From the Director of High Performance
Kia ora tātou,
Happy New Year and welcome to our first HPSNZ Update for 2025.
It was a real privilege to join an amazing group of New Zealanders at last night’s Halberg Awards, to reflect on and celebrate the remarkable successes of 2024.
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists. It is impossible and, in my view and somewhat unfair, to single anyone out given the outstanding performances of so many people but I would simply say you have all truly inspired Kiwis and reinforced New Zealand’s unique position in the world as a sporting success story. As has been mentioned many times, it is not just the performance on the day but the way you carry yourselves, win or not!!
A special acknowledgement of this year’s Sport New Zealand Leadership Award recipient, Marcus Daniel (pictured). Marcus’ achievements on the tennis court are well known. But as was highlighted last night, what truly sets him apart is how he combines his sporting success with an unwavering vision and a deep sense of responsibility to give back.
Marcus has donated a portion of his prize money to charities for the last 10 years. In 2020, he founded High Impact Athletes to connect athletes with the world’s most effective charities, turning sporting success into life-changing contributions that tackle issues like child poverty, animal abuse and climate change. He has set a new standard for leadership, reminding us that success is not just about medals or titles – it’s about how we use our achievements to unite and uplift others.
The year is off to a flying start with the Snow Sports NZ team delivering some outstanding results in the northern hemisphere winter already – most notably Zoi Sadowski-Synott’s Big Air World Cup Win, Alice Robinson securing New Zealand’s first-ever FIS Alpine Ski Racing World Championships medal and Fin Melville Ives winning gold in the Freeski Halfpipe World Cup. Meanwhile the brilliant Amelia Kerr was named ICC International Cricketer of the Year, and cyclists Ally Wollaston, Bryony Botha and Ellesse Andrews have kicked on from Paris 2024 with notable international wins and, in two cases, world records.
This month also marked the one year to go milestone for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter OIympic Games, which begin on 6 February next year. This is a critical time for these athletes as they strive to qualify for both the Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic Games over the next couple of months. Kia kaha!
To mark one year to go to Milano Cortina 2026, this HPSNZ Update features an interview with Snow Sports NZ General Manager of High Performance Luke Hetzel who talks about where the programme is at 12 months out from the big dance and what the key priorities will be between now and then.
With athlete performance and mental health being a key strategic focus for HPSNZ and our NSO partners, this edition also launches a series of monthly columns from our Head of Performance Psychology Dr John Sullivan. This month he focusses on mental health as a performance edge.
We also provide an update on our Core Knowledge Coaching programme, including the announcement of a new programme leader, and we look ahead to Performance Summit 2025, jointly hosted by HPSNZ, the NZOC and Paralympics NZ in March.
Ngā mihi nui
Steve
Milano Cortina 2026 – one year to go
Luca Harrington during Mens Ski Slopestyle Final at 2025 X Games Aspen at Buttermilk in Aspen, CO. ©Trevor Brown, Jr./X Games.
The countdown to the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics reached one year to go on 6 February and, for the Paralympics, that milestone will be marked on 6 March.
HPSNZ Update spoke with Snow Sports NZ General Manager High Performance, Luke Hetzel about what needs to happen between now and 2026 for athletes, coaches and support teams to ensure success in Milano Cortina.
Luke says there is a very clear focus for each year in a campaign’s four-year cycle. “Year 3’s focus is perform – that’s where we are now. It means qualifying and qualifying early. Year 4 is all about peaking – ensuring everything is laser focused so that athletes are prepared to achieve that success.”
New face leads Wā Kāinga Core Knowledge into 2025
Dylan Schmidt training in Auckland with coach Angie Dougal who has received a Prime Minister’s Scholarship through HPSNZ to enable her to bring Canadian trampolining coach Dave Ross to NZ. © image by Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
A new face will be at the helm of HPSNZ’s foundation coaching programme, Wā Kāinga Core Knowledge, when Angie Dougal takes up the role of programme lead for 2025.
Angie, who joined HPSNZ at the end of 2024 as a Coaching Consultant from her role as coach of 2020 Olympic trampoline medallist and 2022 World Champion Dylan Schmidt, will lead Core Knowledge as it starts its fourth year delivering coaching programmes in partnership with NSOs.
A busy year lies ahead for Angie and her group of presenters and facilitators as numbers for all measures of the programme continue to increase.
“I feel incredibly humbled to lead a great programme and continue the amazing work of previous leads, Craig Palmer and Lyn Gunson, both of whom are coaching legends,” says Angie.
“I aim to build on the foundations of what has been done, and also to have an increased focus on coach wellbeing and care for the coaches.
“We know that it is imperative coaches create challenging yet supportive environments for their athletes and teams, and that they feel supported in doing this while also ensuring they keep their own wellbeing as a priority.”
The 2025 programme and intake of coaches reflect the increasing importance NSOs are placing on coach development and the benefits they and their coaches are seeing.
New athlete mental health and performance series
New York City, USA-24th February 2015: Sports professionals explore the heart of performance at the first 2XU #HEARTNOTHYPE SUMMIT. 2XU, Australias high performance sports apparel brand launches new campaign in NYC as it embarks on taking the world.
Following the publication of HPSNZ’s Athlete Mental Health and Performance approach in late 2024, HPSNZ Update will run a monthly column from our Head of Performance Psychology, Dr John Sullivan, which drills down into specific areas of mental health and performance.
Before joining HPSNZ in 2023 John worked for 16 years with the New England Patriots in the NFL and has held roles with the English Premier League, National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), elite military units within the United States Special Operations Command and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Mental health as a performance edge: Why a healthy brain is key to winning
By Dr John Sullivan, HPSNZ Head of Performance Psychology
Sport once believed (and still does at times) success came solely from pushing one’s body to its limits. But sweat is not enough. Mental health and holistic health in general is just as crucial for peak performance and longevity in sport. In fact, health (mental and physical) provides the foundation for human performance, especially when asked to perform repeatedly under pressure.
International focus on NZ Women in High Performance Sport programmes
HPSNZ’s Te Hāpaitanga coaching programme and Residency Experience have recently caught the attention of the international Leaders Performance Institute.
The lead article in the December 2024 report, entitled A Female Lens on Performance: What it takes to help women and girls thrive in elite sport, features interviews with Te Hāpaitanga lead, Jody Cameron, WiHPS lead Helene Wilson and leading Cycling NZ coach, Elyse Fraser.
Performance Summit 2025 looks at the next evolution of HP sport
Leaders and stakeholders from throughout New Zealand’s high performance sport sector will get together in March for Performance Summit 2025 to share learnings and ideas.
HPSNZ, the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) and Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ), will jointly host Performance Summit 2025, having last done so in 2023.
Chair of Performance Summit 2025 Advisory Group Emily Downes says the Summit will be a critical opportunity to connect and focus on the learnings and trends that will shape high performance sport over the coming years.
Olympic medallists performing off the track
Emily Shearman and Bryony Botha
When it comes to high performers, it’s hard to go past two of New Zealand’s Paris silver medal team pursuit cyclists, Bryony Botha and Emily Shearman.
If their performances in Paris were impressive, their subsequent undertakings off the track while maintaining a full-on training programme are nothing short of remarkable.
Bryony and Emily were each awarded a HPSNZ Prime Minister’s internship scholarship in 2024 and with the newly integrated level of flexibility in the programme, were able to defer the start of their internships until after their Paris campaign.
Both women ended their Paris campaign and immediately embarked on a training programme and competition for the October Cycling World Champs. And for both it marked the start of their internships.
Wellbeing Onboarding Guidance workshop scheduled for March
A key initiative in HPSNZ’s Wellbeing programme has been the development of Onboarding Guidance and the first workshops in the implementation phase of the project are scheduled for 10 to 13 March.
Registrations were sent out earlier in February for the 90-minute online workshop which has been organised by Podium, Aspirational and Team sport categories to allow for cross-discussion with others who are likely to be managing equivalent resources and challenges.
Programme lead, Dr Toni Minniti says the workshop will be led by a panel of representatives from the Wellbeing Community of Practice NSO leads, Performance Life and Performance Pathways.
“The three aims of the workshop are to share onboarding guidance developed for sports, support sports to identify and implement tangible actions, and provide dedicated time to exchange insights and ideas,” says Toni.
Registered participants will receive Zoom links to access the webinar by 21 February.
Link to resource Onboarding Guidance.
Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
