Tanner and Uru join Pinnacle
Two of New Zealand's most promising young athletes are the latest to join the ranks of the Pinnacle sports mentor
programme.
Olympic triathlete Debbie Tanner
Olympic triathlete Debbie Tanner and world under-23 rowing champion Storm Uru have just been inducted into sought-after
Hyundai scheme.
World Under-23 Rowing Champion Storm Uru
Pinnacle is a New Zealand organisation, backed by Hyundai, which provides young athletes with a range of professional
and personal skills to help them reach world-best status.
Tanner, 25, from Auckland, has already qualified top New Zealand woman for the Olympic Games at Beijing next August.
Fourth at the Commonwealth Games last year, she also won the World Cup event at Ishagaki, Japan, and was runner-up in
the equivalent event in Hamburg, Germany.
Uru, 22, is from Invercargill now based with the national Olympic rowing squad at Cambridge. The lightweight sculler has
won the world under-23 title the past two years. He also has been Maori Sportsman of the Year the past two years, at
last month's ceremony additionally taking the supreme award as Maori Sportsperson of the Year and a world champions
award.
Uru has contested five international regattas, achieving a medal every time; two were at elite level and three at
under-23. He aims to qualify for next year's Olympics in the lightweight double sculls and is already looking beyond
there to London in 2012.
As Pinnacle athletes, Tanner and Uru join another Olympic aspirant, Kate McIlroy of Wellington, 3,000-metre
steeplechaser.
Foundation Pinnacle athlete Andrew Murdoch of Kerikeri, Olympic laser sailor, and Commonwealth gold medal swimmer Moss
Burmester of Tauranga both recently graduated from the programme.
Another foundation athlete, Andrea Fountain of Auckland, world championship wakeboarder, is approaching the conclusion
of her time in Pinnacle.
Established in 2005, Pinnacle is recognised by high-performance coaches for its benefits to elite athletes in
organisation of their lives and in positive mental preparation; areas crucial for success but not addressed in current
sports high performance programmes.
Building on the athlete's physical conditioning and their technical training in their sport, Pinnacle mentors a range of
skills outside the field of competition, which are often the difference between success and failure at the highest
level.
The programme is based on 12 Pillars, covering everything from media and sponsors to mental motivation and the price of
fame.
The Pinnacle programme considers these to be skills essential as athletes take the step to true professionalism, and
which conversely have often been the undoing of competitors as off-field issues impact on their performance.
Mentoring comes from within Pinnacle and Hyundai and from a range of outside experts. Athletes also receive a new
Hyundai vehicle and some financial help.
Typically they remain in Pinnacle for 12 to 18 months building to a world championship, Olympic or similar title bid.
Although Hyundai is a strong sponsor of sports and sportspeople in this country, Pinnacle is partly a philanthropic
undertaking by Hyundai Motors NZ and its 100 percent New Zealand ownership, with the objective of helping New Zealanders
succeed on the world stage and creating more positive roles models for the nation.
Pinnacle covers all sports; currently many applicants are from individual sports rather than teams but every application
is closely considered on its merits.
Application forms are available from Hyundai dealers. Information is at www .pinnacleprogramme.co.nz
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