From the Director of High Performance
Kia ora tātou,
At this time of the Olympic and Paralympic cycle, high performance sport is a bit of a balancing act.
On one hand, from a performance point of view we are laser focussed on ensuring coaches and athletes have all that they need to be at their best in Paris That includes working closely with the NZOC and Paralympics New Zealand to help ensure the health and safety all those going to Paris, from the time they leave our shores to when they return.
And on the other hand, we are doing a huge amount of work with sports on the transition to the 2028 LA cycle and what the next four years will look like. While New Zealand continues to punch above its weight in high performance sport, the challenge is always to find opportunities to keep improving.
One such opportunity for New Zealand is being sharper in our approach to the transition between cycles, aligning expectations across the high performance system and being ready to hit the ground running towards LA, in a way that maximises the full four years of the build-up.
With that in mind we have over recent months been discussing the transition to the next cycle with our partner sports. I want to acknowledge the positive and constructive nature of the partnership conversations. We know sports are under the pump and it’s no small thing to juggle the demands of the imminent pinnacle events in Paris with the critical elements of future planning. Our NSO partners are embracing the challenge.
In our HPSNZ Update Paris-focussed stories this month, we have an interesting Q&A with HPSNZ Performance Life coach Tina Manker, on her experience representing Germany at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
We focus on yachting’s 49er FX and wind foiling athletes together with the team behind the team that has been helping them prepare for the Paris.
We also talk to new HPSNZ Head of Physiotherapy Jordan Salesa, who will also lead the NZOC’s physio team in Paris — the seventh Olympic Games he has attended as a physio.
Elsewhere, we announce the successful candidates in this year’s Women in High Performance Sport Residency Experience programme and look at how the HPSNZ regional pathways team are working to continue the legacy of cycling in Southland.
Ngā mihi nui
Steve
Olympic and Paralympic Perspectives: Tina Manker
A love for New Zealand following the 2010 World Rowing Championships at Karapiro brought German 2012 Olympic rower Tina Manker to Kiwi shores to gain a degree and become an English teacher.
Some 11 years later she is still here and supporting Kiwi high performance athletes in her role as an HPSNZ Performance Life Coach based in Cambridge.
Tina shares her Olympic experiences and insights in the eighth of our series featuring HPSNZ Olympians or Paralympians.
Newly appointed HPSNZ physio lead heads Olympic therapy team
Jordan Salesa at Tokyo 2020
With his feet barely under the desk at HPSNZ, newly appointed Head of Physiotherapy Jordan Salesa is off to Paris where he will lead the New Zealand Olympic therapy team as part of the wider health team.
While new to his HPSNZ role, Jordan is certainly no stranger to HP sport and to Olympic Games.
Paris will be Jordan’s seventh Games, the first of which was as physio to the Samoan Olympic team in 2000 followed by stints as a New Zealand Team physio at the five Games since.
Sailing for a podium finish in Marseille
49er FX Olympic crew Jo Aleh and Molly Meech Credit: Sailing Energy / World Sailing. 11 August 2023.
With a 10-strong sailing squad selected for the Olympic regatta in Marseille, two of the crews talk about their preparations and work with their HPSNZ Athlete Performance Support (APS) team ahead of the Games.
A quick look at two of the seven sailing crews heading for the Olympic waters could suggest the only two things they have in common are a love of being on the water and a dream to stand on the Games podium.
For the Kiwi 49er FX crew of Jo Aleh and Molly Meech it will bring their combined Olympic appearances to a staggering eight with three Games medals between them, while wind foiler Veerle ten Have will be making her Games debut at Paris 2024.
A closer look, however, reveals a very important common denominator for the successful lead into Paris 2024 – their shared HPSNZ Athlete Performance Support (APS) team.
Kia Manawanui helping prepare Kiwi surfing coach for Olympics
Olympic surfing coach Matt Scorringe in action at the 2023 National Surf Champs
A satellite programme sitting alongside HPSNZ’s Kia Manawanui coaching group is providing New Zealand’s Olympic surfing coach Matt Scorringe with skills and competencies which he believes will not only help his long term development, but also pay dividends for his surfing charges as they face the massive Teahupo’o wave in Tahiti next month.
Matt is one of seven coaches who are part of the Kia Manawanui satellite group led by long time HP coaching consultant Richard Smith. The group operates primarily through an online programme for coaches aspiring to become part of a future residential cohort.
Special Membership offer for Te Korowai – Sport Performance Coaches New Zealand
Calling all performance coaches. A recently launched professional body working to represent, connect, celebrate and support New Zealand’s sport performance coaches is inviting coaches to join their membership ranks with a special opening offer.
Te Korowai – Sport Performance Coaches New Zealand has been established to further support and develop the New Zealand performance coaching sector and ensure that coaches receive adequate support with a focus on wellbeing. It will provide an independent voice for performance coaches in New Zealand.
“Te Korowai is really about establishing a community for New Zealand’s performance coaches,” says the organisation’s Chair and Snow Sports NZ Park and Pipe Programme Head Coach Tom Willmott.
Joining Wilmott on the Board are some of New Zealand’s most accomplished coaches, including Raylene Bates (Para/Athletics), Mel Bosman (Rugby), Angie Dougal (Trampolining), Kirsten Hellier (Athletics), Mike Hesson (Cricket), Yvette McCausland-Durie (Netball) & Craig Philpott (Rugby).
Southland Pathways programme forges key connections with Cycling NZ
Cycling’s Elyse Fraser (centre) with cyclists at the pre YSD International Cycling Series camp
The heritage and history of cycling in Southland is long, rich and deep-rooted. It is home to the first velodrome in New Zealand, hosts the iconic annual Tour of Southland and the talent pool of past and present cyclists achieving international recognition is impressive.
Now the region is looking to the exciting future generation of cycling talent as a result of the HPSNZ Performance Pathways programme which is forging real connections between Cycling NZ, the Southland region and local coaches and athletes.
WiHPS Residency Experience continues to evolve approach
![At the 2024 Residency Experience induction day [L to R facing camera] Lisa Wallbutton (2023 Basketball resident), Sophie Williamson (HPSNZ), Julie Blake (Bowls) and Catherine Logan-McLeod (Squash)](/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/WIHPS-Residency-Experience-2024-Induction-Day.jpg)
At the 2024 Residency Experience induction day [L to R facing camera] Lisa Wallbutton (2023 Basketball resident), Sophie Williamson (HPSNZ), Julie Blake (Bowls) and Catherine Logan-McLeod (Squash)
This year’s Residency Experience involved input from a wider range of people than previous cohorts and as a result women from a diverse range of experiences applied for the 2024 intake.
Two of the newly appointed residents, Julie Blake form Bowls and Catherine Logan-McLeod from Squash, will have their current roles promoted to HP Manager roles and Antonia Harrison joins Volleyball NZ in the newly created position of NZA Beach Volleyball Head Coach on her return from coaching in the USA.
