From the Chief Executive
Kia ora tātou,
Mā te whiri tahi ka whakatuki ai ngā pumanawa ā tangata – Together weaving the realisation of potential.
Today we’re kicking off a new email format to share news from across our sector. The aim is to keep us better connected as organisations and individuals with shared interests, objectives and goals.
The obvious place to start is a reflection on the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the success that our athletes achieved in Tokyo. While our individual reflections will be unique, what stands out for me is the collaborative effort it takes across many years to get to the moment where New Zealand athletes can take their place on the world stage.
The pandemic meant a rollercoaster ride towards Tokyo. Getting to the Games’ required a huge amount of heavy lifting behind the scenes even to get the teams on the plane. Despite this, New Zealanders triumphed, and that success was felt, celebrated and claimed by so many across our system who contributed in ways big and small. To acknowledge and celebrate this phenomenal success is important. All our athletes, and those who support them, have made New Zealand proud.
I am also pleased to announce that Steve Tew has agreed to stay in the Acting COO role for HPSNZ until 30th June 2022. It is a busy time with key investment decisions to be made and a Governance & Leadership Review to implement. Steve will ensure we have continuity during this important and critical time.
I would like to acknowledge the sudden loss of 2016 Olympian Olivia Podmore. You will know that an independent inquiry, commissioned jointly by HPSNZ and Cycling New Zealand, is underway to understand contributors to this tragedy and ways it can be avoided into the future. I encourage anyone with something to share on the matter to engage with the panel through the inquiry website.
He waka eke noa – we are all in this together.
Ngā mihi
Raelene
Performance Pathways Pilot – reconnecting across our regions
To help identify and develop athletes and coaches with the aspirations and potential to perform on the world stage, a HPSNZ pilot programme is underway in Canterbury paving the way for the roll-out of increased regional support nationwide.
The project stems from a key initiative in HPSNZ’s 2024 Strategy to reconnect with the regions and provide New Zealand’s promising athletes and coaches the support they need, closer to home. That work is underway with the appointment of Tracey Paterson as National Pathways Manager and a handful of pilot programmes that are gaining traction in regions across New Zealand, including Canterbury.
New Paid Internship opportunity for athletes
A new Prime Minister’s Athlete Scholarship internship pilot will kick off in 2022 and athletes keen to hear more should express their interest now.
HPSNZ is delighted to offer ten scholarships for athletes to work with the Athlete Life Team and create an internship package that will suit each successful applicant’s interests, and sporting campaign.
This addition is designed to partner with a broad range of organisations to help our high performance athletes with a career jump start and industry experience through a paid internship.
Insights from Women Coaches – new infographics
Insights into Women Coaches in Aotearoa New Zealand are revealed in a series of three infographics released by High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) together with Massey University. The infographics outline the findings of a survey involving more than 300 respondents from a broad range of sports across New Zealand. The survey was the work of a time-limited working group established in 2019 to inform the design and implementation of HPSNZ’s future women in coaching initiatives.
Three visual infographics, available now on the HPSNZ website, showcase the Women Coaches in Aotearoa findings:
- Profile of our Coaches
- Inspiration and Challenges
- Putting it into Action
HPSNZ Investment process underway
The process to determine HPSNZ’s investment into sports for the next Olympic and Paralympic Cycle is underway, in partnership with sports themselves.
The process is based on HPSNZ’s new Targeted Investment Framework and Tailored Athlete Pathway Support (TAPS) announced earlier this year.
Core Knowledge Coach Education – action learning at its best
A pilot designed to upskill New Zealand’s high performance coaches is underway and already 70 coaches from around the country, across multiple sports, are benefitting.
Targeted specifically for those already coaching athletes on a high performance pathway, Core Knowledge is a coach education programme that gives participants the right knowledge to do their best work as a coach.
Innovation Project Funding – 2021 Round 2 Application dates
Applications from partner sports for round two of Innovation Project funding for 2021 will open soon. Here are the key dates.
2021 Innovation Round 2
1 November 2021 – Applications open
12 November 2021 – Applications close
15 – 26 November 2021 – Project evaluation phase
6 December 2021 – Successful projects notified and initiated
HPSNZ Innovation Manager Simon Briscoe encourages applicants to get in touch and discuss your innovation projects: simon.briscoe@hpsnz.org.nz.
Click for more information and the application form on our website.
