A friend of the Howick Pakuranga (Hawks) Baseball Club will attempt a 12-hour indoor rowing marathon to raise money for the New Zealand side heading to the under 15 Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament.
It comes as five youngsters from the east Auckland club have been selected for the international side. They are Simon Aukett, Ben Bongiovanni, Jackson Tapiki, Messiah Tuhoro and Nikau Waru.
Jacob Carr, an employee at Les Mills Howick, will begin his 12-hour effort at his place of work at 6am on Monday, November 13 and continue right through to 6pm with minimal rest.
His target is around 150km, which would be an average pace of 2:24 per 500m, before including breaks.
“I’m the type of guy that loves to push myself in all kinds of endurance and sports or participate in crazy random challenges,” says Carr.
“This is the perfect way to combine that love with a great fundraiser to help young people play baseball internationally,” says Carr.
As baseball is a minority sport in New Zealand, the five young Hawks have trained hard to be selected for this team but need to pay their own way for the trip.
The squad of 18 will travel to Guam and the end of November to compete in the WBSC Oceania Qualifier series, with the aim of qualifying for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U15 World Cup in 2024.
HP baseball coach and member of the U15 coaching staff Paul Wansbone says it’s really humbling that Carr and the team at Les Mills Howick have come together to help the five youngsters get to Guam and represent New Zealand. “I’m really looking forward to seeing Jacob power away on the rower. I’m excited to see how far he can get,” Wansbone says.
The 12-hour event will take place in the foyer area of Les Mills Howick, 100 Whitford Road, Somerville on November 13 and supporters are encouraged to head along.
A second rowing machine will also be set up next to Carr for those who want to give it a try and experience what he’s up against.
If you would like to support the fundraiser, you can head along on the day and donate in person, with Eftpos available.
Alternatively, you can donate into the fundraising account 02-0168-0021681-000. When donating, include “NZ15U Fundraiser” and your surname in the bank transfer details.
