Today High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) launches our 2024 Strategy. You can see the media release on the strategy launch here and view the strategy document here.
The 2024 Strategy is both a carefully considered response to the impacts of COVID-19 and the first phase of implementing the 2032 High Performance System Strategy (2032 HPSS). It begins the process of evolution needed to achieve repeatable and sustainable success on the world stage while putting the wellbeing of athletes, coaches and support staff at the centre of everything we do.
We are not starting with a completely blank sheet. We’ve seen steadily increasing success over the last three Paralympic and Olympic Games, our best ever winter Olympics, winter Paralympics and offshore Commonwealth Games performances in 2018, along with memorable world championship podium finishes. However, in order to advance and stay ahead, we cannot do things the way we’ve always done.
Our new 2024 Strategy will deliver our most important strategic shift since HPSNZ was created in 2011. It needs to. These are very different times. Multiple reviews into athlete wellbeing and sport integrity issues over recent years have surfaced the need to prioritise a safe, fair and inclusive environments for athletes and coaches. Here and around the world, athletes are stepping up and seeking a greater voice and representation. We are committed to learning, leading and enabling the necessary change across the system.
New Zealand’s population is also changing along with the way people engage with sport globally. The emergence of new Olympic sports is testimony to the fact that sport, like most industries, is not standing still. Interesting and engaging new and diverse audiences in high performance sport demands that we support emerging and aspirational activities that are attracting a new breed of athlete.
Of course, COVID-19 and its impacts will leave a lasting impression on high performance sport. The pandemic has impacted many things, but not the need for a new strategic direction. Many of the shifts identified as part of the 2032 High Performance System Strategy work hold true or have been elevated in importance as a result of COVID-19. The new strategy will help the system strengthen, adapt and become more resilient.
HPSNZ’s 2024 Strategy brings the priorities of the 2032 HPSS to life – Performance Pathways; Wellbeing and Engagement; Funding and Investment. It is the first four years of a 12-year evolution, allowing us to build upon what we have achieved in partnership, allowing us to face future challenges together.
It is headlined by our new vision: “Inspiring Performance Every Day”. The vision reflects our focus on achievement and also the impact that high performance sport has on our nation, bringing us together as people and inspiring us as individuals. Through the vision we are reminded that inspiration can come not just from winning, but from connection we have as people to each other, and the commitment we can all make to reaching our goals.
There is plenty that excites me about the new strategy, headlined by our new approach to Performance Pathways for athletes and coaches, including a real focus on development, which is the key to enhancing our competitive advantage. Within the Performance Pathways approach I am particularly excited about the establishment of a South Auckland Hub that will provide access for communities that I believe have so much untapped potential in high performance sport.
We are also aiming to start a systematic shift that ensures the wellbeing of those within the system is not compromised by the demands on achieving results. And we are opening the way for HPSNZ investment in new sports that can inspire kiwis and provide culturally distinctive pathways for our youth through a new Aspirational Fund.
There is further good news for women in high performance sport and more investment in innovation, research and intelligence as we look to get smarter to counter COVID-19 and its impacts.
We look forward to working with our partners and stakeholders to implement this far-reaching strategy over the next four years as we strive to achieve our vision of – Inspiring Performance Every Day.
