Sally Brown: It was just like Christmas when my kit arrived

I can't believe I'm in New Zealand! This time last year I was competing in Northern Ireland for my school and for Springwell Running Club in non-disability events and I had no idea there were such amazing opportunities in Paralympic sport.

I'm a T46 100 metre and 200m sprinter and the only Northern Irish athlete on the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team out here for the IPC Athletics World Championships. This is my second time away with the team but my first in a senior competition and I'm really excited to be part of it.

Overall I've had a brilliant year – I competed at events at home and in England and my highlight was definitely going to the Czech Republic for the IWAS World Junior Championships where I won two silver medals for the 100m and 200m sprints.

I feel really lucky to have been given a break in disability athletics. I was invited to Leeds by UKA to be assessed by some of the team there including the UKA Paralympic head coach Peter Eriksson and former Olympic sprinter Paula Dunn. We went through all sorts of drills and it made me realise what I could really be capable of. The fact that Paula was excited made me excited too.

I went on to compete in Cardiff at the Aviva Parallel Success event and to be officially classified for the first time. I'm a T46 which means "single above or below elbow amputee or physical impairment".

My whole summer was then mapped out and I went on to compete in Gateshead in UKA's Disability Athletics Challenge. I must have done something right because a couple of weeks later I was called with the great news that I'd been selected for the IWAS Juniors.

It was just like Christmas when my kit arrived – I had no idea how I'd find time to wear it all but I was so proud to know I'd be representing my country for the first time and wearing the red, white and blue.

I don't think even I believed I'd go on to be selected for the IPC Athletics World Championships but now I'm here in New Zealand it's really starting to hit home. I flew from Belfast to Heathrow on January 4 and ended up using my sprinting skills to good effect when we were delayed and had to race from one terminal to another to catch our flight to Auckland via Los Angeles. It was quite strange meeting up with everyone for the first time but it also made me really proud to wear my team kit.

There are 40 athletes on the team but I'm one of the youngest along with Jade Jones. I think it must be weird for some of the older and more experienced athletes like David Weir, Shelly Woods and Stephen Miller who have been competing at this level for a while – they must be wondering who we all are. We know who they are though and it's great to know we can speak to guys like that and ask them to help us out or give us advice as they are always full of wisdom for the situations we find ourselves in.

My own coach Phillip Tweedy isn't out here but the coaches with us have been brilliant and it's great for me to work so closely with Paula Dunn who was one of the first people to get me involved. Paula really knows all about competing at the highest level - she went to the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988 in the 100m, 200m and the relay and she won five Commonwealth Games medals in the 100m and the relay from 1986 to 1994.

She's taught me a lot and I'm already starting to see a difference in my training and the way I can interpret and know the difference between a good session and a poor session. I know when I'm running correctly and when I'm not and I've been practising my relaxation techniques and my breathing.

We couldn't really ask for a better place to prepare for the championships. We're staying at the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health in Auckland and it really does have everything we could ask for. All of the athletes and most of the staff are staying on site so we can get up in the morning and be sitting eating breakfast within five minutes while looking out of the window on to the track. I've also got wise to the fact that I can literally jump out of my window and on to the track if I'm running late.

As well as the main outdoor track there's an indoor track, a 50m pool, a CV gym and a weights gym. Everything is so accessible. I think it's been quite hard for some of the wheelchair athletes who have been trying to get some miles in on the roads because it's so hilly, but it'll definitely be helping to get them into peak shape for the competition.

In my spare time I have been shopping with Hollie Arnold and Hannah Cockroft in the mall which is just ten minutes away. There are also some shops close by so when we're walking to them we get to see some of the beautiful area and also soak up some sunshine.

I'm competing on the very first day (January 22) in the 200m and hopefully I'll make it through to the final the next day. My 100m heats and final – all being well – are on January 24 and 25. My personal best times at the moment are: 13.33/13.32 for the 100m and 27.37/27.04 for the 200m. My main aim is go even quicker and to make the final, but of course I want to win a medal, as does everybody on the team.

This is a huge stepping stone for me in my aim to represent Great Britain in the Paralympic Games. I'd absolutely love to compete in front of a home crowd in London next year, but I have to remind people I'm only 15. If I do make it to London it would be a dream come true, but my real chance of a Paralympic title might be four years later in 2016 – Rio watch out!

Sprinter Sally Brown is one of the youngest members of the Aviva GB & NI team competing at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the only member from Northern Ireland.