Get Sammy to the XXIX World University Games

Hello =D

My name is Sammy and I am one of New Zealand's top open water swimmers.

Earlier this year I won silver medals in both the 10km and 5km New Zealand Championships held in beautiful Lake Taupo. As a result of this I travelled to compete in Australia where I qualified for the XXIX World University Games.

I created this page to help with the cost of getting to and competing at World Uni Games. Swimming New Zealand doesn't provide any funding for this event which means it is outside of my means to attend without some help.

Extra info:

The World University Games is a large international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The XXIX World University Games are being held in Taipei, Taiwan in August this year.

http://www.fisu.net/events/world-university-championships

I have been a student for the last four years. In May I will graduate from the University of Otago with a Bachelor of Science Majoring in Microbiology. Next year I am planning to do my Masters in Teaching and Learning.

I currently work part time as a Learn to Swim tutor at a wonderful swim school teaching kids how to swim. This is one of the few things that fits around my heavy training load and also something I very much enjoy doing. It is wonderful to see kids having fun and being safe in the water as well as the few who catch the serious swimming bug like I did all those years ago.

I have been a competitive swimmer for fourteen years, since the age of 8. I have competed nationally every year since I was 9 and have won several national medals over the years. Three years ago I discovered OPEN WATER SWIMMING!!! Since then it has been an amazing roller coaster and I have been fortunate enough to be an Open New Zealand medalist and to compete internationally in a World Cup event in New Caledonia (finished 8th) and Oceania Champs in Fiji (finished 5th). I train around 25-30 hours a week and I am really looking forward to my next challenge, competing against the best university students the world has to offer.