Athlete’s paradise

Pro triathlete Hannah Berry has had a whirlwind year on the world stage. She’s back in the Bay for summer, and loving the lifestyle of her home base.

Words Scott Yeoman | Photos Scott Yeoman + supplied

You can be a full-time professional athlete training and competing on the world stage – jetting off to Australia, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, France, Mexico and Hawaii in the space of six months – and still call this place home.

You can chase your sporting dreams and still spend hot summer afternoons on your favourite Mount Maunganui beach. Swim laps at your local pool, go for picturesque runs around Mauao, and work out in a high-performance gym alongside familiar – and famous – faces.

You can recover from an injury and smash your training goals, and still celebrate at the end of the week by having a glass of wine with your husband at home.

Hannah Berry is proof of all that. She is proof that Mount Maunganui is an athlete’s paradise.

The 33-year-old pro triathlete has had a whirlwind year; from a podium finish at the Ironman Taupō event in March, to a season-stopping stress reaction injury in her femur, to bouncing back and winning gold in Mexico in September, and then a personal best at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in October.

Hannah's home for the summer and has a lot of training ahead of her; the 2024 Ironman Pro Series is firmly in her sights.

So, what does a normal day in the Mount look like for a professional triathlete who wants to be able to swim 3.8km, cycle 180km, and run 42.2km in less than eight hours, 53 minutes, and 45 seconds? Hannah starts her day by swimming laps at Baywave (about five or six kilometres worth). She does that five days a week, starting at 5.50am. She might then head home and do three or four hours on the indoor trainer bike in her garage. She also runs three times a week; her favourite route takes her around Mauao.

Then there’s strength and conditioning and gym work at the University of Waikato Adams Centre for High Performance. Hannah trains there at least a couple of times a week. This state-of-the-art facility is situated on the outskirts of Blake Park and has become a one-stop shop for individual athletes and teams preparing for competition at the highest level. The Netherlands women’s football team trained at the Adams Centre during the FIFA World Cup earlier this year, and other recent visitors include the All Blacks, Wallabies, New Zealand Warriors, and the English cricket team.

The centre is also home to both New Zealand rugby sevens teams, the
Bay of Plenty Steamers and Bay of Plenty Volcanix, as well as North Island-based Black Caps, the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, and the Adams Academy – a development programme with around 100 aspiring and established athletes across 27 sporting codes and counting.

Hannah has been a member of the Adams Academy since its inception and recently won Athlete of the Year at its annual awards. “Being surrounded by other high performance athletes is quite unique,” she says. “And it's really cool to see other athletes here training – there’s motivation everywhere.”

The Adams Centre has a team of strength and conditioning coaches onsite, a dietitian and sports psychologist, and a sports science laboratory with a full array of testing equipment, including an environmental chamber (one of only two in the country) which helps athletes like Hannah prepare for international competitions in varying climates and altitudes.

Hannah will be back competing in Ironman pro events all over the world next year. It’s a remarkable achievement, considering she only started long-distance endurance triathlons about 10 years ago. In fact, that’s when she started competing in any kind of triathlon for the first time.

Hannah believes her late entry into the competitive world of triathlon might actually be an advantage. A lot of the top triathletes have been pouring hours into this individual pursuit since they were teenagers, or even younger. Hannah only played team sports like netball, volleyball, and hockey while growing up in Te Puke. Then she went off to university and studied her way towards a PhD in biotech engineering. She is now Dr Hannah Berry. She only decided to pause that career and chase her triathlon dreams full-time in 2019. 

Her 11th-place finish at the iconic World Championship event in Kona in October was her fourth full-length Ironman. She’s just getting started. “It's a very demanding, time-consuming sport, so I think the fact that I picked it up later in life is quite good,” Hannah says. “I haven't just been this sort of one-dimensional person my entire life and that means, at the moment, it still feels really fresh and exciting. And I'm seeing improvements all the time. So that I think is good and it keeps me going.”

It keeps her swimming, cycling and running, chasing her sporting dreams all over the globe, 226km at a time, with Mount Maunganui as her home base. 

uowadamshpc.co.nz

Surfing for the soul

Bay farmers are learning to take the beach back to the paddock.

Words Hayley Barnett

It’s fair to say the past few years haven’t been kind to our farming and horticulture community. Economic conditions and labour shortages have really taken their toll on a once-thriving industry. But a small group of people have been working hard to bring a little bit of sunshine back into the lives of the people holding together our country’s backbone, with an initiative called Surfing for Farmers.

The idea is self-explanatory – getting more farmers and orchard workers out onto the beach and into the waves. The free programme runs over the whole of summer and offers surf lessons and an evening out for the whole family to enjoy.

“The theme this year is to take the beach back to the paddock,” says BOP board member Sarah Hickey. “We want to encourage anyone working on a farm or in the horticulture industry to get out there into the surf then take that experience back to work, talk about it with their colleagues, or just feel better in their day-to-day life. We want that ripple effect to happen once you’re off the beach, to spread that good feeling.”

This will be the fourth season that Surfing for Farmers has run in Mount Maunganui, but the programme itself has been running since 2018. The founder, Stephen Thomson, who worked in the farming industry himself, started the project after watching a documentary on returned soldiers using surfing as PTSD therapy. 

“Something just clicked and he was like, ‘I could do that here for farmers’,” explains Sarah. 

A year later, Sarah was sitting with a friend, who had been teaching her how to surf, when they came across a newspaper article about Stephen. 

“That’s when I realised that, hey, we could do something here in the Mount,” she says. “It kind of snowballed from there and now we’re running in 28 locations around New Zealand.”

Each region operates slightly differently, but the main aim is the same. In the Bay, friends and family of the team, who surf themselves, volunteer their time to coach, and the boards and wetsuits are borrowed from local surf schools.

“It’s about sharing knowledge and getting everyone out here,” says Sarah. “It’s really fun. We always have a barbecue afterwards, so it turns into quite a community event.”

The feedback, says Sarah, has been overwhelmingly positive. “We’ve definitely had some amazing stories. We've had one guy who was a farmer his whole life but had stopped working. He came along for one session and got hooked on surfing. And that became his way to still be connected to the industry. Now, he's retired and this has become a hobby that himself and his son do together.

“It’s about connections and people. They come along, and then suddenly, three weeks in, they've got this new surfboard and wetsuit and they're grabbing their neighbours and inviting them to come down. Or they're discussing things on the farm and giving each other tips and tricks because it's a real mixture of young and old. We like to get the children involved too.”

And that ripple effect Sarah was talking about earlier comes into play throughout not just the farming community, but the wider community as well.

“Farmers’ families often tell us that their dads have come home much happier,” says Sarah. “We had a daycare sponsor give us some money and we were like, ‘What's a daycare doing sponsoring Surfing for Farmers?’ And they said it was because they notice that the kids are happier. When the dads have been out for a surf, the kids are happier at the daycare. So it's a win-win for everyone.”

But it’s not just the men getting amongst the waves. “It is mainly men but we do get quite a few women. One night we had females outnumber the males, which was a really cool night.”

So far, around 4000 to 5000 farmers are taking part every year, and Sarah says they’d like to increase that number substantially. “Our goal for 2026 is that by the end of summer 2026, we will have moved the needle for 25,000 people.”

To participate, all you need to do is turn up at any session and register. Session times are posted on the website for each region. “Just show up. That's all you need to do. We cover the rest.” 

surfingforfarmers.com

Coach Cory

Former world surf lifesaving Ironman champion Cory Hutchings is back in the Bay mentoring youngsters at Omanu Surf Club.

Words Karl Puschmann 

When UNO arrives at the Omanu Surf Club to interview Cory Hutchings, the former world surf lifesaving Ironman champion is out on the water. It’s a glorious day, with the sun shining brightly on the gentle surf. Out paddling alongside Cory is a handful of kids, all learning the lifesaving ropes from one of New Zealand’s very best.

I wander down to the beach with the club’s general manager Scott Bartlett, to wait for Cory to come ashore at the end of his class. He’s going to sneak in a quick chat before he takes the next class of kids out into the water.

“He's looking after our Ocean Athletes programme, which is for kids under 14. Then he runs our seniors and helps with our masters,” Scott tells me. “As lead sports coordinator, Cory’s job is to coordinate the athletes and the lifeguards going forward. He makes sure they're fit and healthy and keeps them tracking towards any goals they wish to achieve. Whether it be becoming fitter lifeguards, or going down the pathway of competition.”

Having started surf lifesaving at age five and now with a long list of championships under his belt, including multiple wins in the World Surf Lifesaving Ironman Competition and the New Zealand Ironman Competition, you couldn’t hope for a better trainer than Cory. He joined the club in September and has quickly settled in.

“We were really excited because we knew how beneficial his skill set would be for the community,” Scott says. “He's going great. The kids love him. He's a big kid himself. From a technical point of view, he's doing a lot with our lifeguard space as well. So they're going to be fitter and faster on the beach this year. I would say Cory is probably one of the best in New Zealand at doing it.”

Just then there’s a rush of motion as the kids run past us and head towards the clubrooms, all carrying their surf or paddle boards. The lesson’s over and Cory walks over with a big grin. The lesson went well and he’s loving spending the morning in the water.

“The ocean’s my glue. I get anxious if I'm not on the water for an hour a day,” he explains. “It's a big part of my life and has been since I was born. As long as I can remember, I've been at the beach. It’s not even to do with racing. It’s just in my DNA.”

While the club were able to lure him up from his hometown of Gisborne, it’s more of a return for Cory than an initiation. 

“I lived in the Mount back in the early 2000s for about three or four years so I know the place,” he says. “I raced here a lot over my career. So I have a lot of friends here and it's familiar to me.”

As the club’s core business is lifeguarding, that’s the main part of his focus. He’s been coaching for 15 years and is passionate about teaching kids ocean skills and giving them the right training to become better lifeguards. He describes himself as “a hands-on coach”, getting down on the beach and into the water with the kids during his sessions. 

Of course, being a former world champion he’s also keeping an eye out for any competitive promise he spots amongst his students. 

“If there's a kid that really wants to go on and succeed, train hard and reach some pretty big goals, then our club has a pathway for that child. I think that's important because we do get caught up sometimes on pure participation. It's nice that we can provide both, and that there is an elite pathway as well. It's the balance between the two.”

He encourages parents to bring their kids down to the club to try out a class, saying learning lifeguarding builds confidence and gets them fit and healthy.

“Once they start to get the hang of it you see their confidence grow. They change in front of your eyes,” he smiles. “They start making new friends, connect with different groups, and make those connections around the ocean.”

Which is the other big thing for him. He wants kids to get that same buzz from the ocean that he does. 

“You can escape into the ocean. It’s like a spiritual place. There are moments that you have in the ocean that are pretty special. Nothing to do with sport, but just sitting out there. It's a pretty awesome place to be.”

He gestures out to the blue sea that’s lapping up at the sand and says, “Especially in this environment. It's no secret how beautiful this place is. The vibe of this place stimulates me. That's what was exciting about coming here.” 

Omanubeach.co.nz

Driving talent

Tauranga-born kart-racing prodigy Jay Urwin has his sights set on a long motorsport career, helped along by a couple of parents who know all about the thrills and spills of professional sport.

Words + Photos Jamie Troughton

There was only ever going to be one way with Jay Urwin, and that was fast. Pure, unadulterated pace, maximum thrust, acceleration torqued to the point of abandon.

It may be a stretch to say his first breath on this earth was tinged with 91-octane and adrenaline but it’s also unlikely he’ll ever contemplate a career in competitive cross-stitch.

Instead, the 14-year-old propels a 125cc racing kart around a track at speeds of up to 160km/h. Millimetres off the ground, locked in a steel embrace, on some corners he pulls more G-forces than a space shuttle taking off. Such are the physics at work, he needs a purpose-built chest protector to stop his ribs fracturing against his seat.

Lap after lap after lap, he burns around his home track in Tokoroa, often watched only by the cows in the neighbouring paddock and his dad and coach, Niki. He’s been doing this since he was five and has developed an intuitive feel for brake adjustments, body position and engine performance.

His motivation is simple: “It's fun,” he says. “I just like driving.” But he isn’t just any boy-racing petrol-head. Jay Urwin is a young man with a plan.

THE WHEEL DEAL

Since winning a heat at the SuperNationals in 2018 as a 10-year-old and taking out the 2019 Rotax Micro Max Grand Finals in Sarno, Italy, Jay has been on an incredible learning curve, in a sport where most don’t peak until they’re in their late 20s.

“From a driving standpoint, and in things like knowledge and data and video analysis, I'm quite a way behind but because I'm still at school, my brain can learn faster than someone who hasn't been to school for 10 to 20 years,” he says.

This year, Jay aims to race five rounds of the Australian Kart Championship, the SKUSA professional tour in the United States, and the SuperNationals in Las Vegas in November. The Matamata College teenager will be racing and chasing grown men – experienced world champions like Dutch star Marijn Kremers and 48-year-old Italian karting legend Davide Foré.

Kremers will be driving all the same American races, while also helping Jay’s team in Australia. The pair have met before and the experienced Dutchman looms as a large influence for the young Kiwi. “It's been really good working with him because he has so much knowledge and knows things about things that I didn't even know were things!” says Jay.

GREAT RACING GENES

By far the biggest influences on his competitive life have been Jay’s parents. Dad Niki was a six-time New Zealand motocross champion who broke his back racing in Australia in 2002, leaving him a paraplegic. 

Within a year, however, he had his karting competition licence and before the decade was up, became the only paraplegic to have competed at the world championships, in Italy.

Jay’s mum Vanessa Quin became the first New Zealander to win a world elite championship in downhill mountain biking in 2004, and also raced BMX internationally.

There’s considerable irony in Jay’s choice of sport, given that both parents suffered horrific injuries during their motocross and mountain biking careers. “Karting isn't so prescribed and it's lucky that injuries are not such a big thing in this sport, so that's a massive headache out of the way for us,” Niki admits. “Jay races more than anyone in New Zealand and he'll do anything, from a club day with 30 kids to the biggest international race where there's 600 go-karters there. You can learn something every time you race.”

Along with 10-year-old Indi, the family has travelled the world chasing karting races, firstly with Niki, and later with Jay. “It's way easier because we've seen the blueprint across multiple sports and we've seen how it works.”

For his part, Jay knows exactly how fortunate he is, and not just for the sporting prowess and drive his parents have gifted him. “We're a lot closer than 99 percent of kids my age and their parents. I spend a huge amount of time with them and they also know what kind of work you have to put in,” he says.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

The glitz and glamour of Formula One is seen by many as the pinnacle of motorsport and most of the big-name drivers – like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton – have started off racing karts.

That’s not a career track Jay is prioritising, however. “It's extraordinary the places that karting has taken me. We've eaten pizza in the home of pizza, seen things like the Colosseum, and the Louvre in Paris, and driven through Louisiana trying to find a McDonald’s without a broken sign from Hurricane Katrina.

“The end goal is to hopefully be a fully paid kart driver in Italy and live in Lonato del Garda, where all the big teams have testing. I've been learning Italian on Duolingo and it's really fun. I still hope to be racing 14-year-old kids when I'm 50.”