroke finals, 50m Breaststroke Men’s heat.

Caleb is a long-term member of the Te Tūranga Athlete Development programme, working alongside Angus Warwicker-Le Breton, Manager of Sport Performance and Development at HBCFCT.

“Caleb’s training has been focussed on peaking for these competitions this year before he heads away to the USA for university. Caleb’s focus in his recent blocks has been to increase power through a larger range of motion in his shoulders, with the idea of transferring this into a more powerful and effective stroke which attacks from a greater height and velocity” comments Angus.

Caleb has been looking forward to getting the opportunity to challenge himself against the best senior swimmers in the country.

Holly Stanford (Greendale) swimming the 50m and 100m backstroke finals and 200m backstroke heat so far.

Holly is an emerging Te Tūranga athlete training in the Performance gym, guided by James Rennie, Sport Performance & Programmes Coach.

Holly's training program has been designed to optimise her performance for the upcoming national events over the next two weeks. “This week, we've intensified our focus on high-velocity power movements, aiming to extract every drop of her potential. Progressively transitioning from strength to power training over previous blocks, we've leveraged technology to target specific velocities, progressively increasing as the event nears” say James.

Holly's remarkable dedication to her training has enabled her to achieve new personal bests in both the pool and the gym. “With her unwavering commitment and effort, we are confident that she will do us proud in the coming weeks.”

Te Tūranga Athlete Development programmes are supported by TUMU Group.
 

Pictured:  Guy Harrison and Holly Stanford at the 2024 Apollo Projects NZ Swimming Champs.