October 2020
The Mitre 10 MEGA Wanganui Future Champions Trust is delighted to announce their financial support for born and bred, talented Whanganui Athlete, Tayla Brunger. After a very challenging year, for a number of our young athletes looking to further their careers offshore, Tayla’s commitment to her Sport will finally see her taking the next step in the United States.
Her new home will be Colorado State University. Whilst Tayla has received a full scholarship, the support from Mitre 10 MEGA Future Champions Trust will greatly assist with travel to the United States. Tayla understands the concept of giving back to a community that has supported her through her athletic career to date and looks forward to eventually bringing her learning home to support other up-and-coming athletes. This was just one of the key aspects of Tayla’s approach to her Sport that impressed the Future Champions Trust.
Whanganui has a significant number of talented young sports people and the Future Champions Trust recognises that they often need a hand up to take them to the world stage. True talent is achieved through latent talent and a huge amount of hard work, and the Trust exists to support these young role models.
Philippa Baker-Hogan, Chair of the Trust, explains, “The Mitre 10 MEGA Future Champions Trust, has a goal to support our young high performing athletes to move to the next level of competition. The happy outcome is these same athletes then give their knowledge and learnings to the Whanganui community. Inspiring the next pool of up-and-coming athletes. It’s a great cycle of reciprocity that keeps sports healthy. Tayla’s persistence to push ahead and reach her goal, in difficult times, is testimony to her passion and tenacity. Her generosity, and enthusiasm to share knowledge with others makes her the ideal Future Champions recipient.
Tayla Brunger, 100 and 400 metre Senior Girls Secondary School Champion, at just 18 years old, is facing the challenges of a Covid-19 world with her upcoming departure. Tayla is unphased by the last 12 months and is confident about the future. Tayla describes the last year, saying, “Recruitment to Colorado State University happened before Covid-19 lockdown. Studying and competing in the United States has been a long-term goal of mine, and I’m hugely excited. To be honest, lockdown made training easier. I had no problem at all with motivation. I could still train twice a day, but I didn’t have to get up early or training later in the evening, as I normally would, due to lockdown. Training gave me a reason to get out of the house and have some time on my own. There are a number of parks and hills near home, so that part was easy.”
Tayla continues, “I’m really thankful for the support Mitre 10 MEGA Future Champions Trust have provided. The Trust has supported me in the past, when I competed in Australia as part of the New Zealand Schools team.”
In August this year, Tayla will be making her way to the United States, a long way from home, friends and family. Tayla doesn’t know anyone in the States, but track athletes have reached out to offer their help and advice. Collectively, we can take our hats off to this young woman whose positivity and enthusiasm will make her a great ambassador for Whanganui, New Zealand, and the sport she represents.
Go well, Tayla, from the Mitre 10 MEGA Wanganui Future Champions Trust, and the Whanganui community.
4 April 2021
Dear Future Champions Trustees
“Success is not what you have but who you are” – Bo Bennett
In 2020 I graduated from Whanganui Collegiate. The experiences I had and the challenges I faced over my 4 years at High School made me stronger, more resilient and strengthened my determination to continue to strive for excellence in all aspects of life. I have always been committed to being the best I can be and am intrinsically motivated to work hard to achieve my hopes and dreams.
Running track is my passion and it was always a dream to run for my country, a dream I was lucky enough to achieve in 2017 when I was first selected to complete in the All Schools competition in Australia. Many other opportunities to compete both nationally and internationally followed, all of which could not have been possible without the amazing support of the Future Champions Trust and the wider Whanganui community. I have not and will never forget your kindness and support.
While in lock down early last year I had time to put my future goals into perspective and made the tough decision to leave Collegiate in March, move to Tauranga to work and train and complete my studies via correspondence. With the support of my family and friends I was able to finish secondary school, passing with excellence and work towards winning both Secondary School and Club Nationals as well as securing a full scholarship at a Division I College in the States. Three very big goals but I knew they were all achievable if I put the work in.
Moving away from home was challenging but we all need to make sacrifices to live out our dreams and the results I achieved made it all worthwhile. I competed in the NZ Secondary Schools in December 2020 winning both the 100m and the 400m senior girls titles and then went on to bring home 3 gold medals and a silver from the NZ club nationals, winning the under 20 4x100m, 4x400m, and 100m titles and coming second in the 200m. The icing on the cake was securing a 4 year scholarship to attend Colorado State University starting in the fall of 2021.
While I have secured a full scholarship there are still a number of costs associated with moving and settling in the States. Covid 19 has, and continues to make this move a challenge but it is the generosity of the Future Champions Trust that makes the next step just that little bit easier. I want to sincerely thank you all for once again supporting me in the next part of my sporting and educational journey and to say thank you for the part you have played in getting me to where I am today. I, along with my family, am so extremely grateful for the support you have given me over the years. I am so thankful for all the opportunities I have been given and never take anything for granted. I know there will continue to be ups and downs along the way but promise to continue to work hard to set and achieve new goals. If I want to achieve something, I know it takes blood, sweat and tears to achieve it (I never hope for it more than I work for it).
Thank you again for everything and I hope I can repay your kindness and generosity in some small way in the future.
Yours Sincerely Tayla Brunger
