My name is Cameron Frew and I was born and raised in Raglan where I still live. I am in my final year of school at Nga Taiatea Wharekura, a total immersion Maori language school and have a passion for the sport of rifle shooting which is a recognized sport for people with disabilities. I have been shooting with the Parafed Waikato Shooting Club for three years and am fortunate to have most of my own equipment now.
Due to a progressive disability I was born with I have had lots of operations during my 16yrs of life so far. In the middle of 2013 I had an operation to restructure one of my feet to give me more balance and mobility however that operation didn’t go according to plan … I got a severe infection in my foot which put me back in Starship Hospital for a month, several more operations and months of medical treatment which continues today. I had to quit school and shooting as I was too sick to attend.
But … I am back. I am attending shooting training at the Hamilton Pistol Club every week and gearing up to increase my training for competitions this year. In February I did a 60 shot shoot in Auckland and beat my previous personal best record. The shooting calendar this year includes Waikato Champs at home, NZ Cup 1 in Auckland, NZ Cup 2 in Christchurch, an Australian Cup in Brisbane and a big World Cup event in Thailand in August. To continue my training and get to these comps I need to raise a lot of money.
This is what Dave Sheely (Shooting Coach of Parafed Waikato) said about Cameron “he has been a member of the Parafed Waikato Shooting club since January 2011 when he was just thirteen years old. He started shooting with one of our club air rifles and his rate of improvement in this demanding Olympic discipline was such that he bought his own high spec match rifle in 2013” with the help of the Lions Club of Raglan
In the three years that Cameron has been shooting he consistently has shown the type of dedication and ability needed to succeed not only on the domestic competition circuit but internationally as well.
This what Chloe Wickman (Ececutive Officer) for Parafed Waikato/Bay of Plenty said in support of Cameron Frew.
“Cameron is a young talented athlete who has been part of our club for over three years and showing strong progress in the sport of his choice, para-shooting.
He is a current Youth Ambassador for our organisation, taking on leadership roles with supporting other athletes to achieve success through sport. He has shown growth through this programme and we are looking forward to seeing his progress as a youth leader over the next few months.
His dedication to the sport of shooting has seen him gain a National Classification for the sport, allowing him to compete with athletes of similar abilities. New Zealand is limited in the number of competitive shooters in the same classification and it would be a great opportunity for Cameron to travel and gain more competitive experience.
Parafed Waikato are extremely proud of Cameron and his sporting achievements and we look forward to seeing him go further and achieve his dreams.”
Raglan Lions Club is assisting in helping Cameron to actively promote and support him in reaching his goals.
Bob MacLeod President Raglan Lions