Meet the Junior Journalist of the Year and other category winners

A karate kid has struck a blow against bullying while showing the pen remains as mighty as the sensei*.

Claiming the inaugural* Kids News Junior Journalist of the Year title, year 7 student Madison Riquelme beat out 200 other cub reporters nationwide with her print news story about young people combating* bullying with martial arts*.

As the grand prize winner, Madison scores a guest presenter appearance on Studio 10*, a $1000 gift card and a $100 book pack from HarperCollins.

The cub reporter said she “interviewed a lot of people” and “checked many different sources” researching bullying over several weeks.

“The statistics were staggering,” Madison said. “I didn’t think there were going to be that many people that got bullied.

“I haven’t experienced bullying myself, fortunately, but I’ve heard about it happening to others and I have witnessed it.

“I do karate and I think it’s a really good thing for everyone to learn, not just to be strong with your fists, but in your heart and mentally.”

Drawn to enter because she “really enjoys writing”, the Melbourne student, who attends St Monica’s College, even submitted an original news cartoon with her entry and said she was “really grateful” to have won.

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “This was pretty difficult to write but I definitely learnt along the way.”

The print and video competition, promoting media literacy* development for primary and secondary school students, is run by Kids News, News Corp Australia’s free online news site for classrooms, in partnership with Studio 10.

Studio 10 executive producer and competition judge Raj Wakeling said Madison’s entry was “the standout … well researched, with good quotes from (primary source* interviews)”.

“Importantly, it was a genuine news story (and) very relevant* to readers,” he said. “The structure demonstrated a sound understanding of how to structure a print news story to ensure the reader absorbs key news information first, before reading on to learn more detail and context*.”

News Corp Australia’s Community Ambassador Penny Fowler said Madison was a worthy winner who demonstrated she had what it takes to pursue a life in journalism.

“Well done to Madison, who shone a light on bullying, an issue of clear public interest,” Mrs Fowler said.

“We were also thrilled by the number of entrants and the love of learning and the written word they demonstrated – critical stepping stones to success in school and beyond, whatever they pursue in later life.

“Kids News is an important part of our News in the Community program and its focus on the importance of education and childhood learning.”

A dynamic semi final put AFL player Lucas Bordignon in the commentary chair for his Primary sports story (print) winning entry.

“I have a really big passion for AFL,” Lucas said, “ so I decided that I would write about (my team’s) journey in the finals.

“I made sure to include every single details (of) the match … what happened, how it happened.”

Lucas said it was “very important” to capture the movement and atmosphere of a big game.

“It wouldn’t be a sports story without those moments,” he said. “I just think it’s great that I got the opportunity to put myself in (the running).”

While Victoria and SA each produced category winners, hungry young NSW newshounds claimed four of eight categories, covering everything from organ donation* to the post-Covid revival of a suburban festival to an interview with Olympic javelin thrower Mackenzie Little.

Epping Public School’s Adit Garg, newly 10, said he was “very proud (and) thrilled to become a Junior Journalist” as he has “a passion for journalism”.

“The main complication was that the location was too noisy for voice to be picked up by the smartphone,” the year 4 student said, “so I had to use another device. This led to the problem of matching the audio with video, which I resolved with trial and error.”

Adit was not the only student to enter twice, but he was the only one to be shortlisted in both print and video sections.

“My dad likes reading news while my mum prefers to watch it on TV, so I wanted to address both audiences,” he said.

After stepping “into the shoes of a journalist”, Adit said he wants “to continue on this journey.”

Collaboration was the name of the game for St Agatha’s Pennant Hills students, who won the Primary news story (print) category for an entry with six contributors.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Layla Hasrouni.

Their story on organ donation required multiple interviews with recipients and donors – a process Layla said “was overwhelming at first, but worth it.”

Teammate Meghna said the interviewing “was very interesting”.

“You don’t think about these things in the first place but then when you’re actually looking at other people’s point of view, you learn all these other things that you probably wouldn’t have learnt," she said. "We learnt about (organ recipient) Jayden (Cummins) … he had a robotic heart before he got donated one and he has this really special connection with his donor’s family, which is really lovely.”

Campbelltown student Victoria Shridhar’s secondary video news entry reported on the 2023 Celebration Sing Out! at Sydney Town Hall, an annual fundraiser for the music therapy* unit at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

“I wanted to raise awareness of (music therapy),” Victoria said. “I worked hard on the video and I’m just happy that I won, it’s really exciting.”

The year 8 St Patrick’s student said editing was “the most challenging” part of the process.

“I really enjoyed interviewing everyone and seeing what their perspectives were on everything, why they enjoyed it and what they got out of it,” she said.

Brothers Jonathan, 13, and Joseph Tan, 10, struck journalism gold when they recently moved house and discovered an Olympian in their midst. When javelin star Mackenzie Little turned up at a neighbourhood meeting, the sports-loving duo seized the “great opportunity” for a sports story in the secondary print category.

While they prepared questions in advance for what ended up being a long distance video interview, due to Little’s competition schedule, they also allowed Mackenzie to digress.

“It’s not really good if you’re just reading off a script, you need to have more of a conversation,” Jonathan said. “I think that I’m good at thinking of quick but good questions to ask in the interview. We knew that we needed a lot of content.”

The success of their entry highlights the benefit of choosing a generous and experienced interview subject.

“It was very helpful,” Jonathan said. “As a very top athlete, she had many more professional interviewers, but she was very easy on us and very open.

“The process is quite hard and it took quite a while to (make) it really good.”

Joseph, who submitted a separate entry with friends, made use of Kids News’ “how to” video collection on the Junior Journalist page as well.

“I quite enjoyed doing both the video and this news article,” Joseph said. “I know there are some really good people out there at a really high level, so the fact that we actually won our category is good but I’m quite surprised.”

Taking out the primary sports video category, SA’s Franklin Oliver, a year 5 student at Gilles Street Primary School, said he was “shocked” by his win.

The roving* reporter, 11, travelled to Queensland for the Speedcubing AusNats2023 and said he “knew it would be such a good topic” for the Junior Journalist competition because “so many other news stations were talking about it.”

Franklin’s secret weapon was preparing in advance and equipping himself for the job.

“After I recorded, I stitched together all the clips and beforehand I had gotten a really good deal on a microphone,” he said. “It was really good, it basically blocks out all other noise except for the voices that are actually speaking.

“I edited it over a couple of days of work. I’ve edited a lot of things for school projects and generally videos.”

Franklin’s biggest challenge was one every reporter knows well: “Making the effort to actually go out there and do it and find people to interview that were willing,” he said.

A year 6 group entry from Queensland’s Port Douglas State School was Commended in the tight-run Primary news (video) category for their coverage of this year’s Carnivale* parade.

“We feel honoured to be commended and are very proud of our efforts,” said students Nina Edmonds and Emily Murphy, who covered the event with classmates Gemma Cocks and Piper Saxon.

“We loved being part of the Junior Journo Competition and getting to work together to create something amazing that represents our beautiful town of Port Douglas.

“We are definitely inspired to enter the competition again and improve on our reporting skills. Thank you Kids News for the incredible opportunity.”

The overall range and quality of entries from around the country was “outstanding”, said Kids News editor and competition judge Diana Jenkins.

“Quality reporting demands fundamental* journalistic* practices,” she said. “Assessing newsworthiness* is a skill, as is researching, interviewing, fact-checking, writing, structuring, editing, proofing* and presenting.

“Collectively our young category winners cover a broad range of news, as you’d hope, but each one honours these same, timeless tenets* of the trade with distinction.

“My warmest congratulations to all entrants – we’ll be announcing exciting changes to Junior Journalist in the New Year, so stay tuned.”

Kids News producer and fellow judge Vanessa Croll said the entries’ broad range of news topics, from sustainability* to social justice to hyper-local issues, “not only inform but also ignite conversations and inspire action”.

“With so many different creative approaches, backed by research and passion, the judging process was both challenging and rewarding,” she said.

Scroll down past classroom activities to read and watch the winning entries, plus to see the full list of winning and commended entries.

All students named on the following honour roll will receive a professionally printed certificate and a Kids News Junior Journalist notebook to aid their future reporting.

This printable Certificate of Participation is also available for all Junior Journalist entrants:

POLL

GLOSSARY

• sensei: a teacher of karate or other martial art
• inaugural: the first one or first time, the beginning of something
• combating: fighting against, opposing,
• martial arts: traditional methods of fighting, often without weapons, that come from the Far East, for example Kung fu, karate, or judo
• Studio 10: an Australian morning talk show on Network 10
• literacy: the ability to read and write; it also refers to knowledge or competence in something
• primary source: a first-hand account of an event or subject by someone with authority on it
• relevant: important, significant or has meaning to the situation or people involved
• context: the situation, background, or environment relevant to a particular person or thing
• organ donation: giving an organ or tissue to help someone that needs a transplant
• roving: on the move, travelling from place to place
• Carnivale: a special parade and celebration with costumes, floats, rides, other entertainments and games
• fundamental: forming the foundation or basis, necessary, essential
• journalistic: relating to journalism, produced by or typical of a journalist
• newsworthiness: the quality of being interesting or important enough to be the subject of a news report
• proofing: the practice of checking spelling and grammar in minute detail
• tenets: principles, beliefs, articles of faith
• sustainability: practices that create and maintain long-term conditions for humans and nature

EXTRA READING

Treasurer Jim Chalmers ‘a naughty kid’

Junior Journalist talks trolls with sporting star

Part 1: How to write a news story

QUICK QUIZ

1. What was the topic of Junior Journalist of the Year Madison Riquelme’s winning entry?
2. What additional item did Madison submit with her entry?
3. How many category winners hail from NSW and what were their entries about?
4. What secret weapon did SA category winner Franklin Oliver use creating his video entry?
5. What are fundamental journalistic practices named by Kids News editor Diana Jenkins?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Draw a news cartoon
Madison drew a news cartoon to go with her winning story. Draw a news cartoon to go with the story about the winners of the Kids News Junior Journalist of the Year competition.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Communication Design

2. Extension
In the story, Kids News editor Diana Jenkins says that assessing newsworthiness is an essential skill for any journalist.

Think about what “newsworthy” means and write a sentence that defines it. Then, have a look at the Kids News website. Choose five stories. Think about what makes each story newsworthy for kids. For each story, write sentences explaining how and why this story is newsworthy for kids.

Time: allow at least 40 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Digital Technologies

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.

WINNERS AND COMMENDATIONS

KIDS NEWS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR 2023
Madison Riquelme, Year 7, St Monica’s College Epping, Victoria

PRIMARY NEWS STORY (PRINT)
WINNER
Jersey Day a way to honour everyday heroes who give the gift of life to others

By Andric Pereira, Layla Hasrouni, Raghav Sharma, Meghna Dharmadasa, Angus Madigan and Gabrielle Wen, Year 5, St Agatha’s Pennant Hills, NSW (group entry)

They say winning the lottery is a one in a million chance. For Mrs Ford’s husband Mark, his was a lottery you didn’t want to win – a rare disease unluckily affecting his kidneys. To stay alive he needed a hero. That hero was his wife.

Thirteen years ago she gave one of her kidneys to her husband and with that his second chance at life.

But it wasn’t an easy thing for her to do. It took Mrs Ford six months to come to her decision. “I didn’t want to give him a kidney because I was scared,” she said.

Once she made up her mind, she knew it was the right decision. Mrs Ford described the moment as being “surreal” and that a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“It was absolutely worth it,” she expressed.

The decision to proceed was exciting as it allowed her and her husband to live a normal life again.

Mrs Ford is what is called a live donor, where she is able to donate a part of her body, such as a kidney, which can save other people’s lives but not harm hers.

Unlike Mrs Ford, Jayden Cummins, a filmmaker, was the recipient of a donor organ.

When he was 46, he came down with a bad case of Influenza A. He was sent to hospital and there the doctors gave him the grim news: he had end-stage heart failure. Worse, his thirteen-year-old son was told his father was fighting to stay alive and had two days to live.

Doctors put him in an induced coma for 3 weeks. When he woke, he was kept alive by a mechanical heart.

Eventually, after a long wait – 436 days – he was given another opportunity at life. A heart from a 34-year-old car crash victim became available.

An opportunity to extend his life was presented to him. It meant everything to Mr Cummins. Now, aged 52 and a passionate campaigner for donor organs, he says he has been able to watch his son grow up into a young adult.

“I have been able to watch him complete the HSC, play guitar – all these wonderful things that I would never be able to see had I not had this beautiful gift of life.”

In May 2015, thirteen-year-old Nathan Gremmo, a student at Oakhill College, lost his life after an accident crossing Glenhaven Road.

Jersey Day was created by his family after his death as a way of understanding the impact of organ donation. When Nathan died, his organs saved the lives of six other people.

Before his passing, Nathan was quoted as saying: “You only live once, but if you do it right once is enough.”

The wearing of jerseys symbolises being in a team – a team that is working together to raise awareness of organ and tissue transplants.

During his time as leader of the Church, Pope John Paul spoke about organ donation. He wrote in the encyclical Evangelium Vitae in 1995 that the donation of organs, performed in an ethically acceptable manner, was “the sincere gift of self”.

Mr Cummins agrees with this sentiment.

“The beautiful thing about organ donations – it’s the one thing that transcends things like race and gender and religion and economic status. It is the one thing that proves that underneath (our skin) we are all the same people.”

Mr Cummins cherishes his heart and is eternally grateful.

“For me I don’t own this heart. I feel I am the guardian of this heart and I like being able to thank my donor because I think about him every single day. Every single day I thank him for this chance.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Ford happily continues with her kayaking and playing sport “and you would never know I have one kidney”.

On September 1, all children and staff at St Agatha’s wore jerseys in honour of Nathan Gremmo and the cause he supported.

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Terrence Ji, Year 5, Brighton Grammar, Victoria

COMMENDED
Roman van Ryn, Year 6, Launceston Christian School, Tasmania

Chloe Newlyn, Year 6, Lara Lake Primary School, Victoria

Abigail Allsop, Year 6, Kerrimuir Primary School, Victoria

PRIMARY NEWS STORY (VIDEO)
WINNER
Adit Garg, Year 4, Epping Public School, NSW

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Maya Gallagher, Year 6, Our Lady Star of the Sea Miranda, NSW

Emma Glenfield, Year 3, Blue Mountains Grammar School, Wentworth Falls, NSW

COMMENDED
Nina Edmonds, Piper Saxon, Emily Murphy, Gemma Cocks, Year 6, Port Douglas State School, QLD (group entry)

Jamie Odell, Year 4, Varsity College, Varsity Lakes, QLD

Sy Miskovic-Wheatley, Year 4, Blue Mountains Grammar School, Wentworth Falls, NSW

PRIMARY SPORTS STORY (PRINT)
WINNER
U11 A SEMI FINAL TURNS INTO A THRILLER!

By Lucas Bordignon, Year 5, Lysterfield Primary School, Lysterfield, Victoria

The 2023 U11 A EFNL (Eastern Football Netball League) semi final turned out to be an absolute thriller. The match was the Lysterfield Wolves versus The Heathmont Jets, with the Wolves taking the win, 45-14.

The first quarter wasn’t the ideal start for Heathmont, or very exciting for spectators, as the scores were 8-0 to the Lysterfield Wolves.

The second quarter got a lot brighter for Heathmont as the margin was 9-7, although the

Lysterfield Wolves were still in front.

Both teams weren’t happy heading into the 3rd quarter, but one of them decided they were going to bring it and that was Lysterfield.

Heathmont came out and kicked the first goal and were starting to think they were going to win, but boy were they wrong!

Lysterfield went on to kick the next 2 before a dramatic scene occurred. Tyler, the ruckman of the Lysterfield Wolves, went up for a mark but little did he know the other ruckman from Heathmont only had eyes for him. He decided to play dirty, elbowing Tyler in the head and

making him black out for ten seconds! Unfortunately there was no consequence for the Heathmont Ruckman, and Tyler was benched for the remainder of the match. That moment made Lysterfield dedicated to bring the game home so they went on and kicked the next 2 goals which made the score 37-7 heading into the 4th quarter.

Now Lysterfield were confident and hungry for another goal. Heathmont weren’t looking happy heading into the last quarter as they knew the game was nearly over. Heathmont kicked the first in the quarter which made Lysterfield a bit worried but Lucas Bordignon went and kicked a goal to bring home the win for Lysterfield. The final score being 45-14 to Lysterfield Wolves.

Spectator Finlay summed up the game saying, “The match was exhilarating, both sides had great players, however Lysterfield played better and got the result they were looking for.”

HIGHLY COMMENDED
George Cafarella, Year 5, Lysterfield Primary School, Lysterfield, Victoria

COMMENDED
Chloe Weldon, Year 4, Somerville House, South Brisbane, QLD

Maddy Brennen, Year 3, Lysterfield Primary School, Lysterfield, Victoria

PRIMARY SPORTS STORY (VIDEO)
WINNER
Franklin Oliver, Year 5, Gilles Street Primary School, Adelaide, SA

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Jasper Mace, Year 5, Brighton Grammar School, Victoria

COMMENDED
Alex Lawrence, Year 6, St Mary’s Primary School, Malvern East, Victoria

Thomas Smith, Year 6, St Mary’s Manly, NSW

Rafe Grant, Year 5, St Philip’s Christian College, Port Stephens, NSW

SECONDARY NEWS STORY (PRINT)
WINNER
Karate kids fight back against bullying

By Madison Riquelme, Year 7, St Monicas’s College Epping, Victoria

Victorian kids are taking up martial arts in record numbers in a bid to combat bullying.

Research shows 86 per cent of Australian students have witnessed bullying and 72 per cent have been bullied themselves, according to bullying prevention agency Bully Zero.

Melbourne dojo The Winged Dragon Martial & Healing Arts has experienced a spike in student enrolments as families flock to the sport.

Head instructor Sensei Lucky Pandelidis, who has more than 40 years of experience in martial arts, said enrolments had grown from just 40 students to more than 300 – a whopping 650 per cent increase over the past 10 years.

Sensei Pandelidis said many families cited schoolyard and online bullying as reasons for enrolling their kids in martial arts.

“Karate is not just about fighting with your fists – it’s about building strength, courage, resilience and learning how to assert yourself if a confronting situation arises,” he said.

“We hear from families every day – some with children as young as four years of age – who are enrolling in karate because they have experienced bullying first-hand or have witnessed someone else being targeted.

“Children of all ages need the skills to combat this situation.”

Black belt martial arts student Aydin said he enrolled in karate to learn more about self-defence and to get fit.

“It’s a great way to get fit and strong and learn life skills along the way,” he said.

Black belt instructor Pauline said many children were enrolling in karate after witnessing or experiencing bullying.

“We get a lot of children enrolling for that reason,” she said.

“They gain focus, discipline and confidence through karate.”

The Victorian Department of Education claims it promotes a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to bullying. Parents and experts say the current measures to address bullying don’t go far enough and more action is needed.

Clinical psychologist Andy Prodromidis said bullying was a serious issue and educating and empowering children was essential.

“Children need to feel empowered and heard if they raise concerns or worries in relation to bullying,” he said.

“Open and honest communication is essential.”

Parents said social media had opened up a new platform for bullying and anti-social behaviour and this was concerning.

Research from the National Mental Health Foundation found nearly 50 per cent of young people in Australia reported a negative experience online in the past six months.

The family of Australian teenager Amy Jayne “Dolly” Everett, who killed herself in 2018 after suffering online bullying, said the consequences were devastating.

Dolly’s family launched the charity Dolly’s Dream to honour her memory and ‘create a kinder and safer world’ for Australian kids.

Sensei Pandelidis said while every family’s approach to taking a stand against bullying was different, action was critical.

“Timing and action are everything.”

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Ellie Westerveld, Year 9, Heathmont College, Victoria

COMMENDED
Theekshitha Karthik, Year 8, Haileybury College, Victoria

Malena Algama, Year 9, St Margaret’s Berwick Grammar, Victoria

Katie Merlo, Year 8, Catholic College Sale, Victoria

SECONDARY NEWS STORY (VIDEO)
WINNER
Victoria Shridhar, Year 8, St Patrick’s College Campbelltown, NSW

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Magnus Rael, Year 8, Auburn High School and Ella Potaznik, Year 8, Melbourne Girls’ Grammar School, Victoria

COMMENDED
Skye McCowan and Sophie Shing, Year 8, Mentone Grammar, Victoria

Addisyn McCrudden, Year 8, Corpus Christi Catholic High School, Oak Flats, NSW

Nathan Robertson, Year 7, Blakes Crossing Christian College, SA

SECONDARY SPORTS STORY (PRINT)
WINNER
Mackenzie Little – an Australian javelin champion that inspires a generation

By Jonathan Tan, Year 7, St Aloysius College, and Joseph Tan, Year 4, Lady of Dolours Chatswood, NSW (joint entry)

Mackenzie Little is a prominent figure in Australian athletics, known for her exceptional skill in javelin. Her career has brought her to competitions all over the world, including the prestigious Olympic Games, wearing proudly the green and gold of Australia.

Her recent victory at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest earned her a well-deserved bronze medal. Her other achievements include a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, top 8 at the Olympic Games and top 8 at World Championships.

Mackenzie Little’s remarkable journey into the world of athletics started when she was only six years old, when she first stepped onto the track for Little Athletics in Sydney. Her passion for sports was definitely evident, extending beyond individual sports to team sports like soccer and hockey.

However, it was this special rainy day during her Year 7 at Pymble Ladies College that would kickstart her journey to become one of the best javelin throwers in the world.

With her hurdles event cancelled, Mackenzie took the chance to try javelin for the very first time. In that training session, her coach was left impressed by her talents. From that moment forward, Mackenzie’s dedication and hard work have taken her on an extraordinary javelin journey, from a small beginning to the world stage of athletics.

Inspiration
Many top athletes have someone who inspires them and motivates them to strive for the best. In Mackenzie’s case, she draws inspiration from her fellow javelin throwers, both from Australia and across the globe, as well as her coaches. When she was just starting javelin, Mackenzie didn’t know many javelin throwers, her motivation therefore came from the collective achievements of her peers.

“Watching my javelin friends throw,” said Mackenzie, “inspires me to rise up to that same standard.”

Mindset
Mackenzie, like most of us, would feel pressure from time to time. She recalls a nerve-racking memory from an AMEB trumpet exam, where feeling nervous made it hard for her to even make a sound.

As she advanced in her sport career, sport psychology played a crucial role in helping her deal with the pressure of competing at the elite level.

One of the techniques that Mackenzie practices is the deliberate focused breathing.

“Breathing in for five counts and holding it for five and breathing out for five counts,” Mackenzie explained.

This helps her to reset her mental composure after each throw. Mackenzie also shared how she prepares herself mentally just before her throw.

“I focus on just one or two key aspects of my technique, and that’s it. Then, I aim to relax. I count the steps of my run-up, saying ‘1, 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8’ in my head”.

Mackenzie added, “I also remind myself to smile, because a little smile helps me remember to enjoy myself, which is really important.”

Setting Goals
Mackenzie says that her strategy for setting goals is to set small, achievable goals like stepping stones, leading towards a bigger one.

“I set little goals on my training and aim to do my sprints a little bit faster than last time,” she said. “When it comes to studying, I get little things done like my homework for a particular subject and then move on to the next thing.”

She adds, “If you think about big goals like, ‘I want to win the Olympics,’ it can become very overwhelming.”

A master of juggling
Mackenzie has a busy lifestyle, not only that she trains six days a week, but she is also studying to become a doctor at the University of Sydney. It is extraordinary for one to excel in both an elite sport and demanding field of medicine.

She explains, “Medicine is very important to me and so is javelin. That’s why I do both. But at the same time, it is important to relax to make sure that you have a balanced life.”

To relax, Mackenzie enjoys going to the beach with her friends and doing some baking, especially her signature cinnamon scroll.

Mackenzie’s message to young athletes and non-athletes
“Keep your doors open for different opportunities. You never know what lies ahead in life. Having lots of different exciting things in your life is a very good thing.”

She also adds, “Once you commit on something, really focus to do the best you can. Working hard is very important.”

Writers’ note on the interview:
We are very privileged to have been given the opportunity to speak with Mackenzie Little. Her amazing talents and achievements are only matched by her down-to-earth nature. When we mentioned her as a role model to young people like us, she was humble about it, and it made us admire her even more! She was very generous with her time, especially with her busy schedule and the time difference between San Francisco and Sydney makes it a little bit trickier.

She promised to meet us with her famous cinnamon scroll once she is back from San Francisco, we are so looking forward to it. In all honesty, we want to see her javelin throw in person one day and maybe we can also take up javelin.

We wish Mackenzie the very best for her study and her preparation for the Olympics in 2024.

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Rio Wang, Year 7, Barker College, NSW

SECONDARY SPORTS STORY (VIDEO)
No prize awarded