ILT Academy Southland

An 11-strong cohort of athletes has been accepted into the 2026 Foundation Year of the ILT Academy Southland programme.

ILT Academy Southland coordinator Carly Anderson said the selection process for this year’s intake had been a challenging one.

“We had a number of strong applicants from across Southland’s high schools, and across a wide range of sports.”

Read more here: http://academysouthland.co.nz/

Check out what three times Tour of Southland winner, Josh Burnett has to say about Southland.

Link to video here: https://youtu.be/nfxKPTeicEA

Three times Tour of Southland winner, Josh Burnett knows the value of community. Check out what Josh has to say here:

https://youtu.be/nfxKPTeicEA

💬 ✨ “Southland is one of the few places where sport is really accessible – and that’s quite a rare thing. It’s why we’ve produced so many good athletes! 🏅 💪 There is so much support and so many pathways to keep pursuing your sport as far as you want to go. If you really knuckle down and you’re passionate about it, you can make it happen.” – rower Shakira Mirfin 🚣‍♀️
🎓 Awarded a scholarship at the University of Washington, Shakira continues to rack up incredible results on the international sporting stage! 🌍🔥

💬“What has sport taught me in life? Well, I believe every aspect that I've learned in my sporting career has shaped me to be the person I am today.
It's taught me to be resilient, confident. Sport brings so many challenges, physically and mentally.
It's allowed me to see the world and have an open mind.
Life is short … if you really want something, make it happen.”
– Paralympian Jessica Hamill ♿
With an impressive haul of:
✅ Paralympic medals 🥉
✅ Commonwealth Games podium finishes
✅ World Championship success 🌍
…and now the proud mum of twin girls 👧👧, Jess has been breaking down barriers and smashing goals her whole life.
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💬“I just absolutely love my job … being able to help people, you know, focus on movement and quality of life. And I love working with athletes now.”
– Former triathlete Aaron Barclay 🏊‍♂️🚴‍♂️🏃‍♂️
🏅 A gold medallist at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, Aaron’s sporting career was plagued by injury, which ultimately inspired his new path as a chiropractor 💆‍♂️.
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💬“One beautiful thing that sport has taught me that applies so well to life is the importance of being resilient. We live in a day and age where you count the highs ✨, you see the high moments and they're fantastic and great. And the only times in which you see the low moments or the times of struggle or the setbacks is with a high.
It’s realizing that every ‘no’ ❌, every ‘not now’ ⏳, every second place 🥈, every last place, every moment in which you do not get the thing that you are striving for is not at all a reflection on who you are as a person.
You have to use it to continue to fuel 🔥 you to want to be better and to do more.
I would not be in the places and the positions that I am in if I had stopped at the first ‘NO’ that I got, if I had let that tear me down, if I had let that determine who I was and what success was going to look like for me.
And so, I am so grateful 🙏 for all the moments that it was a ‘no’.
I’m so grateful for all the missed opportunities.
I am so grateful for all the second places 🥈.
I am so grateful for the ‘not quite yet made it’ because it fuelled me to do more.
It fuelled me to be better 💪.
It fuelled me to look at a situation with a different angle.
Resilience 💥 is one of the most impactful, powerful things that any athlete, any good human and successful person needs to have.” – Atipa Mabonga 🏟️
🏆 Powerful words from Atipa, whose own athletics prowess ultimately morphed into a career with the Kansas City Chiefs and back-to-back Super Bowl victories 🏟️.
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