Intrepid trio ready to take on world

Alison King | 18th June 2010

Olympic dreams and a quest for world glory for some students are just that but Rotorua Lakes High School has two students aiming for the top of the international stage and a coach hoping her team can join them.

Sam Shaw, 17, has been selected to represent New Zealand at cycling in August's Youth Olympics in Singapore. Deputy head girl Alexa Peters, 17, will don the silver fern for the World Mountain Bike Championships in Canada the same month and hockey coach Jenny Travis has been chosen to manage the girls' hockey team for the Youth Olympics.

For Shaw it will be his first foray into international competition and will give him insight into what to expect later on in the year when he travels to Hawaii for the XTERRA World Championships.

He will compete in the mountainbiking and road race events, and is part of a team of four cyclists who each compete in two classes.

"A medal would be good," Shaw said.

 "But I'm really looking forward to wearing the New Zealand uniform.

"Apparently it's going to be hot and humid so I've been training in full polyprop gear and wearing more warm gear than usual.

"It's going to be awesome and a good practice for competing in hot weather."

One supporter he'll likely have on the sidelines is school hockey coach Travis, who has been filling in the paperwork for the Black Sticks-in-waiting. Her role is to make sure the team has a smooth journey to Singapore.

"I think it's a wonderful opportunity for young players to experience the international scene early on," Travis said.

"The school has always recognised and celebrated the achievements of students - they have the time when they need to and the support.

"The girls in my team will probably be in the next Olympics team as they're all real Black Sticks potentials."

She knows what the Lakes High students and her hockey team will be experiencing, having represented New Zealand at Under 23 level. As well as coaching the Lakes girls' hockey team she's a New Zealand Masters rep.

The 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics is the first youth olympics sanctioned by the IOC and will involve more than 3600 athletes aged between 14 and 18.

It runs from August 14 to 26 and features 25 sports.

Peters missed out on selection but instead has her sights on the premier stage of mountainbiking at the UCI World Championships in Quebec, Canada.

"I went to worlds last year and got 22nd so it would be good to improve on my position," Peters said.

"Top 15 would be nice. I've recently got a new coach so I'm training harder and trying different things."

Peters was crowned Oceania U19 cross country champion after competing in Dunedin in summer.

She's now riding six times a week to try to hold her own in a field of world-class mountainbikers.

"[My brother] Dirk is another level above me but it's motivating seeing what he's achieved."

Dirk Peters competed at two World Cup junior events last year and achieved second placings at both.