When Benalla athlete Anakin Pastuszka, 16, needed to raise funds to help him represent Australia at the 2024 Track and Field tour in the US and Canada, the local community sprung into action.
A highly skilled shot putter, Anakin had gone as far as he could in the sport at the local level, and the chance to test himself against some of the world’s best was too good to miss.
With the need to raise almost $10,000 to make the opportunity a reality, nearly 70 local businesses, organisations and individuals put their hands in their pockets to help.
One of those was the Benalla Young Sports Person’s Trust, and in July trustee Bill Sykes joined Anakin at the family business, HP Excavations, to chat to the Ensign about the experience.
“The Young Sports Person's Trust had been able to help Anakin compete in the Victorian Little Aths,” Dr Sykes said.
“Then he had this opportunity to go to North America, as part of a sports experience.
“The Young Sports Person’s Trust was very pleased to be able to support him to the tune of $500.
“And there were many other people in the community that also supported Anakin.”
As for the tour, Anakin said it was the trip of a lifetime.
“I’d placed in state championships,” Anakin said.
“Then we got an invitation (to take part in the tour).”
Anakin said the invite did not arrive with much time to prepare, so the family started a GoFundMe page to see if anyone could help.
Those who know the Benalla community could guess what happened next, and it wasn’t long before the funding target was hit and Anakin was packing his bags.
Starting out at the age of 10 and being trained and mentored by Benalla’s Janelle Close and Albury-Wodonga-based Logan Sandland put Anakin in good stead for the tour.
“I was a bit iffy at the start, I didn’t really want to go by myself,” he said.
“But once I got there I made a few friends, and it felt like it went very quick.”
The tour took Anakin to Vancouver in Canada then south to Anaheim, California.
“The Vancouver event was a bit bigger than California,” he said.
“I was competing with kids from schools across the world, and lots were from Canada.
“Anaheim was great. The whole tour was a big eye-opener.
“There’s a lot more competition over there.”
But that didn’t stop Anakin picking up two medals, including a first-place finish.
Now that he’s back on Aussie soil, Anakin has decided to step back from competing and is interested in training the next generation of shot putters.
He has already completed a coaching course and is keen to pass on his knowledge.