A matriculant is fulfilling his dream to win the Junior World Rowing Championships.
Gauteng, South Africa (12 July 2021) – Zarret Mills, currently in matric (grade 12), is passionate about rowing and hoping to make it to the Junior World Rowing Championships in Bulgaria in early August. He is on a full academic scholarship at St Stithians Boys’ College.
SA Rowing announced that it put a National Training Squad together to qualify boats for the Junior World Rowing Championships to be held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in August 2021. Athletes were invited from across the country based on previous results.
Zarret has participated in the sport for the past five years, and his dedication has finally paid off with a selection for the Junior National training squad this year.
“My crew and I were chosen to represent South Africa in Bulgaria after racing the selection regatta at the end of May,” he said.
Spurred on by this accolade, he kept up an intense training programme these past 5 months.
“To ensure we’re on par with the standard of other international crews our routine has entailed about 10 sessions per week with 2 camps, during which we rowed dozens of kilometres,” he said.
He also does combinations of water training, gym runs and ergo (rowing machine) sessions. Basically, this milestone in his sports career has seen him go all out to deliver outstanding athleticism.
“While I was born and live in South Africa, I’m half Hungarian,” he added.
“So, this opportunity will not only allow me to represent my home country, but also offers me the chance to visit one of the neighbouring states of my mom’s homeland.”
The only thing standing in the way of this once-in-a-lifetime experience is his family’s financial standing, which has become dire during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As such, he is humbly requesting assistance to allow him to achieve his goal to get to Bulgaria.
“I am fortunate that a student sponsorship programmefacilitates my school attendance, but additional funding is vital for me to do the World Championships tour,” he said.
The estimated cost is R95,000, excluding kit and spending money. The kit costs around R3600, but this excludes the tri suit rowing attire and green South African blazer.
His wish is to secure R110,000 so that he can cover all costs and hopefully have a little spending money.
This goal amount also includes fees for this platform.
You can support Zarret’s dream here.