Kia ora tātou,
For HPSNZ, working in partnership with NSOs and others to enable our elite athletes to excel on the world stage is key to success.
With just nine months to go until Paris 2024, not surprisingly, Olympic and Paralympic campaigns are the focus of our day to day work with sports, at a leadership level and among our specialist practitioners who are alongside athletes in the daily training environment.
From the Chief Executive
Winning margins are becoming more slender at every Games but by working closely together, opportunities remain to make the difference to performance and convert opportunities into medals.
HPSNZ is also working in partnership with the NZOC and Paralympics New Zealand on the logistics for Paris 2024, setting up preparation and recovery teams, as well as medical and psychology teams to support the NZ athletes at those Games.
With Paris in mind, this HSPNZ Update features the first in a series of interviews with HPSNZ’s own former Olympians and Paralympians who reflect on their Games experiences, what those experiences have brought to their current role and what single piece of advice they would give to our Paris 2024 athletes.
Our Paris campaign in the spotlight this month is Canoe Slalom’s Luuka Jones who is striving for a fifth Olympic Games and has recently taken on the new discipline of Kayak Cross.
Luuka has been a true pioneer in her sport in New Zealand, and has become an impressive role model, not only for canoe slalom but also for anyone coming into the high performance system in any sport.
On the coaching front, we revisit the newest of HSPNZ’s Coaching programmes, Kia Manawanui, where the participating coaches have recently taken to the slopes in Wanaka and are talking about the benefits the programme is already delivering for them and their athletes in international competition.
Some of those coaches are involved in Paris 2024 campaigns, others are leading the way in non-Olympic sports, while many are working with younger athletes with an eye to the multiple horizons we are working towards – Milano Cortina 2026, Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032.
They would do well to take inspiration from the All Blacks and their coaching team who have survived the many ups and downs on the high performance roller coaster to make it all the way to the Rugby World Cup 2023 final.
Great to see so many other Kiwi teams in international action over the past week – including the Black Caps, Silver Ferns, Black Ferns, Kiwis, Kiwi Ferns and All Whites.
Ngā mihi nui,
Raelene
Olympic and Paralympic Perspectives: Christine Arthur
As we head towards 2024, and the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, we will feature the thoughts, insights and memories of HPSNZ’s own former Olympians and Paralympians as they recall their personal Games experiences and what those experiences have contributed to their current roles.
We sat down with Los Angeles 1984 and Barcelona 1992 Hockey Olympian and now HPSNZ’s Head of Performance Life Coaching, Christine Arthur, to share her story.
Kia Manawanui coaching programme delivering early benefits
The third Kia Manawanui Performance Coaching in Action residential course was hosted by the programme’s three Snow Sport coaches – Brad Prosser (Freeskiing), Nicholas Brown (Snowboarding) and Jason Sklenar (Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing) – at Snow Sports NZ’s headquarters in Wanaka this month.
Taking to the slopes of Cardrona across the two days, it might be easy to think it would put several of the summer sports coaches a little outside their comfort zone. Not so says national bowls coach, Mike Kernaghan.
“It was really cool to watch coaching in a different setting to what I’m used to, but the most interesting part of the residential was watching Brad, Nick and Jason coach athletes as young as 13 through 16 years, who are either on the verge of moving from pre HP to elite status or are about to embark on their first European campaign,” says Mike.
With one more residential course scheduled in 2023, some of the programme participants have shared a few of the somewhat surprising benefits they are experiencing already through their involvement.
Luuka Jones up for another challenge
White Water Canoe Training at Wero White Water Park, Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday 26 July 2023. Credit: Alan Lee / www.photosport.nz
In a career spanning a decade at the high performance level including four Olympic Games, canoe slalom exponent Luuka Jones says she is up for another Games challenge in 2024.
A successful World Cup series including gold in the World Cup final in Kayak Cross and a fifth in the K1 on the Paris Olympic course and a good performance at the World Champs in London has meant Luuka has qualified New Zealand’s quota for Paris 2023 to keep her campaign on track. So too has Finn Butcher qualified a spot for New Zealand in the men’s disciplines following his performances at the same events.
Luuka first took up canoe slalom at 14 years of age and by the age of 19 was a rookie competitor at her first Olympic games in Beijing 2008 with little or no funding, a situation which continued on to her London 2012 campaign.
But a breakthrough performance in London which pushed Luuka into the Top 16 in the world ensured a level of funding and support which allowed her to keep her momentum going as she set her sights on Rio 2016.
Prime Minister’s Scholarship ceremonies wrap up
The final PM’s Scholarship ceremony for 2023 was held in Waikato at the beginning of this month with 53 recipients from athletes, coaches, support staff and officials across 15 sports.
The event was MC’ed by television presenter Jordan Vandermade who was joined for the athletes’ interview panel by New Zealand’s two times Canoe Racing K1 200 and K1 500 champion, Ashton Reiser, Commonwealth Games cycling gold medallist and second and third placegetter at this year’s World Championships, Bryony Botha, and Danielle Aitchison, gold and silver medallist at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships.
The Waikato event follows the earlier ceremonies in Christchurch and Auckland, bringing the total of recipients to receive their certificates at the three events to 147 across 28 sports.
PM’s Scholarship lead, Nicole Robins, says it was great to see the excitement of recipients, especially for those who had received scholarships during the three-year event hiatus period.
“As always there were recipients undertaking a diverse range of study programmes as part of their planning for transition after their high performance sporting life,” says Nicole.
Five times Paralympic Para Alpine Skier, Adam Hall, shares his Prime Minister’s Scholarship story which will help him move into a sports management business career.
Applications for the 2024 Prime Minister’s Scholarships are open from 1 November until 30 November.
Hockey NZ looking for Premier Hockey League investors
Hockey New Zealand is calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to invest in the establishment of three new franchises as part of a New Zealand Premier Hockey League (PHL) scheduled to begin in 2024.
The League will initially consist of four franchises, each with a with men’s and women’s team. With each competition to run concurrently, the League will be the first of its kind in New Zealand.
“The PHL is an exciting hockey product which see our players enjoy consistent, elite level competition at home,” explains Hockey New Zealand CEO Anthony Crummy.
PM’s Scholarship Internship applications close 31 October
A reminder that applications for the third group of Prime Minister’s Scholarship internships close on 31 October 2023.
Check out this video which features some of the participants and their internship employers telling their story of the internship programme.
Further information about the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Internships and how to apply can be found here.
