Coast’s littlest warrior qualifies for Ninja World games

NINJA WARRIOR

Ten-year-old Hunter Hollingsworth of Springfield has secured a spot on the Australian team to compete in the Ultimate Ninja Athletic Association World Championships in Orlando, Florida in July.

She trains as part of the Elite Squad at Australian Warrior Fitness at North Gosford and finished in fifth place when she represented NSW at the Australian Ninja Games in January which qualified her for the Australia team at the 2023 World Ninja Championships. Hunter started doing ninja when she was just six after her mother Sarah discovered that a dedicated ninja gym was opening in the area.

“Ever since Hunter could walk, she was climbing on everything, and for the past four years, she has lived and breathed ninja,” she said.

“Over the past 12 months, we have travelled across the country for her to take part in ninja competitions.

“We are proud of her hard work, perseverance and dedication to the sport and excited to support her at the World Ninja Games.”

Ninja is a growing sport globally and has the potential to be recognised as an official Olympic sport in years to come.

Hunter said her ultimate goal was to represent Australia at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics when ninja could finally be recognised as an official

Olympic sport.

“For now, I’m just looking forward to going to the US to compete alongside the best in the world to further develop my skills and represent Australia with absolute pride,” she said.

A fundraising page has been established via the Australian Sports Foundation website to help get Hunter to the US for the World Games in July.

All funds raised will support the Hollingsworth family with the costs of flights, accommodation, uniforms and other expenses.

To make a donation, head to asf.org.au/projects/supporthunter-hollingsworth.

Source: Media release, Mar 22 Ninja World Cup Media

Easter Open Swim returns – with a Daffodil Dip on the side

Terrigal Surf Club will hold its annual 1km and 2km Ocean Swim on Easter Saturday, April 8, along with a new initiative – The Daffodil Dip, in partnership with Cancer Council NSW.

The 1km Ocean Swim will start at 9am, The Daffodil Dip at 9.30am and the 2km Swim will get underway as close to 10am as possible.

The Daffodil Dip will be a 400m swim out to Goldie, Terrigal’s well known yellow buoy, and back to shore.

The daffodil is recognised as the symbol of hope and all participants in the dip will receive a vintage yellow Daffodil Swim Cap as part of their registration.

Water safety will be present to ensure all swimmers are looked after and swimmers who would like to stay closer to shore are welcome to register and swim in the shallows and participate in the “ocean of hope” with their daffodil cap.

The full $35 registration fee for the Daffodil Dip will be donated to Cancer Council NSW and its work to help ensure nobody on the Central Coast faces a cancer diagnosis alone.

The registration fees for the 1km and 2km Ocean swim start at $30 and funds raised from both swims will assist the surf club in purchasing and maintaining vital equipment.

Both the 1km Ocean Swim and 400m Daffodil Dip are ideal for open water swimmers of all abilities and ages, with the minimum age set at 10 for the 1km and 2km swims.

Younger participants can join the Daffodil Dip if accompanied by an adult.

The 2km Ocean Swim is more challenging and offers a chance for more experienced swimmers to race against Masters Athlete and multiple record holder Paul Lemmon. Register for the Ocean Swim and Daffodil Dip at: https:// terrigalsurfclub.com.au/.

Source: Media release, Mar 17 Terrigal SLSC