Carbon-fibre poles for our young athletes - let's get them to the next stage!!

Who is Eliza and why are we raising money?

Eliza Meekings is a 16 year old from Cust, North Cantebury, who has a dream: to represent New Zealand like her namesake, Eliza McCartney – the Olympic Bronze medal pole vaulter.

Our Eliza has just returned from Australia, where she competed in the Downunder Athletics Meeting, where more than 700 young athletes from New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and the United States enjoyed three days of running, jumping and throwing. Eliza won Gold in the under-18 pole vault, at the same time claiming the winning women's height overall. Another young athlete, Lexi Richards, won bronze, while pole vault squad team-mates Josh Bull and Charlotte MacDonald also competed.

With the right equipment – specifically carbon-fibre poles – Eliza’s coach is hopeful she could break the under-18 South Island record this coming season. However, new poles don't come cheap. Eliza needs three poles of varying lengths and flexibility – and she needs them now, with the new season just around the corner. The added bonus is that other athletes in Eliza's squad will also be able to benefit from this equipment.

Eliza successfully fundraised towards her team competing in Australia, and has also enjoyed a great deal of financial support from her family over the years. However, this is a new step on the squad's way to success and they need our help.

If more money is raised than our target of $3000, the excess funds will be donated to her athletics club, Papanui Toc H, to replace the tattered old Commonwealth Games mats in the pole vault pit.