December 2018,

HPSNZ Reconfirms Core Investment for 2019

High Performance Sport New Zealand today announced a $36 million core investment programme for 2019.

The investment marks the mid-point of the Tokyo Olympiad and sees a recommitment of core investment to targeted National Sport Organisations (NSOs) and new allocations to targeted and campaign NSO’s where agreements are set to expire in 2018.

Download: Investment Brochure 2019

“Today’s announcement provides stability for sports, athletes and coaches as preparations towards 2020 intensify” confirmed Michael Scott, Chief Executive of HPSNZ. “As we approach half time in the cycle, we have an opportunity to refine and balance investment to the aggregated needs of sports. With an approach that is tailored based on need and impact, fundamental to the success, is the ongoing collaboration between HPSNZ and our system partners”.

Today’s announcement provides stability for sports, athletes and coaches as preparations towards 2020 intensify.

The 2019 investment follows detailed performance discussions and review processes with all targeted and campaign sports and will support NSOs in the areas of high performance leadership, coaching, international competition, training camps, pathway development and equipment and operations.

Investment allocations were based on four contestable criteria guided by the investment framework and include past performance, future potential, quality of the individual sport’s high performance programme and campaigns and aspects of the individual sport context.

As part of today’s investment announcement, Canoe Racing has been elevated from tier two to tier one following another consistent and successful World Championship, with core investment to increase by $150k to $1.9m.

In addition, Snow Sports has also been elevated from targeted other to tier two, with core investment increasing by $250k to $2.25m.

Men’s Softball will also receive an increase of $50k to support their preparation for the 2019 World Cup while Olympic Weightlifting will receive an additional $20k to support athlete preparations towards Tokyo 2020.

Boxing and Squash will receive an additional $15k and $25k respectively while Surfing will receive an increase of $20k to support qualification as the sport prepares to make its Olympic debut.

Bowls will see investment decreased to $200k while the Women’s Softball will be decreased to $30k.

In addition, $500k will be transferred from Paralympics New Zealand to Athletics New Zealand as part of the successful integration of the Para athletics programme into Athletics.

As we approach half time in the cycle, we have an opportunity to refine and balance investment to the aggregated needs of sports

Today’s announcement follows the recent confirmation on parity of PEGs (Performance Enhancement Grants) for Para athletes as well as a health insurance scheme for all carded athletes which will be both rolled out in 2019.

With a Memorandum of Understanding recently agreed with the New Zealand Athletes Federation, work is underway on the development of a 12-point Strategic Plan, that aims to create a sustainable, fit for purpose, high performance system that leads to progressive development and growth of all key facets.