A new student to Hagley with talent, ambition and the work ethic to make it in competitive kayaking.

As I race home to watch the first day of competition from the Gold Coast where the Commonwealth Games have started, my thoughts drift to my interview with Tilly Pritchard today. Not that athletes compete in kayaking at the Commonwealth Games but I think about the fact that fast forward a few years I might just be sitting on the couch watching her on television compete for NZ on the biggest stage of them all - the Olympics.

This may seem like a big call, but if you spent half an hour with Tilly listening to her talk about her training, her goals and her successes I think you would have as much confidence in her as I do. Tilly has her sights set on the Olympics in 2028. Google informs me that they will be held in Los Angeles and will be known as LA 2028. Certainly got a nice ring to it.

So Tilly races in a kayak, Lisa Carrington style. As a young girl she was into surf lifesaving, partly because her brother did it and partly because she lives in Sumner. She loved both the social side of the sport as well as the competitive element. Her brother and his friends had started kayaking as an introduction to prepare them for the surf ski event in surf lifesaving. Not wanting to be outdone, Tilly had a go and battled to keep up with them. As fate would have it, Tilly and her brother turned up late to a session and the other kids had already left. Paul (the coach) took Tilly and her brother for a paddle on their own - this is something that Tilly is appreciative of as she suggested to me that Paul had already been on the water paddling for hours before they arrived. Paul took them to ‘the bridge’ as she affectionately termed the training run. Tilly was 10 years old at the time! She just loved it, right from the start and started looking for some competitions. She found one that suited her age and went for it. Since then, Tilly has seen the popularity of the sport grow - the profile of Lisa Carrington might have had something to do with that too.

I asked Tilly what success stands out for her in her career so far and she told me of competing in her first national championships. Tilly set herself a goal of getting on the podium in that competition, and she laughed about this when describing it to me. She had asked her coach for advice on how to give herself the best chance of winning close races and he had taught her how to ‘lunge’ at the finish line. She was quite taken by this and practised and practised it. She glows when she tells me how she ‘lunged’ at the finish line in her first final at these National Championships to scrape into third place by 0.02 seconds. The amazing part about her setting a goal, learning a technique, practising and practising, putting it to the test in a competitive environment and achieving her goal was that she was 10 years old at the time. Incredible.

Since then, Tilly has continued to compete at National Championships. At her most recent ones, Tilly chose to compete in the U18 age group both to challenge herself as well as to ensure she was competing against tougher competition. She was eligible for U16 and did compete in some races in that age group. The highlight for her was teaming up with Jess Nisbett to win bronze in the U18 K2 200m and 500m sprint races. This was a highlight as they were up against some much bigger and stronger women. At the same competition, in the U16 races, Tilly got second in the K1 200m and 1st in both the K2 and K4 in both the 200m and 500m sprint races.

A result of this was that she was selected to represent New Zealand in Adelaide in May in a competition involving Australia and Japan. She will have her sights set on performing well, but her main goal is to enjoy what she does in a high pressure environment. It was comments such as this that kind of blew me away. The maturity she possesses as a young lady and an athlete stands her apart from others, as well as her knowledge and commitment to her training and competitions.

Tilly can be training twice a day in the build up to a competition and it is not just a casual kayak on the water. It is repeated high intensity efforts. 30 second reps, 45 second reps, 60 second reps. You get the idea! This is complimented by gym work and all the other things that go with high performance sport such as recovery, nutrition and mental skills training.

Tilly recognises and wants to acknowledge the support of her parents. She told me she is very lucky and grateful for this. Her mum is involved with the Arawa Canoe Club and often travels with the team in her capacity as team physio.

I came away from the interview feeling quite inspired really. Tilly is enthusiastic and passionate, and it just rubs off on you a bit. She is new to Hagley this year and is in Year 12. It never ceases to amaze me how year after year new students kind of slip into the school and we start finding out about amazing achievements and talents such as this. Tilly was keen to try some different subjects and Hagley seemed to be able to provide them. She is studying Law and Psychology, two subjects not offered at her previous school where she did three Sciences that didn’t really light her fire. She can see herself working in Psychology in the future.

Her advice to new students was: “Be confident in yourself as an individual and choose subjects you are passionate about.”

Thanks for your time today, Tilly. I’m inspired and will watch your career with interest. All the best for your trip to Adelaide in May - Hagley College will be right behind you, supporting you from here.