Mark Nesbitt, a member of Ballyvally Archery Club, has been selected to represent Team GB at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney from January 14-18.
Team GB comprises over 100 of our finest young athletes, aged between 13 and 19, competing in 11 Olympic sports.
And the hope is that the young athletes will use the event as a springboard to compete in the London Olympic Games of 2012.
Mark is the only Northern Irish representative in the six-strong archery team and for him his selection is the highlight of what, at the age of 16, has been a remarkable first few years in the sport.
Mark has competed four times for Ireland - twice in field archery and twice at target archery.
In the field discipline, he finished second in the European Field Championships in Croatia and fourth in the World Field Championships in Wales.
At target archery he competed in the Europa Cup First Stage in Spain, again securing a second place, and also in the World Target Championships in Turkey.
Mark will be competing in the Recurve category of the target archery in Sydney and is looking forward to pitting his wits against the world's best.
honour
"It's a great honour to represent Team GB and I will be doing my best to finish in the medals," said the Lisburn Tech student.
"We'll be away for two and a half weeks to allow us time to acclimatise and will be training regularly at Lilleshall in the build-up to the trip."
Mark, who paid tribute to the support of his coaches Frank Mulligan and Alan Convery, will be among 1,600 athletes representing 25 nations, including China and the United States.
The AYOF was set up by the Australian Olympic Committee as part of the legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Leading Team GB at the AYOF, Mark England, Chef de Mission, said: "As part of the British Olympic Association's desire to discover future Olympic champions and provide them with the experience of participating in multi-sport events, this festival presents a fantastic opportunity for over 100 of our finest young potential Olympians to get their first taste of Olympic competition.
"With the London Olympic Games less than four years away, many of these athletes will be hoping to use this experience as a stepping stone to 2012."