Flying feet take Parr to games | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua
Flying feet take Parr to games
Chelsea Parr, 14, is off to represent New Zealand at the Pacific School Games in Canberra.
by Craig Tiriana craig.tiriana@dailypost.co.nz
There's a rumour going around that Chelsea Parr has fast feet.
That's what people in the athletics game apparently say of the Rotorua 14-year-old who is off to compete for New Zealand at the Pacific School Games in Canberra later this year.
The Western Heights High School Year 10 student will run in the 100m sprint and the 4 x 100m grade 14 girls' relay team.
It will be the first time the teenager - who represents Rotorua's Lake City Athletic Club and the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region - will run for her country.
"It's amazing," she told The Daily Post on hearing of her selection. "When I found out, I was so overwhelmed - it's a great opportunity."
Parr has been involved in athletics since she was 7, earning her spikes, so to speak, every week during summers at Lake City club nights. During the winter months, she trades in her running spikes for football boots and plays soccer for Eastlake.
Parr is one of 13 Waikato/Bay of Plenty athletes in the 72-strong athletics contingent for the Pacific School Games, which run from November 30 to December 6.
Team members' selection is based on their performances during the last season.
Parr specialises in the 100m and 200m sprints plus the long and high jump events.
She has been working closely with Papamoa-based coach Mike Corboy for the past four years.
The training schedule can be between two and four nights a week, honing her technique and developing the fast twitch fibres needed for explosive sports.
Parr has some simple individual goals for the Pacific Schools Games and the upcoming track season: "I just want to get really good times," she said. Her current personal bests are - 100m: 12.8s; 200m: 26.94s; long jump: 5m 3cm; high jump: 1m 53cm.
"This season, I think, I'm quite a lot faster and I'm a lot fitter. I'm definitely getting down to 12.5."
As yet, Parr said she has given no real thought to long-term ambitions or potential Commonwealth or Olympic Games outings. "I'm taking it season by season and focusing on good times and performances."
Meanwhile, Rotorua's Lake City Athletic Club's masters team have picked up their second New Zealand road running relay championships in three years.
The men's combination of Tony Broadhead, Trevor Ogilvie, Bruce Edwards, Ross Mcintyre, Colin Earwaker, Dave Cronshaw and Chris Corney led from start to finish during the 64.7km race at Dunedin on Saturday.
The seven legs of the race ranged in distance from 7.4km to 11km.
Corney and Edwards got their side off to a flyer over the first two legs and the combination held leads of up to 3 1/2 minutes throughout.
They eventually won by an interval of over 4mfrom Wellington and Dunedin's Leith Harriers respectively.
The age group runners' combined time would have placed them 8th in the open men's A grade race and gave them bragging rights over their Lake City male clubmates, who finished 9th in that division.
The A grade race was won by Christchurch's University club.
There's a rumour going around that Chelsea Parr has fast feet.
That's what people in the athletics game apparently say of the Rotorua 14-year-old who is off to compete for New Zealand at the Pacific School Games in Canberra later this year.
The Western Heights High School Year 10 student will run in the 100m sprint and the 4 x 100m grade 14 girls' relay team.
It will be the first time the teenager - who represents Rotorua's Lake City Athletic Club and the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region - will run for her country.
"It's amazing," she told The Daily Post on hearing of her selection. "When I found out, I was so overwhelmed - it's a great opportunity."
Parr has been involved in athletics since she was 7, earning her spikes, so to speak, every week during summers at Lake City club nights. During the winter months, she trades in her running spikes for football boots and plays soccer for Eastlake.
Parr is one of 13 Waikato/Bay of Plenty athletes in the 72-strong athletics contingent for the Pacific School Games, which run from November 30 to December 6.
Team members' selection is based on their performances during the last season.
Parr specialises in the 100m and 200m sprints plus the long and high jump events.
She has been working closely with Papamoa-based coach Mike Corboy for the past four years.
The training schedule can be between two and four nights a week, honing her technique and developing the fast twitch fibres needed for explosive sports.
Parr has some simple individual goals for the Pacific Schools Games and the upcoming track season: "I just want to get really good times," she said. Her current personal bests are - 100m: 12.8s; 200m: 26.94s; long jump: 5m 3cm; high jump: 1m 53cm.
"This season, I think, I'm quite a lot faster and I'm a lot fitter. I'm definitely getting down to 12.5."
As yet, Parr said she has given no real thought to long-term ambitions or potential Commonwealth or Olympic Games outings. "I'm taking it season by season and focusing on good times and performances."
Meanwhile, Rotorua's Lake City Athletic Club's masters team have picked up their second New Zealand road running relay championships in three years.
The men's combination of Tony Broadhead, Trevor Ogilvie, Bruce Edwards, Ross Mcintyre, Colin Earwaker, Dave Cronshaw and Chris Corney led from start to finish during the 64.7km race at Dunedin on Saturday.
The seven legs of the race ranged in distance from 7.4km to 11km.
Corney and Edwards got their side off to a flyer over the first two legs and the combination held leads of up to 3 1/2 minutes throughout.
They eventually won by an interval of over 4mfrom Wellington and Dunedin's Leith Harriers respectively.
The age group runners' combined time would have placed them 8th in the open men's A grade race and gave them bragging rights over their Lake City male clubmates, who finished 9th in that division.
The A grade race was won by Christchurch's University club.
Email
Print