By Shania Callender 

A broken collarbone may have stopped Max Chase from competing in his second Zespri AIMS Games this year.  

But it didn’t stop the Manawatu Year 8 swimmer from finding a way to be involved in the week-long intermediate-aged sports tournament in Tauranga this week. 

The Halcombe School student is stepping in to coach the team he was meant to race with and cheering on from the sidelines.  

Under Max’s guidance, the Halcombe swimmers achieved some personal bests in the relay on Monday – leading the team to nominate him for the Mercury ‘Wonderful Energy Award’. 

The award celebrates people who have shown outstanding commitment to having a great attitude and positive energy at the AIMS Games. 

Max said it felt “really cool” to have helped his team achieve success. 

“It’s pretty good to still be involved. Considering I can’t really do any sport, I don’t think there’s any point in just standing there saying ‘I could be doing that’, when I can actually do something and support my team.” 

Max said he had been “training super hard” to represent his school in swimming for the 18th edition of the games and was looking forward to swim in the same team as his twin brother, Ben Chase. 

But a broken collarbone from a rugby game this term meant Max had to sit out and support his team from the sidelines.  

In the process, Max said he may have found a calling as a coach in the future. His twin brother Ben laughed and said he rates Max’s coaching skills “a good 8/10”. 

“I’ll take that,” Max joked. “I get a lot of joy just seeing other kids achieve their goals and help them out with that.” 

Teammate Toby Wishnowsky wasn’t going to be racing for Halcombe at the AIMS Games this year, but had the opportunity to take Max’s spot after his injury. 

Toby has achieved PBs in every race so far, and with the help of his mum Megan Wishnowsky, he decided to nominate Max for the Mercury ‘Wonderful Energy Award’. 

Toby said he wanted Max to be recognised for the support he was still giving the team despite his injury.   

“I thought it was a really good idea because he had worked so hard to get here and wasn’t able to race, but has still been so supportive.”  

Toby’s mum Megan Wishnowsky said it has been an awesome experience for the whole school. 

“This is the first time we’ve had more than just the swim team. We’ve managed to get around and support the other codes – which is a bit of a mission – but the kids are so supportive of one another and it’s really not singular, they’re all cheering eachother on. 

“It’s been such an awesome atmosphere. Really well organised, everyone’s super supportive- they’re not sitting there on phones, they’re all totally involved.” 

Article added: Tuesday 05 September 2023