Zac Schultz sprinting down the track in the 100m at the Halberg Games
  • Swimming
  • Shooting
  • Golf
  • Pickleball

Zac Schultz

I'm 14, I was born with cerebral palsy, and I have a list of sports I'm working my way through. Swimming and shooting are the two I'm chasing hardest.

The list

Eleven sports.
One stubborn kid.

Most athletes pick one thing. I kept saying yes. Some of these I train for every week, some I picked up at the Halberg Games and never let go of, and some I have simply had a very good go at. Here is the honest scoreboard.

Sport Where I'm at
Swimming Parafed Waikato & school squad — lungs, laps, early mornings
Chasing hardest
Shooting Air rifle — breathing, stillness, one clean shot
Chasing hardest
Golf Nine holes and counting
Competing now
Pickleball Fast hands, short court — my newest sport
Competing now
Athletics 100m sprint, Halberg Games
Trained
Indoor rowing NZ Indoor Rowing Championships, on the Concept2
Trained
Boxing Pad work and footwork at the gym
Trained
Table tennis Halberg Games
Played
Cricket Halberg Games
Played
Touch rugby Halberg Games, Team Waikato
Played
Horse riding Te Aroha Riding for the Disabled
Played

The short version

Cerebral palsy is part of it.
It isn't the whole story.

I was born with cerebral palsy. It changes how my muscles take instructions, so some days moving costs me more than it costs everyone else. That's the honest bit.

The rest of it is that I've raced at the Halberg Games, pulled on a Waikato shirt for touch rugby and cricket, been interviewed trackside by Sky Sport, sat tall in the saddle at Te Aroha RDA, and rolled down the sand at Whangamata in a beach wheelchair for the first time — which is still one of the best days I've had.

11Sports played
2Chasing hardest
5Stories written
Zac Schultz holding up two medals at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Swimming Championships
NZ Secondary Schools Swimming Championships

Watch

The Halberg Games

Three days, hundreds of young disabled athletes, and the event that talked me into half the sports on this page. Turn the sound on.

Trouble playing it here? Watch it on YouTube

In action

Pool, track, court, sand

Zac Schultz launching off the starting blocks in a Parafed Waikato cap at a para swimming meet in Hamilton
Off the blocks — para swimming, Hamilton
Zac Schultz holding up two medals at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Swimming Championships
NZ Secondary Schools Swimming Championships
Zac Schultz running with the ball in a Team Waikato shirt during touch rugby at the 2021 Halberg Games
Touch rugby — Team Waikato
Zac Schultz serving during a table tennis match for Parafed Waikato
Table tennis — Parafed Waikato
Zac Schultz smiling with a bat and ball during cricket at the 2021 Halberg Games
Cricket — Halberg Games
Zac Schultz throwing a jab onto the pads with his boxing coach in the ring
Pad work at the boxing gym

Get in touch

Coaches, clubs,
reporters & supporters

If you run a club, coach a squad, write about para sport, or want to support a young Kiwi athlete — say hello. Instagram is the quickest way to reach me.