From the Director of High Performance
Kia ora tātou,
As a ‘hero image’ for this month’s HPSNZ’s update, the shot of an emotional Hayden Wilde crossing the finishing line to win the T100 Series triathlon in London just over a week ago was an obvious choice.
His remarkable win in his return to competition just 100 days after a collision with a truck while training on his bike in Japan left him hospitalised with four broken ribs, a broken scapula and a punctured lung, is a reminder not only of his personal determination and commitment as an athlete but also of the dedication of all the athletes, coaches and others who work together to get high performance athletes to the start line.
Hayden and his fellow athletes deserve all the kudos they get for their personal bests, record performances, podium finishes and wins. But so do all the people behind the performances from support networks of family and friends to the NSOs, coaches, specialist practitioners and other support staff who all continue to play critical roles in these successes.
The mahi doesn’t stop in high performance sport. With less than three years to go until the opening ceremony of the LA28 Olympic Games, we’re now officially in the second year of this four-year cycle.
Several of the sports we work with are preparing for world championships over the next couple of months – their biggest events since Paris 2024. Canoe Racing, Canoe Slalom, Athletics, Para Athletics, Rowing and Para Cycling are among the many sports that have pinnacle championships between now and the end of the year.
The Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games are also just six months away and there is good reason to be excited about that campaign. This month, our HPSNZ Performance Physiotherapist Sarah Gillespie and Performance and Technique Analyst Jamie Middleton give us their insights into the unique forces of snowboarding.
We’re also counting down to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, and each month between now and July next year, HPSNZ Update will check in on one of the featured sports to see how they are preparing for the Games. This month the focus is on Netball.
Also in this HPSNZ Update we look back on Insight to Impact, HPSNZ’s recently completed leadership programme for High Performance Directors, and our Head of Performance Psychology Dr John Sullivan puts the spotlight on Technology and mental health: Tools for athletes in a digital age.
Ngā mihi nui
Steve
Netball’s road to Glasgow 2026
For sports like netball that don’t feature in the Olympic or Paralympic programmes, the Commonwealth Games is a major event in its own right. The Games are one of two major world pinnacle events in a four-year cycle, with the Netball World Cup following a year later.
The Silver Ferns have a strong record at the Commonwealth Games, winning two gold, three silver and one bronze medal since netball debuted at the Games in 1998.
That history and the importance of the Commonwealth Games in the lead up to the Netball World Cup cannot be underestimated, says Netball NZ Head of High Performance and previously long time HPSNZ staffer, Stephen Hotter.
Milano Cortina 2026 – Shredding the data for snowboarders
Snowboarders are subject to unique forces—often up to nine times their body weight. And it’s their ankles that frequently bear the brunt of that load.
The HPSNZ Athlete Performance Support team that partners with Snow Sports NZ is shredding every bit of data in its pursuit of performance gains and those forces are under scrutiny.
Physio Sarah Gillespie and Performance and Technique Analyst (PTA) Jamie Middleton are leading an innovative project aimed at understanding and mitigating the forces snowboarders face—particularly those that contribute to injury.
Inaugural Insight to Impact programme wraps up
The first ever Insight to Impact (I2I) programme for High Performance Directors (HPDs) wrapped up last month with eight NSO HPDs completing the eight-month course which featured four in-person workshops, a 360 Capability assessment, individual 1-1 coaching sessions and a series of self-managed learning activities.
HPSNZ General Manager Wellbeing and Leadership, Emily Downes, says feedback from the HPDs of Rowing, Canoe Racing, Equestrian, Yachting, Snow Sports, Triathlon, Basketball and Netball highlight the programme’s significant impact on their professional growth, confidence and ability to inspire and lead their teams effectively
25 years of Prime Minister’s Scholarships – rower reaches big heights
Rowing became one of the first podium sports to be centralised and by the time the first group of high performance rowers received Prime Minister’s Scholarships 25 years ago, the cluster of future Olympians were training, competing and studying in Karapiro.
Among the group was George Bridgewater who not only went on to win an Olympic bronze medal and a gold and two silver medals at World Rowing Championships but has since carved out a highly successful career in sports administration and business.
For George, receiving the Prime Minister’s Scholarship was a big part of keeping him in New Zealand, away from the Ivy League offers, and allowing him to follow his dream of wearing the black singlet at the Olympics.
Discus thrower 20kg lighter and better than ever
“Ecstatic” is how HPSNZ Performance Nutritionist, Jeff Rothschild, describes his feeling when Olympic discus thrower Connor Bell shed 20kg after the Paris Olympics yet has been hitting personal bests including two New Zealand records in April, throws that would have secured him bronze in Paris.
These results flip conventional wisdom on its head which generally associates bigger with stronger and the premise that more muscle is needed to move more weight.
Technology and mental health: Tools for athletes in a digital age
By Dr John Sullivan, HPSNZ Head of Performance Psychology
In the latest in our regular series on specific areas of mental health and performance, John examines the role of apps, wearables and other technologies in supporting mental health, while also considering potential downsides like digital fatigue. A link to further resources is provided at the end of the column.
Two family passions come together for PM Scholarship intern
Property is in the family of Auckland Stars up and coming mid court player, Greer Sinclair, as is their huge support for her netball journey.
Greer, a Prime Minister’s Scholarship internship recipient, has been able to combine property and netball in her internship as a member of Bayleys property management team.
The internship has come at an important time for Greer who sustained a season ending ACL rupture in the opening game of the 2025 ANZ Premiership.
