
The latest round of Aspect Trust scholarships have been announced, four leading South Canterbury athletes receiving a financial boost towards their global sporting goals. The Courier caught up with the athletes, and in this week’s edition reporter Connor Haley talks with aspiring ice hockey player Gracie Hellmrich.
South Canterbury ice queen Gracie Hellmrich wants to continue breaking down barriers and inspiring young girls to pick up the stick after being named the recipient of a Aspect Trust Leading Athlete Scholarship.
Earlier this year the 17-year-old Mackenzie College pupil captained the New Zealand under-18 women’s ice hockey team to a gold medal in the division two, group B world championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Playing for the Wakatipu Wild in the New Zealand Women’s Ice Hockey League, she won the competition with her team in 2022 and finished second last year.
Hellmrich said it was her dad who encouraged her to first take up the sport.
‘‘He grew up playing ice hockey because his uncle was quite high up in it and his cousins played in the New Zealand team. So I had quite the influence around me.
‘‘I think because it was so different than the usual sports of netball and rugby, it really stood out to me.
‘‘It was just something unique at the time and with the outdoor rink at Tekapo being a 25-minute drive away it was great.
‘‘I’ve been playing since I was 7 and have just loved it ever since. It’s such an amazing little community.’’
She had noticed the sport just steadily growing year after year, she said.
‘‘It’s grown huge, especially with a lot more girls playing.
‘‘In Tekapo there are a so many new young kids and lots of females doing it which is just amazing to see.
‘‘One thing that I thought was so amazing about winning the tournament in Bulgaria was that we were on the news and had articles written about us. We just hoped that it would inspire young girls to be like ‘we can do this as well’.’’
The opportunities provided by playing a lesser known sport were massive she said.
‘‘Because it’s not a huge sport in New Zealand like rugby, there’s so many opportunities for training camps where you see just about every other person in the country who plays.
‘‘The sport here offers so many good development camps that make such a huge difference to your skills.
‘‘For example the Leslie Camp in Queenstown brings in coaches from America and Canada every year and to have opportunities like that is huge for lots of young kids in New Zealand.

‘‘I’ve got to travel the world and the sport has taken me to so many different countries and exposed me to lots of new things.’’
It was a surprise to Hellmrich when she found out she was a recipient of the scholarship.
‘‘I was so stoked — I cannot even explain.
‘‘Twenty-four people applied and I got into the interview process with six people and I was like ‘I’m not going to get this but I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to go through the process to help with future skills for jobs and things like that’.
‘‘I got a call when I was at school and I was told I got it. I was just like ‘What!?’ I was just in so much shock.’’
The scholarship money would be a massive help in furthering her career, she said.
‘‘It’s such an expensive sport for everyone but for me and a couple of the other girls in Tekapo, we do well and play in some of the better teams in the New Zealand league which means a lot of travelling.
‘‘For me to go to a practice in Queenstown, I have to book accommodation, pay for fuel and even the ice time is a significant cost. Just to practise for an hour we have to pay for it because the rink is missing out on money from public skaters.
‘‘There’s never-ending costs to it but it really is worth it, especially with all the experiences I’ve already had. I’m so thankful to my parents for being able to support me this far but to be able to receive that money and take the weight off their backs, I’m so thankful for it.’’
She was grateful to have had the opportunity just to apply for the scholarship, she said.
‘‘My school sports coordinator sent it to my mum and said make sure you do this and I handed it in on the day before it was due despite having three months to do it.
‘‘I’m just so thankful for Aspect Trust having that on offer for people like me and it’s going to be such a big help for the rest of my sport.’’
Now aged out of the under-18 group, she hoped to continue building up the women’s league and had set her sights on playing for the Ice Fernz, she said.
‘‘I’d love to make the Ice Fernz, whether that’s next year or two or three — that’s definitely what I’m working towards from now on.
‘‘I’d love to make it next year but it’s harder to make than the under-18s because you do age out of that, whereas people don’t leave the Ice Fernz unless they have kids so are unable to or are leaving.
‘‘I’m working really hard towards that and playing for the Wakatipu Wild in the winter is definitely going to help towards that.
‘‘If I make it next year or even in three years I will be so stoked.’’