Talofa my name is Ainsleyana Puleiata and I had the utmost privilege to be Tania Dalton Foundation scholarship recipient of class 2018. The TDF scholarship to me is a “golden opportunity”. And the reason why is because they allowed me to participate and strive in my Netball Career as a young woman athlete from Wellington by financially supporting me with financial burdens. And without the financial support from the Tania Dalton Foundation, I wouldn’t be where I am today coming back from a 2-year Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction injury and be identified on the watch list for New Zealand U21 Netball team for the World Youth Cup being held in 2021 in Fiji. However, there is more to the Tania Dalton Foundation Scholarship than just financial support, they also provide personal life developing workshops and many more.
The workshops provided impacted my learning and helped strengthen my characteristics as an athlete and a person. I very much enjoyed the Public speaking, knowing your brand, paying it forward and the Leadership skill workshops as I rarely get the opportunity to learn these concepts apart from the usual mental skills, nutrition, etc. but also being able to understand the values of these concepts and how I can apply these to my journey. I was also given the opportunity to be connected to a mentor, Belinda Collins who has been a New Zealand Representation in higher levels for basketball and Netball and being able to be under her wing and her experience allowed me to get an insight of what a professional athlete life contains. I was also connected with my sponsor Adrian Burr, Mark Taylor, and his team who I had the pleasure to learn about their job and constantly thank them for their services to my Netball journey. And so, I just wanted to say thank you to the Dalton family Duane and Tayla, their massive team and friends and families for building this foundation to empower and grow women sports in New Zealand, and continuing the legacy and living the dreams and values of Tania Dalton through this foundation that I had the “golden opportunity” to be a part of.
