New Zealand Team to World University Games

Athletics, with 12 athletes, has the largest individual sport representation on the New Zealand team, closely followed by swimming with 10 athletes. The New Zealand Team also includes athletes from archery, diving, fencing, artistic gymnastics, Olympic weightlifting, speed skating, table tennis, tennis, and for the first-time New Zealand will have team representation in Women’s Water Polo. Included in the athletics team is Julia Ratcliffe who won the bronze medal in the hammer throw at the last Games in Gwangju, South Korea; 2017 world championship qualified Joseph Millar who will race in the 100m and 200m, and up and coming javelin thrower Ben Langton Burnell. Swimmers Georgia Marris and Michael Mincham are among those returning to a World University Games after competing at the 2015 Games in Gwangju. This is the fifth time a New Zealand table tennis team has gone to the Games.

The World University Games is a major international sporting event that is held every two years for student athletes from around the world. This year more than 11,000 athletes from over 170 countries will be completing in Taipei for the 29th biennial event. This compares to around 11,000 competitors from 205 nations at an Olympic Games.

New Zealand Team Chef de Mission Evelyn Williamson says that the World University Games are a world class competition which closely mirrors that of an Olympic or Commonwealth Games.

"The World University Games gives athletes the chance to represent New Zealand, against world class competition, in an environment very similar to an Olympic or Commonwealth Games. It offers the chance to meet and share the experience with athletes, coaches, and officials from all around the world and gain an insight into how prepare for, and compete in, a competition of this size”.

University and Tertiary Sport New Zealand is managing the team and carrying out the logistics, taking over from the New Zealand Olympic Committee who have managed the team for the previous two World University Games. At the 2015 Games in Gwangju, South Korea, New Zealand won five medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze); •Gold – Angela Petty (Athletics, 800m - Women)

• Silver – Eliza McCartney (Athletics, Pole Vault - Women)
• Silver – Camille Buscomb Athletics, 5000m – Women)
• Silver – Toby Cunliffe-Steel (Rowing, Lightweight Single Sculls – Men)
• Bronze – Julia Ratcliffe (Athletics, Hammer Throw - Women)

The competition in Taipei runs from 19-30 August.

The full New Zealand team is as follows;

Archery (2)

 Elizabeth Randle (Massey University)

 Samuel Hudson (University of Auckland)

Athletics (12)

 Aaron Booth (Massey University)

 Ben Langton-Burnell (Massey University)

 Hamish Kerr (Massey University)

 Hannah Miller (Southern Methodist University, USA)

 Joseph Millar (Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology)

 Joshua Hawkins (University of Auckland)

 Julia Ratcliffe (Princeton University, USA)

 Nick Southgate (Massey University)

 Rosa Flanagan (Ara Institute of Canterbury)

 Simon Rogers (Southern Cross University, AUS)

 Tori Peeters (University of Otago)

 Zoe Hobbs (Auckland University of Technology)

Diving (1)

 Liam Stone (University of Tennessee, USA)

Fencing (1)

 Stephanie Wyllie (Massey University)

Gymnastics (Men's Artistic) (5)

 Callum Phillips (University of Auckland)

 Devy Dyson (University of British Columbia, CAN)

 Kyleab Ellis (New Zealand Institute of Sport)

 Luke Dobney (Massey University)

 Scott Butler (University of Auckland)

Olympic Weightlifting (5)

 Bailey Lovett (University of Auckland)

 Cameron Urgert (Unitec Institute of Technology)

 Lauren Fargher (Victoria University of Wellington)

 Terry Han (Southern Institute of Technology)

 Zoe Glasson (Media Design School)

Speed Skating (1)

 Lotte Kaars (Massey University)

Swimming (10)

 Bayley Main (University of Florida, USA)

 Carina Doyle (Massey University)

 Corneille Coetzee (Massey University)

 George Schroder (Massey University)

 Georgia Marris (University of Florida, USA)

 Jacob Garrod (Massey University)

 Julian Weir (Massey University)

 Matthew Hutchins (University of Wisconsin, USA)

 Michael Mincham (Auckland University of Technology)

 Sammy Winward (University of Otago)

Table Tennis (8)

 Dean Shu (University of Auckland)

 Lisa Yue (Victoria University of Wellington)

 Nai Xin Jiang (University of Auckland)

 Roger Rao (Duke University, USA)

 Roger Wang (University of Auckland)

 Ruofei Rao (Parsons School of Design, USA)

 Sophia Dong (University of Melbourne, AUS)

 Victor Ma (Auckland University of Technology)

Tennis (1)

 Matthew Alexander (Massey University)

Water Polo (13)

 Caitlin Lopes da Silva (University of Hawaii, USA)

 Chantelle Conroy (University of Auckland)

 Charlotte Valentine (Princeton University, USA)

 Ema Carevic (Massey University)

 Emily Nicholson (Auckland University of Technology)

 Evangeline Mills (Victoria University of Wellington)

 Gabryel Oloapu (Wagner College, USA)

 Grace Tobin (University of Auckland)

 Jessica Milicich (Auckland University of Technology)

 Kelsey Snelgar (University of Auckland)

 Libby Gault (University of Auckland)

 Paige Walls (Massey University)

 Ricci Ferigo (Auckland University of Technology)