SunLive – Jack of a few sporting codes
Jack McManaway is a master of some sporting codes.
The former Aquinas and Tauranga Boys’ sophomore has been selected to compete in both beach volleyball and basketball championships abroad over the next few months.
Jack is a University of Waikato student who was selected for the New Zealand Universities 1st Team for the FISU World University Beach Volleyball Championships in Brazil.
It is the first time that a male competitor from the University of Waikato has been selected to compete in the World Universities beach volleyball event.
The 21-year-old’s trip to Brazil in early September will be followed by a trip to Turkey after his University of Waikato basketball team won the National Tertiary Championships for 3×3 basketball. With this win, the team qualified for the FISU World University Basketball Championships (3×3) in Istanbul at the end of October.
It is the first time that the University of Waikato has won the University Tertiary Sport New Zealand (UTSNZ) event and qualified for the World Championship.
“I feel very fortunate to be part of both teams as we make history on the world stage for the University of Waikato,” said the law and commerce student.
Jack’s selection comes at a time when other young BOP/Waikato athletes are shining.
“Recently, top athletes from Waikato/BOP have excelled at the Commonwealth Games – athletes like Sam O’Dea (Otumoetai College), Bradley Fuller (Tauranga Boys’ College) and Shaunna Polley (Fraser High School). It’s exciting to see such a strong example being set and my aspiration is to leap from their success on the world stage,” says Jack.
Jack says the trip to Brazil alone will cost an estimated $7,200 per person (costs to Turkey are yet to be determined). It’s seen as a huge financial drain on a university student, so a Give Little page has been set up to help him on his way. https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/jack-mcmanaway-nz-universities-tours
“Balancing high-performance sport and academic pursuits is a constant challenge – physically, mentally and financially. Sponsorship efforts are ongoing and have become even more difficult in Covid times,” says Jack.
The trips will not be the first to represent New Zealand on the international stage.
He has been a representative basketball player for Tauranga City since U13 (2012) and represented New Zealand on the 2016 Koru Tour to Australia. He then played at the under-23 level in the Waikato in 2021 and 2022.
Volleyball also caught his interest from a young age. His team won the New Zealand Secondary Schools indoor competition in 2019, with Jack being named the tournament’s most valuable player.
He has represented the BOP through age group representatives – from U15 to U21 – and this year played for the Waikato Senior Men’s Team, which won a bronze medal at the national level.
He has also played for the NZ U20 Indoor Volleyball Team who traveled to Florida to compete in the 2019 High-Performance Championships. He is now in the NZ Senior Men’s Volleyball squad.
Jack started playing beach volleyball in the 9th grade at Tauranga Boys’ College and won the U19 national team in 2019. He has New Zealand on trips to USA (California NZ U18), China (Nanjing for 2018 World U19 Championship) and Thailand (Roi Et for 2019 Asia U21 Championship). He has been a member of the NZ A Beach Volleyball Squad for two years.
Jack’s volleyball skills earned him a place on the University of Waikato’s Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship. He is in his second year of study and is aiming for a dual course of study with a focus on accounting.
He says “giving back” underpins his value system – he has been involved in coaching and mentoring Tamariki through various athletic and other opportunities.